Final Exam

Thoughts on the course.

So, first of all, the official theme of the course is Web 2.0, with a focus on how it can be used in education. While "Web 2.0" is one of those buzzwords that gets used in ways that make its meaning blurry at best, let me start by summing up what I think the point of Web 2.0 is. It seems to me that in the early days of the internet (even going back to the days of things like gopher) the main point of the internet was that there was a heck of a lot of content available, and it was linked together. The web was all about ways of using those linkages between content pages to make the content more useful. The difference with Web 2.0 is that we are now paying more attention to the fact that there are a heck of a lot of users out here, and exploring ways in which we are (or can become) connected, and making use of that. Certainly, early distributed computing projects (SETI@Home, e.g.) were using that network of users, but the way it has evolved in things like Social Networks and Wikis really shifts the way people make use of the internet. Combine that with the tendency for things like the internet, cellphones and television to all become one big thing, and you've got Web 2.0.

OK, so the idea then is that kids today are growing up in a world where social networking and peer collaboration are the default mode for using the internet, and not only are Web 2.0 tools potentially useful, they may be a better way to address the educational needs of this sort of technically literate kids. It is hard to make what we are trying to teach seem vital and relevant if it is delivered in an archaic, dusty package.

Side Note: there's also an increasing trend in society towards home-made, hand-crafted stuff. A sort of return to old-school craftsmanship and the kinds of personal connection to the things we use that technology risks pulling us away from. Interestingly, its off the most technologically savvy folks who are also into the hands-on, real world stuff. There's probably a mirror-image version of this course that's all about real-world, physical Maker stuff in education...

Overall I really enjoyed the course -- it was well-designed, fun, and got me thinking about some good things. It is a little odd doing it during the summer, but at the same time it feels much more managable as a self-paced thing over the summer than trying to keep up with everything during the rush of the academic year. I think the thing that we really miss during the summer is the feeling of community and teamwork amongst the "class" -- we can check everyone's progress, read the blogs and so forth, but we're not sitting around the faculty workroom talking it out and showing each other cool things we've figured out.

I think that the tasks for exploring tools were an important task, but also some of my least favorite part. The suggested tools mostly didn't really seem like things I'd want to use, and it felt like sort of a challenge to find things that were relevant to my courses and also felt like proper web2.0 tools (rather than just computer tools or internet resources). I ended up getting good, practical information out of the tasks, though.

The RSS subscriptions I've accumulated have been handy, and fun. I'm not sure about the news crawler I created (haven't deleted it yet, but it's yield rate is pretty low), and I'll probably ditch iLearn, but I'm glad I set up my Google Reader. I don't think del.icio.us has really taken off for me, but that's also because I haven't done as much exploring as I could. Certainly the idea of social bookmarking has a lot of potential to help find good stuff on the web.

Even apart from technology, I think collaboration and social interaction are key to learning. Things that students talk each other through and have fun working together on are always easier to learn, and more memorable as well. So ultimately what I want to do is add a technology component to that process. Also, in the case of trying to use a Wiki, I want a more permanent document of the FTG course. I want it to have interactive sketches and links to useful information (internal and external). I want to take the fact that there are always kids who like getting everything written down and organized, and use it to help the kids who can't keep track of things on paper.

I've got one major project (FTG Wiki) that I intend to pursue, but I also think I'll be looking at the flow of the year with somewhat new eyes. I may see opportunities to use technology that I didn't see before. One picture going around the internet this week is a big sign advertising an "Introduction to Facebook" course with a phone number to call for reservations. The joke/point being that calling a telephone number to reserve a slot in something like that is the sort of thing people used to do before Facebook. A little like sending a telegraph "Wireless radio invented. how will it change the world". And nobody who needs the course will think it's odd or old-fashioned at all. Similarly, I may be more aware of the things we do that the kids think are silly and old-fashioned, or which should probably be superseded by something new.