Web 2.0 Learn
A Fusion Project 2008
Anthony Beal
NWDA, Warrington
21st November 2008

Background
• Web 2.0 – a World Wide Web technology…that
aims to enhance creativity, information sharing,
and, most notably, collaboration among users.
• These concepts have led to the development
and evolution of web-based communities and
hosted services, such as social-networking sites,
wikis, blogs, and folksonomies. (Wikipedia,
2008)

Common Web 2.0 technologies
• Facebook and MySpace – social networking sites in
which users can make friends with other users and
exchange information through online discussion or
the exchange of video and audio files
• YouTube – video upload site, where users are invited
to contribute their own video clips
• Flickr – photograph upload site, where users can
upload their photograph collections
• Wikipedia – an online encyclopaedia, the contents of
which are contributed, updated and regulated by its
users

Aim
• The overall aim of this project is for two
selected curriculum areas from West Cheshire
College, (those of Hospitality and Catering and
Retail) to engage with employers in the
development of training products and/or
curricula through the use of Web 2.0
technologies

Objectives
• To train and familiarise project partners in the use of
Web 2.0 technologies
• To generate proactive communities and online
discussion between the college and its employers
• To develop, produce and deliver online training
resources through the use of Web 2.0 applications
• To engage and collaborate with project stakeholders
throughout the project
• To raise awareness, amongst college staff and
employer partners, of Web 2.0 as a tool for
delivering training and learning

Stakeholders
• West Cheshire College
– Leo Appleton, Anthony Beal, Sean Herbert, Sharon
Vaughan, Phil Renton
• Cheshire Oaks
– Geoff Ponter (Bose Corporation)
• Catering Partners
– James Parry, Laura Currie, Marcus Bean

Outputs
• A You Tube account hosting more than 70
educational training videos produced by the
Digital Media Department at West Cheshire
College in response to employer need.
• A staff development training programme,
including hands on workshops and a web 2.0
awareness raising seminar, which was
delivered to West Cheshire College staff
during their staff development conference

Outputs
• Web 2.0 Learn Facebook Group
• Vocationally oriented groups within Facebook,
enabling collaboration and communication
between WCC staff and students and their
employer partners.
• Vocational Academy in Hospitality and
Catering
• Work Based Learners
• WCC Music Network

Evaluation
• Intention of the project was to evaluate how
participants found the Web 2.0 platforms as
tools for collaborative training
• The project participants were invited to
respond to a questionnaire, allowing such
evaluation. All nine participants responded to
the questionnaire

Which Web 2.0 applications
do you make use of in your day to day life?
• Facebook and MySpace (social networking
sites) and all but one participant made regular
use of one or both of these platforms.
• All participants made regular use of YouTube,
as a video sharing / viewing resource.
• Five of the participants made regular use of
photograph sharing platforms

Which Web 2.0 applications
do you use in your work?
• All WCC staff used Web 2.0 applications as
part of their work (e.g. Facebook, Twitter,
Del.ici.ous, MySpace, Slideshare, GoogleDocs,
Flickr, YouTube) this was not the case for the
employer participants
• Some of the employer partners were
restricted from using some Web 2.0 resources
in the workplace, while others were in the
habit of using social networks in a recreational
capacity.

Can you see a role for Web 2.0 in the delivery
of vocational learning?
• All participants were agreed that Web 2.0
platforms enable a flexibility in collaboration
that more formal, more restricted channels
(e.g. like an institutional VLE) could not
• One employer noted that he found it
particularly useful being able to see and
experience the kind of training that other
employers were delivering or considering. This
was enabled through the use of Facebook
discussion

Conclusion
• The nature of Web 2.0 and its continual growth in
depth and popularity means that there is plenty of
scope in which it can be used in a virtual learning
capacity in order to bring partners together where
limited time and space is available.
• Demonstrated by producing and developing social
networking spaces in which the collaborative
community can gather, and has generated many
online resources including video and PowerPoint
training materials.

Anthony Beal
• 01244 670578
• a.beal@west-cheshire.ac.uk