How to Make Education More Like Web 2.0 (and 3.0)

In a previous post, I discussed Web 2.0 and Learning 2.0. One way to characterize the changes that have occured in our society is by looking through the lens of the web 2.0 (and web 3.0) movement. Our society has become more:

• Content-creation oriented
• Personalized
• Connected
• Open
• Mobile

In the previous post, I asked whether education has kept up with these types of societal changes. In this post, I answer this question. This post is an excerpt from my book, Educational Technology for Teachers. 

The answer is that education remains behind in many of these areas even today (Mott & Wiley, 2013; Wiley, 2006). Students must meet in a classroom (tethered, not mobile) to do the learning. They are often required to work independently and quietly on individual assignments (closed, not open). Student classrooms are often closed off from and separate from other classrooms and people (isolated, not connected). Students must all learn the same subject matter at the same time and often in the same way (generic, not personalized).


Education can match Information Age trends by providing learning experiences that are open, connected, mobile, personalized and content-creation oriented. More opportunities for student communication and collaboration (connected, open) on projects (content-creation) that students find meaningful (personalization) can be provided. Students could be given some choices in what they learn, or how they go about learning (personalization). Students could also be given opportunities to connect with students from other classrooms, states and even countries using available communication technologies (connected). Teachers can find additional ways to get students to become more active participants in their own learning process (personalization). The web 2.0 (and web 3.0) values of our society in the Information Age have made it so that students expect a more student-centered learning experience.

References:

Mott, J., & Wiley, D. (2013). Open for learning: The CMS and the open learning network. In Education, 15(2). Retrieved from http://ineducation.couros.ca/index.php/ineducation/article/view/53

Wiley, D. (2006). Secretary of Education’s Commission on the Future of Higher Education. Panel on Innovative Teaching and Learning Strategies, Seattle, WA.