Chapter 11 – web 2 review

Chapter 11 – Open, social and participatory media Introduction The emergence of open, social and participatory media in recent years is changing the landscape of technology practices. They are changing the ways in which users interact, communicate and participate with technologies. These technologies include social networking sites such as facebook, LinkIn, and myspace, blogs and wikis and microblogging sites such as Twitter. They are being used for a mixture of social and professional activities. This chapter considers the impact of Web 2.0 technologies on education and in particular how these new technologies are changing learning and teaching practices. It will consider their fundamental characteristics and look at the implications for learners, teachers and institutions. It argues that the impact on practice can be both positive and negative and that as a consequence educational institutions need to develop new policies and strategies. This chapter will consider the new forms of user behaviour that are resulting and provide examples of ways in which they are being used to support teaching and learning. The central focus is a critique of the impact of new technologies on education, which raises a number of key questions: What new digital literacy skills are needed? What does it mean to be a teacher or learner in this new environment? What are the implications for organisational structures and processes? What new learning spaces need to be developed to harness the potential of new technologies? The next chapter will look at a social networking site, Cloudworks, which has been developed to support the discussion and sharing of learning and teaching ideas. The changing digital landscape of education There can be little doubt that digital technologies now infiltrate all aspects of our lives; electronic plane tickets, ubiquitous wifi, mobile technologies and technologies such as the iPad are becoming necessities rather than luxuries for many. Certainly, within the developed world, most of us have an expectation of a certain level of digital connectivity; and indeed rely on it, feeling cheated and feeling that we are working below par without it. The pace of change is unlikely to slow down, and arguably there are more fundamental changes coming as the true impact of embracing cloud computing becomes evident. New technologies provide a plethora of routes for finding/using information and for communication/collaboration. Alongside the established communication channels of the telephone, email, forums and texting, the emergence of Web 2.0 technologies in recent years has added blogging (and microblogging), wikis, social networking sites and virtual worlds but also free internet-based Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) and in particular popular tools such as Skype which enable virtually free, Internet-based communication. Similarly information can now be distributed in multiple locations, and packaged and presented using a range of different multimedia and visual representations. Sophisticated repositories now exist for everything from shopping categories to repositories of good practice and free resources. RSS feeds and email alerts enable users to filter and personalise the information they receive. Social bookmarking and tagging means that collective value can be added to digital objectives; concept and mind mapping, tag clouds and data-derived maps are only some of the ways in which information can be presented in rich and multifaceted ways. Within this context we are seeing a number of trends: A shift from the web as a content repository and information mechanism to a web that enables more social mediation and user generation of content. New practices of sharing (see for example: images: Flckr; videos: YouTube and presentations: slideshare), as are mechanisms for content production, communication and collaboration (through blogs, wikis and micro-blogging services such as twitter), and social networking sites for connecting people and supporting different communities of practice (such as facebook, Elgg and Ning). A network effect is emerging as a result of the quantity of information available on the web, the multiplicity of connectivity and the scale of user participation, and as a result new possibilities for sharing and harnessing these 'network effects' are emerging. A review of new technologies O’Reilly coined the term Web 2.0 technologies to describe the emergence of new open, social and participatory technologies ADDIN EN.CITE <EndNote><Cite><Author>O'Reilly</Author><Year>2004</Year><RecNum>413</RecNum><record><rec-number>413</rec-number><foreign-keys><key app=\"
