A summary of Neil Selwyn's Chapter 2 on web2.0 and the school of the future today.

1. Web 2.0 and the school of the future, today
Neil Selwyn (2010)
Presenters
Catherine Emmerson Riccardo Rosadoni

2. Central Concept
Selwyn explains and explores the role of Web 2.0 tools in our
current and future educational system discussing the challenges,
obstacles, problems and proposed solutions.

3. Join the discussion
Go to https://www.polleverywhere.com/stjohns
and add your comments or questions during the presentation.
Can everyone please contribute at least one post.
If you prefer you can use your phone and Text 102205 and your
message to +61429883481

4. What is Web 2.0?
“Web 2.0 provides a convenient umbrella term for a host of
recent Internet tools and practices ranging from social
networking and blogging to “folksonomies” and “mash-ups” (p.
22)
“In particular the “Web 2.0” label reflects the changing nature
of contemporary online activity…” (p. 22)

5. What is Web 2.0?
“...an increased socialisation of Internet tools, applications and services.” (p. 22)
“...a “mass” Internet connectivity based around the collective actions of online user
communities rather than individual users.” (p. 22)
“...shared digital content that is authored, critiqued and reconfigured by a mass of
users - what has been described as “many-to-many” connectivity as opposed to “one-to-
many” transmission.” (p. 22)

6. Why is it of educational importance?
It has facilitated a move from consumption to production.
It has provided a location for “...“authentic” learning where knowledge is constructed
actively by learners with the support of communal social settings.” (p. 23)
It has sparked debate about Web 2.0 being intrinsically linked to “the future of
education.” (p. 23)
“...an opportunity to (re)connect with otherwise
disaffected and disengaged learners.” (p. 24)

7. Advantages of Web 2.0
“...artefacts that are positioned under the Web 2.0 label are of less importance than the
wider ideals that are seen to drive their use (Allen, 2008).” (p. 22)
Web 2.0 Internet users are “more engaged, active and a participant in the key business of
the Internet: creating, maintaining and expanding the ‘content’ which is the basis for using
the Internet in the first place (Allen, 2008).” (p. 23)
Supporting needs of the 21st Century learner through “...emphasising freedom of choice
and the empowerment of individuals through the ‘architecture of participation’ (Allen,
2008).” (p. 23)
“...education driven by the individual rather than the institution (Evans, 2009).” (p. 23)

8. Acknowledging the realities of
Web 2.0 use in the school of today
Change is difficult
“...teachers were generally cautious in adopting collaborative and communal Web 2.0
practices that many felt could challenge traditional school structures.” (p. 24)
“...use of Web 2.0. tools largely depended on the rigidity or flexibility of the school
curriculum.” (p. 24)
“...little evidence of critical enquiry or analytical awareness, few examples of collaborative
knowledge construction, and little publication or publishing outside of social networking
sites (Luckin et al, 2009).” (p. 25)

9. Acknowledging the realities of
Web 2.0 use in the school of today
“...many Web 2.0 practices do not translate easily into classroom contexts.” (p. 25)
“...the structure of contemporary schools and schooling is responsible primarily for
‘emasculating’ the potential of Web 2.0 technology (Somekh, 2007).” (p. 26)
Inhibitors sighted in the reading:
o structured hierarchical relationships
o formal systems of regulation - school curriculum is too rigid
o school buildings are architecturally unsuitable for networked wireless technology
o teachers are “too old”, incompetent or distrintested
o students lack skills
o leaders lack required direction or foresight

10. Popular solutions - Replacing the
school with Web 2.0 technologies
Is school’s out for ever?
“...school is conceived as an outmoded technology from a past industrial age that
should be dismantled.” (p. 27)
“Needs radical rethinking and reorganisation of existing structures.” (p. 28)
“...home-based Web 2.0 technologies are allowing students to learn despite (rather
than because) of their schools.” (p. 28)
“...huge potential to create new stores of knowledge to the benefit of all, innovate
more effectively, strengthen democracy and give more people the opportunity to
make the most of their creativity.” (p. 29)

