Originally presented at the American College Personnel Association 2011 National Convention in Baltimore, Md

1. Challenging our Notions of Learning:
Understanding How Web 2.0 Technology Works
Paul G. Brown | www.paulgordonbrown.com | paulgordonbrown@gmail.com
Did You Know 4.0 (September 2009, video)
http://shifthappens.wikispaces.com/versions
A definition of Web 2.0
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_2.0
“The term "Web 2.0" (2004–present) is commonly associated with web
applications that facilitate interactive information sharing,
interoperability, user-centered design, and collaboration on the World
Wide Web. Examples of Web 2.0 include web-based communities, hosted
services, web applications, social-networking sites, video-sharing sites,
wikis, blogs, mashups, and folksonomies. A Web 2.0 site allows its users
to interact with other users or to change website content, in contrast to
non-interactive websites where users are limited to the passive viewing of information
that is provided to them.
The term is closely associated with Tim O'Reilly because of the O'Reilly Media Web 2.0
conference in 2004. Although the term suggests a new version of the World Wide Web, it
does not refer to an update to any technical specifications, but rather to cumulative
changes in the ways software developers and end-users use the Web.”
A definition of Constructivism (Learning Theory)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constructivism_(learning_theory)
“Constructivism is a theory of knowledge (epistemology) that argues that humans generate
knowledge and meaning from an interaction between their experiences and their ideas...
Piaget's theory of constructivist learning has had wide ranging impact on learning
theories and teaching methods in education and is an underlying theme of many education
reform movements... constructivism is not a particular pedagogy. In fact, constructivism
is a theory describing how learning happens, regardless of whether learners are using
their experiences to understand a lecture or following the instructions for building a
model airplane. In both cases, the theory of constructivism suggests that learners
construct knowledge out of their experiences. However, constructivism is often associated
with pedagogic approaches that promote active learning, or learning by doing.”
Marcia Baxter-Magolda’s Three Challenges in the Learning Partnerships Model:
• Portray knowledge as complex and socially constructed
• Self is central to knowledge construction
• Authority and expertise shared in the mutual construction of knowledge
Baxter Magolda, M. B., and P. King. (2004). Learning partnerships: Theory and models of practice to educate for self authorship. Jossey-Bass: San
Francisco.
RSA Animate-Changing Education Paradigms (video):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDZFcDGpL4U
A Vision of Students Today (video)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGCJ46vyR9o

2. The Raft and the Pyramid
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtue_epistemology
“Ernest Sosa introduced the notion of an intellectual virtue into contemporary
epistemological discussion in a 1980 paper ‘The Raft and the Pyramid’.
Foundationalism holds that beliefs are founded or based on other beliefs in a
hierarchy, similar to the bricks in the structure of a pyramid. Coherentism, on
the other hand, uses the metaphor of a raft in which all beliefs are not tied
down by foundations but instead are interconnected due to the logical
relationships between each belief.
Sosa, E. (1980). “The Raft and the Pyramid: Coherence versus Foundations in the
Theory of Knowledge.” Midwest Studies in Philosophy 5, 3-25.
Information R/evolution (video)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4CV05HyAbM
That is Information (video)
http://www.maya.com/the-feed/what-is-information-architecture
Metadata and Meta tags – Metadata may include descriptive
information about the context, quality and condition, or
characteristics of the data. Meta elements provide information about a given file or webpage, most
often to help computers categorize them correctly. They are inserted into the file or HTML
document, but are often not directly visible to a user. (modified from Wikipedia entries)
The Machine is Us/ing Us (video)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLlGopyXT_g
Rethinking Education (video)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Xb5spS8pmE
A definition of Personal Learning Network
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_Learning_Network
“Personal Learning Networks consist of the people a learner interacts
with and derives knowledge from in a Personal Learning Environment. An
important part of this concept is the theory of connectivism developed by
George Siemens and Stephen Downes. Learners create connections and
develop a network that contributes to their professional development and
knowledge. The learner does not have to know these people personally or
ever meet them in person.”
Participation Inequality: 90-9-1
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/participation_inequality.html
• 90% of users are lurkers (i.e., read or observe, but don't contribute).
• 9% of users contribute from time to time, but other priorities dominate their time.
• 1% of users participate a lot and account for most contributions: it can seem as if
they don't have lives because they often post just minutes after whatever event
they're commenting on occurs.
further resources...|
mashable.com
Mashable is an Internet news blog, started by Pete Cashmore in July 2005. It ranks as one of the largest blogs
on the Internet. Mashable regularly writes about YouTube, Facebook, Google, Twitter, MySpace, Apple and
startups, but it also reports on less high-profile social networking and social media sites.
mediatedcultures.net/ksudigg
A Kansas State University working group led by Dr. Michael Wesch dedicated to exploring and extending the
possibilities of digital ethnography.
scottmcleod.net
Scott McLeod, an Associate Professor of Educational Administration at Iowa State University and the Director of
the UCEA Center for the Advanced Study of Technology Leadership in Education (CASTLE). Also the co-creator of
the Did You Know? (Shift Happens) videos. http://shifthappens.wikispaces.com/
educause.edu
EDUCAUSE is a nonprofit association whose mission is to advance higher education by promoting the intelligent
use of information technology.