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>413</key></foreign-keys><ref-type name=\"
Blog\"
>56</ref-type><contributors><authors><author>O'Reilly, T.</author></authors></contributors><titles><title>The architecture of particaption</title></titles><number>17/01/2011</number><dates><year>2004</year></dates><urls><related-urls><url>http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/oreilly/tim/articles/architecture_of_participation.html</url></related-urls></urls></record></Cite><Cite><Author>O'Reilly</Author><Year>2005</Year><RecNum>19</RecNum><record><rec-number>19</rec-number><foreign-keys><key app=\"
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db-id=\"
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>56</ref-type><contributors><authors><author>O'Reilly, T.</author></authors></contributors><titles><title>What is Web 2.0 - Design patterns and business models for the next generation of software</title></titles><dates><year>2005</year></dates><urls><related-urls><url>http://oreillynet.com/pub/a/oreilly/tim/news/2005/09/30/what-is-web-20.html </url></related-urls></urls><access-date>29/01/07</access-date></record></Cite></EndNote>(O'Reilly, 2004, 2005). In particular the term emphasised a shift from a static Web 1.0 to a Web 2.0 environment that was characterised by used participation. He defined Web 2.0 as a set of principles and practices. The term ‘open, social and participatory media’ has also been used, emphasising the core characteristics of these new technologies. These included users as publishers, harnessing collective intelligences, folksonomies, peer production and critique, the wisdom of the crowds ADDIN EN.CITE <EndNote><Cite><Author>Surowiecki</Author><Year>2004</Year><RecNum>112</RecNum><record><rec-number>112</rec-number><foreign-keys><key app=\"
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db-id=\"
Journal Article\"
>17</ref-type><contributors><authors><author>Surowiecki, J.</author></authors></contributors><titles><title>The Wisdom of the Crowds: Why the Many Are Smarter Than the Few and How Collective Wisdom Shapes Business, Economies, Societies and Nations: Doubleday.”</title></titles><dates><year>2004</year></dates><urls></urls></record></Cite></EndNote>(Surowiecki, 2004), the architecture of participation, the notion of the perpetual beta, free tools and resources, and the notion of openness. The characteristics of these new technologies include the following: Peer critiquing – the ability to openingly comment on other people’s work. This has become standard practice within the blogosphere and is being used in general society (for example many journalists are now active bloggers, traditional book writing is being supplemented by writers’ blog inviting potential readers to comment on the evolving plot), by academics (through self-reflective blogs on digital scholarship and research ideas) and by learners (in terms of them keeping their own reflective blogs or contributing to a collective cohort blog). User generated content – there are now many different tools for creating content (ranging from those which are primarily text-based, through to rich multi-media and interactive tools), meaning that the web is no longer a passive media for consumption but an active, participatory, production media. Sites such as YouTube, Flickr and Slideshare facilitate sharing of user-generated content and embedded code functionality means this content can be simultaneously distributed via a range of communication channels. Collective aggregation - hierarchy and controlled structures make little sense in an environment that consists of a constantly expanding body of content that can be connected in a multitude of ways. Collective aggregation refers both to the ways in which individuals can collate and order content to suit their individual needs and personal preferences, as well as the ways individual content can be enriched collectively (via tagging, multiple distribution, etc.). Social bookmarking, tag clouds and associated visualisation tools, tagging, RSS feeds and embedding code all enable collective aggregation to occur. Community formation – clearly the connectivity and rich communicative channels now available on the web provide an environment for supporting a rich diversity of digital communities. Boundaries of professional and personal identity are eroding and the notion of tightly knit Communities of Practice ADDIN EN.CITE <EndNote><Cite><Author>Wenger</Author><Year>1998</Year><RecNum>198</RecNum><record><rec-number>198</rec-number><foreign-keys><key app=\"