11. Popular solutions - Reinventing the
school through Web 2.0 technologies
A good hard look
“...digitally aligned modes of schooling that are built around the active communal creation of
knowledge… imbued with a sense of play, expression, reflection and exploration.” (p. 29)
“...it no longer makes sense to retain ‘pre-digital’ models of curricular organisation focused on
rigidly hierarchical organisation of static content under the control of the teacher.” (p. 30)
Embrace “Curriculum 2.0.” (p. 30)
“...give students the tools, and they will be the single most important source of guidance on how
to make their schools relevant and effective places to learn.” (p. 30)

12. Towards a more reasoned response
“...most educational thinking concerning Web 2.0 reflects an implicit “technology-first”
way of thinking.” (p. 31)
“Educational term Web 2.0 represents the ‘killer app’ for bringing more desirable forms of
socio- constructivist learning to the masses and a chance to reinvent education.” (p. 34)
“...Web 2.0 technologies are being used as a vehicle through which to express a long-standing
tendency in western societies to view digital technology as a “technical fix” for
wider social problems.” (p. 32)
“...“anti-establishment” ideals that have underpinned much of the development of
information technology since the 1970s.” (p. 32)

13. Conclusion
“...there is no neat, unproblematic “Web 2.0” solution to the deficiencies of twenty-first
century education.” (p. 33)
“...at the very core of the debate are the ideological and ethical issues concerning
what schools should be about and whose interests they should serve.” (p. 34)
“...failing to consider the wider social, economic, political and cultural contexts of
the societal act of schooling.” (p. 34)
“...adopt more organic “bottom-up” approaches to the adjustment of schools and
schooling.” (p. 35)

14. Group Questions
1. What is Web 2.0 and why is it of educational
importance? (p. 22)
“... shared digital content that is authored, critiqued and reconfigured by a
mass of users - what has been described as “many-to-many” connectivity as
opposed to “one-to-many” transmission.” (p. 22)
● What makes a good Web 2.0 tool?
● Each create a P(lus)M(inus)I(nteresting) table for your
chosen Assignment 2 tool. Discuss your results.
3. Replacing the school with Web 2.0 technologies (p. 27)
“...school must be removed in order to facilitate the realisation of the
digital transformation of education.” (p. 27)
● What outcomes for students, teachers, parents and the
education system could result from replacing the school
with Web 2.0 technologies.
● Is safety a concern and how might it be assisted?
2. Acknowledging the realities of Web 2.0 use in the
school of today (p. 24)
“Social progress is driven by technological innovation.” (p. 31)
● What needs to change in our school so we can give
students the tools they need to SOAR into their futures?
● What barriers exist to the integration of Web 2.0 tools into
your classroom practise?
4. Reinventing the school through Web 2.0 technologies
(p. 29)
“...give students the tools, and they will be the single most important source of
guidance on how to make their schools relevant and effective places to learn.”
(p. 30)
● Where do you see St John’s currently residing on the
reinvention continuum? Are teachers ahead of the game?
● How can we keep driving change in order to maintain
curriculum that supports 21st Century skills?

15. Groupings
Group 1: Early adopters (1st contributors) - The ‘Replacer’ ready to replace the school with Web 2.0
Group 2: The Re-inventors (2nd contributors) - Ready for the “many to many” revolution
Group 3: The Collaborators (3rd contributors) - Analysing the relevance
Group 4: ‘User Driven’ Educators (Final contributors) - Acknowledging the reality

16. Our Take on the reading...
Technology is increasingly pervasive, resulting in greater interactivity of everything.
This brings great opportunities for sharing, learning changes how learning can be
accessed, causing debate which appears to have progressed from “should
institutionalised education change” to “how do we change”?
“We need to have open and public debate on the nature and purpose of education in
the digital age, which goes beyond safe slogans such as ‘meeting the needs of every
child.” (p. 36)

17. Slideshare Comment
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18. That was AMAZING!