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>6</ref-type><contributors><authors><author>Wenger, E.</author></authors></contributors><titles><title>Communities of Practice. Learning, Meaning and Identity. Learning in Doing: Social, Cognitive, and Computational Perspectives</title></titles><dates><year>1998</year></dates><publisher>Cambridge University Press, Cambridge</publisher><urls></urls></record></Cite></EndNote>(Wenger, 1998) are giving way to a spectrum of communicates from individualistic spaces through loosely bound and often transitory collectives through to more established and clearly defined communities ADDIN EN.CITE <EndNote><Cite><Author>Dron</Author><Year>2007</Year><RecNum>245</RecNum><Prefix>See </Prefix><record><rec-number>245</rec-number><foreign-keys><key app=\"
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>13</ref-type><contributors><authors><author>Dron, J.</author><author>Anderson, T.</author></authors></contributors><titles><title>Collectives, networks and groups in social software for e-Learning</title><secondary-title>Proceedings of World Conference on E-Learning in Corporate, Government, Healthcare, and Higher Education Quebec. Retrieved Feb</secondary-title></titles><pages>2008</pages><volume>16</volume><dates><year>2007</year></dates><urls></urls></record></Cite></EndNote>(See Dron & Anderson, 2007) for a more specific discussion of collectives, networks and groups in social networking for e-learning). Digital personas – individuals need to define their digital identity and how they ‘present’ themselves across these spaces. The avatars we choose to represent ourselves, the style of language we use and the degree to which we are open (both professionally and personally) within these spaces, give a collective picture of how we are viewed by others. There is now a growing body of empirical evidence on the impact of Web 2.0 technologies on education; see for example a review of Learning 2.0 by Redecker et al. ADDIN EN.CITE <EndNote><Cite ExcludeAuth=\"
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><Author>Redecker</Author><Year>2009</Year><RecNum>297</RecNum><record><rec-number>297</rec-number><foreign-keys><key app=\"
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>13</ref-type><contributors><authors><author>Redecker, C.</author><author>Ala-Mutka, K.</author><author>Bacigalupo, M.</author><author>Ferrari, A.</author><author>Punie, Y.</author></authors></contributors><titles><title>Learning 2.0: The impact of web 2.0 innovations in education and training in Europe</title></titles><dates><year>2009</year></dates><pub-location>Seville</pub-location><publisher>Institute for Prospective Technological Studies %U http://ipts.jrc.ec.europa.eu/publications/pub.cfm?id=2899</publisher><urls></urls></record></Cite></EndNote>(2009), the use of Web 2.0 in schools ADDIN EN.CITE <EndNote><Cite><Author>Crook</Author><Year>2008</Year><RecNum>415</RecNum><record><rec-number>415</rec-number><foreign-keys><key app=\"
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db-id=\"
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>27</ref-type><contributors><authors><author>Crook, C.</author><author>Cummings, J.</author><author>Fisher, T.</author><author>Graber, R.</author><author>Harrison, C.</author><author>Lewin, C.</author><author>Logan, K.</author><author>Luckin, R.</author><author>Oliver, M.</author></authors></contributors><titles><title>Web 2.0 technologies for learning: the current landscape - opportunities, challenges and tensions, a BECTA report</title></titles><dates><year>2008</year></dates><urls><related-urls><url>http://partners.becta.ac.uk/uploaddir/downloads/page_documents/research/web2_technologies_learning.pdf</url></related-urls></urls></record></Cite></EndNote>(Crook, et al., 2008), the NSF task force on Cyberlearning ADDIN EN.CITE <EndNote><Cite><Author>Borgeman</Author><Year>2008</Year><RecNum>23</RecNum><record><rec-number>23</rec-number><foreign-keys><key app=\"
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>27</ref-type><contributors><authors><author>Christine Borgeman</author><author>H Abelson</author><author>L Dirks</author><author>R Johnson</author><author>K Koedinger</author><author>M Linn</author><author>C Lynch</author><author>D Oblinger</author><author>R Pea</author><author>K Salen</author><author>M Smith</author><author>A Aalay</author></authors></contributors><titles><title>Fostering learning in the networked world: the cyberlearning opportunity and challenge, Report of the NSF task force on cyberlearning</title></titles><dates><year>2008</year></dates><urls><related-urls><url>http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2008/nsf08204/nsf08204.pdf</url></related-urls></urls></record></Cite></EndNote>(Borgeman, et al., 2008), the most recent Horizon report on future technological trends (NMC, 2010) and the OECD report on ‘new millennial learners’ ADDIN EN.CITE <EndNote><Cite><Author>Oecd</Author><Year>2007</Year><RecNum>155</RecNum><record><rec-number>155</rec-number><foreign-keys><key app=\"
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db-id=\"
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>13</ref-type><contributors><authors><author>Oecd,</author></authors></contributors><titles><title>Giving knowledge for free - the emergece of Open Educational Resourcs</title></titles><dates><year>2007</year></dates><publisher>OECD</publisher><urls></urls></record></Cite></EndNote>(Oecd, 2007). More specifically a number of articles consider the use of these technologies in an educational context. Downes describe the change as a shifting from the web being a medium in which information is passively consumed, to a platform, where content is created, shared, remixed and repurposed by users ADDIN EN.CITE <EndNote><Cite><Author>Downes</Author><Year>2005</Year><RecNum>124</RecNum><record><rec-number>124</rec-number><foreign-keys><key app=\"
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db-id=\"
Journal Article\"
>17</ref-type><contributors><authors><author>Downes, S.</author></authors></contributors><titles><title>E-learning 2.0</title><secondary-title>eLearn Magazine</secondary-title></titles><periodical><full-title>eLearn Magazine</full-title></periodical><volume>2005</volume><number>10</number><dates><year>2005</year></dates><urls></urls></record></Cite></EndNote>(Downes, 2005). He describes the way blogging and wikis have emerged as a new medium for expression and the development of online communities. Application of these tools, he argues, means that e-learning content is created and distributed in a very different way, enabling more learner-centred approaches. De Frietas and Conole ADDIN EN.CITE <EndNote><Cite ExcludeAuth=\"
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><Author>De Freitas</Author><Year>2010</Year><RecNum>244</RecNum><record><rec-number>244</rec-number><foreign-keys><key app=\"
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>5</ref-type><contributors><authors><author>De Freitas, S.</author><author>Conole, G.</author></authors></contributors><titles><title>Learners experiences: how pervasive and integrative tools influence expectations of study</title><secondary-title>Rethinking learning for the digital age: how learnes shape their own experiences</secondary-title><tertiary-title>R. Sharpe, H. Beetham and S. De Freitas (Eds.)</tertiary-title></titles><dates><year>2010</year></dates><pub-location>London</pub-location><publisher>Routledge</publisher><urls></urls></record></Cite></EndNote>(2010) also argue that there has been a shift in the use of tools, which emphasises the more participatory and communicative capabilities of new technologies. These enable content and information to be distributed in a variety of different ways and hence the nature of content, both in terms of production and distribution has shifted with greater control for the individual as produced and user So whereas initial use of the web (Web 1.0) was essentially fairly static with hyperlinked information pages displaying information, Web 2.0 shifts towards more a more active and distributed network with user-generated content and a much richer, inter-connected network of communicative channels. They further refine this shift as being about: a shift from information being a scarce, expensive commodity to an abundance of information, challenging traditional notions of authority, and finally that content can be distributed and rendered in multiple ways. They list a number of ways in which these technologies can be aligned with modern thinking about adopting more contructivist and situative learning approaches. Web 2.0 practices enable the shifting of learning from a focus on individual to social learning. Location-aware technologies can enable contextualised and situated learning. The adaptable functionality of Web 2.0 tools means that learners can personalise their learning. Virtual worlds can be used to support experiential learning, whilst search engines like Google can support inquiry-based learning. User generated content has resulted in a plethora of Open Educational Resources (OER) now being freely available. And finally tools such as blogs, e-portfolios and online games such as WorldofWarCraft are being used to support peer learning and reflection. Redecker et al. ADDIN EN.CITE <EndNote><Cite ExcludeAuth=\"
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><Author>Redecker</Author><Year>2009</Year><RecNum>297</RecNum><record><rec-number>297</rec-number><foreign-keys><key app=\"
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>13</ref-type><contributors><authors><author>Redecker, C.</author><author>Ala-Mutka, K.</author><author>Bacigalupo, M.</author><author>Ferrari, A.</author><author>Punie, Y.</author></authors></contributors><titles><title>Learning 2.0: The impact of web 2.0 innovations in education and training in Europe</title></titles><dates><year>2009</year></dates><pub-location>Seville</pub-location><publisher>Institute for Prospective Technological Studies %U http://ipts.jrc.ec.europa.eu/publications/pub.cfm?id=2899</publisher><urls></urls></record></Cite></EndNote>(2009) undertook at extensive review of the use of Web 2.0 technologies in education. They define Web 2.0 as: ‘the range of digital applications that enable interaction, collaboration and sharing between users’. These tools include blogs, wikis, social bookmarking and tagging, media sharing services, podcasts, and virtual worlds. Effective use of these tools requires learners to develop new skills, not only to manage the abundance of information, but also to participate in distributed networks, and to develop critical, communicative, collaborative and creative skills. They concluded that, at the time of writing, there was not extensive use of these tools in education, but that there were numerous examples of local applications. These tools enable pedagogical innovation through promoting personalisation and collaborative learning and are resulting in a change in the roles of teachers and learners. They put the lack of widespread take up of these tools down to a number of barriers, such as: a lack of access to ICT, learners and teachers lacking the necessary digital literacy skills to make effective use of these technologies, a lack of the pedagogical skills needed to design effective learning interventions utilising the affordances of these technologies, as well as concerns over security and privacy. Table 1 provides some examples of how Web 2.0 tools are being used in education, including a description in each case of the potential impact on education. These indicate that these tools can result in pedagogical innovation in a number of ways. Firstly, by providing new ways of collaborative creation and exchange of learning content. Secondly, by providing new forms of communication amongst learners and teachers. Thirdly, by providing more personalised and learner-centred environments. Fourthly, these are resulting in new forms of blended learning contexts are emerging. Fifthly, they are motivational in terms of providing active, discovery-based learning approaches and a sense of learner ownership. Table 1: Examples of how Web 2.0 tools are being used in education Theme areaCase studyBrief description of case studyPotential impact upon educationScaffoldedVEOU (Willis et al., 2004)Virtual CPD and scaffolded support for publicationPotential to change the ways in which professional CPD is delivered, offering more tailored, personalised and just-in-time trainingOpenE-Bank – towards truly \"
Open research”, (Cole et al., 2006)MITOpenCourseWareAccess to open learning materials designed to support tutors and learners alikeDemocratisation of education in terms of content production and delivery. Wider access to materials for casual learners and to support informal learning as a ‘taster’ for formal learning qualificationsCumulativeCCK09 (Siemens, 2009) - Education for free!An experimental course in which both the content and expertise was freeWhat is the role of traditional educational institutions in a world in which content and expertise is increasingly free?SocialCloudworks (Conole and Culver, forthcoming)Social networking for an educational contextSocial networking applied to education has the potential to change the ways in which teachers exchange information; with the potential to lead to proactive sharing and reuse of educational resourcesAuthentic environmentsWISE project – (SecondReiff Aachen School of Architecture); Stanford Medical School simulations using Olive platform (cited in Ala-Mutka et al. 2009) Authentic real-time modeling environment in Second Life for Architecture and medical studentsScope for training in new and realistic environments. Pedagogic models include exploratory learning (ELM), inquiry learning and problem-based learning approachesFostering inquiry learningPersonal Inquiry Project (Kerawalla, et al., 2009)Development of inquiry-based learning skills for students to enhanced their understanding of ScienceThrough independent learning approaches peer learning is encouraged and analytical skills may be fosteredEnhancing life experiencesMundo des estrellas (cited in Ala-Mutka et al. 2009); JISC MyPlan projectYoung people in hospitals, interactive gaming, life swapping and sharing of experience; MyPlan project providing tools for lifelong career decisions and educational choices using visualisation of learners’ timelines www.lkl.ac.uk/research/myplan The potential for these tools to support lifelong learning opportunities and enhance life experiencesBroadening accessNotschool and Schome projects (cited in Ala-Mutka et al. 2009)Notschool for virtual home schooling for disaffected children and Schome project for gifted and talented kidsThe impact of this includes outreach to children and excluded, talented learners. Using familiar media based metaphors rather than traditional school based metaphors new learners may be reachedNew forms of collaborationCSCL pedagogical patterns (Hernández et al., forthcoming) Structured pedagogical patterns to support different forms of collaborative activitiesBroader application of pedagogical patterns and other scaffolded forms of pedagogical have the potential to transfer good practice from research into practice in an effective way. Automation of such patterns can be embedded in pedagogy toolsCo-construction of understandingWlker’s Wikinomics (cited in Ala-Mutka et al. 2009), The Decameron Web ((http://www.brown.edu/Departments/Italian_Studies/dweb/dweb.shtml)Collaborative co-construction of understanding of EconomicsBlurring research and teaching: examples of how the web can provide access to scholarly materials and give students the opportunity to observe and emulate scholars at work Aggregating and sharing contentWikipediaCo-construction of knowledge through collaboration and iterative developmentNew tools provided for learners at all stages, and interaction between learners and publication of shared knowledge Conole ADDIN EN.CITE <EndNote><Cite ExcludeAuth=\"
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><Author>Conole</Author><Year>2009</Year><RecNum>299</RecNum><record><rec-number>299</rec-number><foreign-keys><key app=\"
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>13</ref-type><contributors><authors><author>Conole, Grainne</author></authors></contributors><titles><title>Stepping over the edge: the implications of new technologies for education</title></titles><dates><year>2009</year></dates><urls></urls></record></Cite></EndNote>(2009) synthesises some of the characteristics that define these new technologies and lists their impact on practice (both positive and negative). These include: the impact of free tools, resources and services, ubiquitous access, multiple communication and distributions channels, media rich representations, and user-generated content and social profiling. The Internet has enabled access to a vast amount of information and with the growth of the Open Educational Resource movement ADDIN EN.CITE <EndNote><Cite><Author>Atkins</Author><Year>2007</Year><RecNum>408</RecNum><record><rec-number>408</rec-number><foreign-keys><key app=\"
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db-id=\"
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>27</ref-type><contributors><authors><author>Atkins, D. E.</author><author>Seely Brown, J.</author><author>Hammond, A. L.</author></authors></contributors><titles><title>A review of the Open Educational Resource movement: acheivements, challenges and new opportunities, report to the William and Hewlett Foundation</title></titles><dates><year>2007</year></dates><urls><related-urls><url>http://www.hewlett.org/NR/rdonlyres/5D2E3386-3974-4314-8F67-5C2F22EC4F9B/0/AReviewoftheOpenEducationalResourcesOERMovement_BlogLink.pdf</url></related-urls></urls></record></Cite></EndNote>(Atkins, Seely Brown, & Hammond, 2007), access to free resources. However finding appropriate resources and knowing how to use them is a specialised skill; many learners, despite being competent technology users, lack the appropriate academic literacy skills to appropriate these free resources for their learning ADDIN EN.CITE <EndNote><Cite><Author>Jenkins</Author><Year>2009</Year><RecNum>249</RecNum><record><rec-number>249</rec-number><foreign-keys><key app=\"
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db-id=\"
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>6</ref-type><contributors><authors><author>Jenkins, H.</author></authors></contributors><titles><title>Confronting the challenges of participatory culture: Media education for the 21st century</title></titles><dates><year>2009</year></dates><publisher>Mit Pr</publisher><urls></urls></record></Cite><Cite><Author>Lankshear</Author><Year>2006</Year><RecNum>101</RecNum><record><rec-number>101</rec-number><foreign-keys><key app=\"
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db-id=\"
Journal Article\"
>17</ref-type><contributors><authors><author>Lankshear, C.</author><author>Knobel, M.</author></authors></contributors><titles><title>Digital literacies: Policy, pedagogy and research considerations for education</title><secondary-title>Nordic Journal of digital literacy</secondary-title></titles><periodical><full-title>Nordic Journal of digital literacy</full-title></periodical><pages>226</pages><volume>1</volume><number>1</number><dates><year>2006</year></dates><urls></urls></record></Cite></EndNote>(Jenkins, 2009; Lankshear & Knobel, 2006). McAndrew et al. ADDIN EN.CITE <EndNote><Cite ExcludeAuth=\"
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><Author>McAndrew</Author><Year>2008</Year><RecNum>416</RecNum><record><rec-number>416</rec-number><foreign-keys><key app=\"
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db-id=\"
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>17</ref-type><contributors><authors><author>McAndrew, P.</author><author>Godwin, S.</author><author>Santos, A.</author></authors></contributors><titles><title>Identifying Web 2.0 learning in Open Educational Resources</title><secondary-title>Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, special issue on Web 2.0 and learning: a revolutionary paradigm or a variation of CSCL</secondary-title></titles><periodical><full-title>Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, special issue on Web 2.0 and learning: a revolutionary paradigm or a variation of CSCL</full-title></periodical><dates><year>2008</year></dates><urls></urls></record></Cite></EndNote>(2008) considered Web 2.0 characteristics and compared them against the way in which Open Educational Resources (OERs) are developed and used, drawing on evaluation data on the use of the Openlearn site. For example, they argue that such sites align well with the long-tail phenomenon ADDIN EN.CITE <EndNote><Cite><Author>Anderson</Author><Year>2004</Year><RecNum>419</RecNum><record><rec-number>419</rec-number><foreign-keys><key app=\"
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db-id=\"
Magazine Article\"
>19</ref-type><contributors><authors><author>Anderson, C.</author></authors></contributors><titles><title>The long tail</title><secondary-title>Wired</secondary-title></titles><number>October</number><dates><year>2004</year></dates><urls></urls></record></Cite></EndNote>(Anderson, 2004) by providing access to specialist subjects. Similarly, the social tools associated with the site enables users to contribute ideas and adapt content providing an example of the Web 2.0 user-generated content and the broader notion of users adding value within a Web 2.0 context. The availability of free tools means that students can appropriate and personalise these for their individual learning needs. However there is a tension between these tools and those under institutional control. If students are able to use free email tools, wikis, blogs, etc – what is the function of an institutional LMS and what, if any, if any, tools and services should institutions be providing? Web 2.0 practices relay on scale both in terms of access to a vast array of user-generated content, through harnessing the power of the collective, the so called notion of ‘the wisdom of the crowds’. Such scale requires easy access and in this respect, in the development world at least, we are approaching a state of near ubiquitous access, with wifi almost universally available, the percentage of those online is approaching 100% in most developing countries, however the digital divide is still evident – narrower but deeper ADDIN EN.CITE <EndNote><Cite><Author>Warschauer</Author><Year>2004</Year><RecNum>73</RecNum><record><rec-number>73</rec-number><foreign-keys><key app=\"
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db-id=\"
Book\"
>6</ref-type><contributors><authors><author>Warschauer, M.</author></authors></contributors><titles><title>Technology and social inclusion: Rethinking the digital divide</title></titles><dates><year>2004</year></dates><publisher>the MIT Press</publisher><urls></urls></record></Cite></EndNote>(Warschauer, 2004). The variety of communicative channels and multiple distribution mechanisms for retrieving and aggregating information means that there are a multitude of opportunities for finding resources and communicating with peers or experts. However, this has also led to a ‘fragmentation of voice’ – there is no longer one definitive source of knowledge, no one ‘expert’. Learners need to develop strategies for finding and validating appropriate resources. Learners and teachers have a variety of communicating channels (email, chat, blogs, audio and video conferences, social networking sites, etc), there is no single communicative channel. This multiplicity can be confusing and disorientating for both learners and teachers. The richness of the new media means it is possible for new forms of representation, providing new opportunities in terms of sense-making ADDIN EN.CITE <EndNote><Cite><Author>Okada</Author><Year>2008</Year><RecNum>293</RecNum><record><rec-number>293</rec-number><foreign-keys><key app=\"
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db-id=\"
Book\"
>6</ref-type><contributors><authors><author>Okada, Alexandra</author><author>Shum, Simon Buckingham</author><author>Sherborne, Tony</author></authors></contributors><titles><title>Knowledge Cartography: Software Tools and Mapping Techniques</title></titles><dates><year>2008</year></dates><publisher>Springer %@ 1848001487 %7 1</publisher><urls></urls></record></Cite></EndNote>(Okada, Shum, & Sherborne, 2008) but raises issues in terms of whether teachers and students have the appropriate digital literacy skills to utilise these representations ADDIN EN.CITE <EndNote><Cite><Author>Seely Brown</Author><Year>2006</Year><RecNum>417</RecNum><record><rec-number>417</rec-number><foreign-keys><key app=\"
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db-id=\"
Magazine Article\"
>19</ref-type><contributors><authors><author>Seely Brown, J.</author></authors></contributors><titles><title>New learning enviroments for the 21st century - exploring the edge</title><secondary-title>The magzine of higher learning</secondary-title></titles><pages>18-24</pages><volume>38</volume><number>5</number><dates><year>2006</year></dates><urls></urls></record></Cite></EndNote>(Seely Brown, 2006). The user participation and social practices of Web 2.0 technologies clearly provide immense opportunities in terms of fostering collaboration, for co-construction and sharing of knowledge, but raises a number of issues about quality, copyright and privacy. Table 2 summarises the characteristics of new technologies and their potential positive and negative impact Table 2: Characteristics of new technologiies and impact on practice ChangePositive impactNegative impactFree tools, resources and servicesSpecialised niche use, access and personalisationInappropriate academic literacy skills. Lack of institutional controlUbiquitous accessTechnology as a core tool for learningNarrower, but deeper digital divideMultiple communication and distribution channelsIncreased opportunity for peer and tutor dialogue. Information repurposed to meet different needsFragmentation of voice. No centralised repository of knowledgeMedia rich representationsNew forms of sense-makingLack of new forms of digital literacyUser-generated content and social profilingVariety and acknowledging individual contributions. Knowledge sharing and community buildQuality assurance issues. Inappropriate descriptions and use of personal information for other purposes Conole and Alevizou ADDIN EN.CITE <EndNote><Cite ExcludeAuth=\"
1\"
><Author>Conole</Author><Year>2010</Year><RecNum>20</RecNum><record><rec-number>20</rec-number><foreign-keys><key app=\"
EN\"
db-id=\"
Electronic Article\"
>43</ref-type><contributors><authors><author>Grainne Conole</author><author>Panagiota Alevizou</author></authors></contributors><titles><title>Review of the use(s) of Web 2.0 in Higher Education</title></titles><dates><year>2010</year></dates><urls><related-urls><url>http://cloudworks.ac.uk/cloudscape/view/1895</url></related-urls></urls></record></Cite></EndNote>(2010) also undertook a review of the use of Web 2.0 technologies in education, building on the review done by Redecker et al. (2009). They focussed in particular on the use of these tools in Higher Education. They adapted a taxonomy of types of the types of Web 2.0 tools developed by Crook et al. ADDIN EN.CITE <EndNote><Cite ExcludeAuth=\"
1\"
><Author>Crook</Author><Year>2008</Year><RecNum>415</RecNum><record><rec-number>415</rec-number><foreign-keys><key app=\"
EN\"
db-id=\"
Report\"
>27</ref-type><contributors><authors><author>Crook, C.</author><author>Cummings, J.</author><author>Fisher, T.</author><author>Graber, R.</author><author>Harrison, C.</author><author>Lewin, C.</author><author>Logan, K.</author><author>Luckin, R.</author><author>Oliver, M.</author></authors></contributors><titles><title>Web 2.0 technologies for learning: the current landscape - opportunities, challenges and tensions, a BECTA report</title></titles><dates><year>2008</year></dates><urls><related-urls><url>http://partners.becta.ac.uk/uploaddir/downloads/page_documents/research/web2_technologies_learning.pdf</url></related-urls></urls></record></Cite></EndNote>(2008) based on their functionality: Media sharing – creation and exchange of media with peers

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