Embracing Web 2.0 in an Education 1.0 Universe Andy Carvin PBS learning.now [email protected] .

Embracing Web 2.0in an Education 1.0 Universe

Andy Carvin

PBS learning.now

[email protected]

www.pbs.org/learningnow

www.andycarvin.com

A Quick Overview

Internet history Internet in education Web 1.0 and Web 2.0 Blogs, Podcasts, Vlogs The Digital Divide Content producers Online Social Networks Copyright

Open Content Creative Commons PLoS Wikipedia ICT literacy Web 3.0 Are schools ready? PBS learning.now

A Quick History of the Internet

Late 60s: first TCP/IP Network Decentralized - to survive nuclear holocaust 70s-80s: Utilized for research, academia Early communities: e-lists, USENET Late 80s: Web invented Early 90s: Networks privatized 1995: AOL opens Web gateway

…and the rest is history….

The Internet Goes to School

Late 80s: First schools gain Net access Early projects: IEARN, Kidlink, GSH 1994: Just 4% of classrooms online NetDay ‘96: Volunteers wire schools E-Rate: Federal subsidies for Internet access Today: Nearly 100% of schools online,

90%+ of classrooms, 70%+ of students at home

Who’s Producing the Content?

Until recently, to produce content for a large audience you needed to be a...

Publisher Broadcaster Billboard owner Pilot flying a sign-dragging airplane Guy holding up signs at televised football game

Enter stage left: Web 1.0

Most people read the Net instead of producing for it, because producers needed:

HTML coding skills Programming skills Graphic design skills Hosting ability Promotion mechanisms

Creating a Content-Friendly, People Friendly Internet

Late 1990s: New classes of online software to simplify content creation

Allowed people to focus on ideas and creativity rather than technical know-how

“The Read-Write Web”AKA “Web 2.0”

AKA “We Media”

Example: Blogs

Early days: online geeks posted personal homepages or diaries (example: me)

Blogging software made online publishing easy; anyone with Internet can do it

Fill-out-a-form publishing Today: 60-100 million+ blogs online

Podcasting & Vlogging

Podcasting: blogs with audio content Vlogging: blogs with video content Both use RSS to allow user subscriptions iTunes is the big gorilla in the market Now, thousands of podcasters and vloggers

creating their own content streams Example: Atlantic City Rough Cuts

Social Software and theDemocratization of Content

classblogmeister.com: edublogging tool flickr.com: photo blogging community epnweb.org: education podcast network blip.tv: make your own video blog youtube.com: 100 m videos downloaded daily

Common thread: Online communities where people

are actively encouraged to use and share each other’s original content

But What AboutThe Digital Divide?

About 70% of US households online African American households lag behind whites Disparities based on income, education level Pew: 80% of English-speaking Latinos online? The more people are online, the worse off are

those without access

Content Production:Everybody’s Doin’ It

48 mil Americans have posted content online One in 12 Internet users publish a blog One in four have shared original content Young people more likely to post content Race, income, education less of a factor Latinos, African Americans slightly more likely

to post online content than whites

Source: Pew Internet & American Life Project, Home Broadband Adoption 2006

Online Social Networks

Websites that focus on community Encourage interaction, discussion, debate Public member profiles User-generated content Often target specific audiences

We’ve All Heard of This….

But What About This?

Or This?

Or This?

Dealing with Copyright

Historically there were two extremes:

Give it away (ie, public domain) Maintain strict control (ie, all rights reserved)

For Internet content to thrive,

we needed middle ground.

The Growth of “Open Content”

Emphasis on “Access to Knowledge” Content published on liberal license Freely available to the public Encouraging user contributions Sometimes peer reviewed, sometimes not

Example: Creative Commons

Popular copyright strategy used by bloggers, online communities

Creates spectrum of choices for copyright choices based on creator’s comfort level

e.g., noncommercial use only, citation, don’t alter my content

“Share Alike” license - require users to pass along original intent of your copyright license

New: “Developing Nations” license

Example: Public Library of Science (PLoS)

Reinventing traditional publishing model Authors pay fee to have research considered

rather than charging high subscription fees Journals published on paper, online Libraries no longer forced to pay high fees Articles openly available to the public using

an Attribution Creative Commons license

The Wiki Revolution

Online workspaces where anyone can read, write, edit documents

Previous edits trackable; virtual “paper trail” Encourages group collaboration Wiki=Hawaiian for “quick” Wiki Wiki People Mover Examples: PBWiki.com, MediaWiki

The Wild World of Wikipedia

The world’s largest encyclopedia

Launched in 2001 1,000,000+ entries in

200+ languages A magnet for

controversy

The Central Issue

Pro:

Anyone can create or edit Wikipedia entries

Con:

Anyone can create or edit Wikipedia entries

The Siegenthaler Controversy

John Siegenthaler Sr. visits Wikipedia Entry claims he was involved in JFK’s death Remained on Wikipedia for months Seigenthaler demands its removal Wiki activists insist he edit it himself Seigenthaler writes USA Today op/ed Result: No more anonymous entry creation

Students Expose Sex Offender

Young man tries to enroll in school Claims to be Caspian James Crichton-Stuart IV,

5th Duke of Cleveland, ie “Your Grace” Students research Duke of Cleveland on Wikipedia Identify person who edited entry: Joshua Gardner Discover Gardner on national sex offender registry

Who was Joshua Gardner? The young man trying to enroll in school.

Wikis and Free Speech:Wikipedia and China

Chinese Wikipedia grows rapidly

Chinese govt keeps blocking it

Officials upset Wikipedia doesn’t reflect official line

A Threat to One-Party Rule?

“Foreign media reports suggest that as many as 1,000 protestors were killed.”

Neutral statement of fact - or disseminating subversive propaganda?

Give-it-away, Give-it-away,Give-it-away Now

Wikipedia allows anyone to copy, edit, disseminate content for any purpose

Content copied by other sites, eg answers.com When Wikipedia is updated, other copies not

necessarily updated promptly Concern: You could cite three separate online

sources - all originating from Wikipedia

Potential Solutions?

Requiring multiple citations for everything Discouraging anonymous Wikipedians

(but what about wiki dissidents?) Highlighting entries vetted by experts The eBay model: allowing users to rank

entries, Wikipedians according to trust, accuracy

If You Can’t Beat ‘em....

Wikipedia as research exercise Assign Wikipedia entries to students Students examine entries’ accuracy Use multiple sources to correct entries “Final” version given seal of approval

More Pedias Than You Can Shake a Stick At

Wiki software often free or open source Thousands of wikis now online Buffalopedia... Turkopedia...Golfopedia...

Ethiopedia... Jazzopedia... Supportblogging.com: Wiki on edublogging

Content created for the community,

by the community

Whom Do You Trust in a World of Open Content?

Recent wiki controversies make educators nervous

Many users don’t know wikis are a work-in-progress

Delaware Supreme Court: blogs, online forums inherently “untrustworthy”

What’s More Reliable?

Is offline content “better” than online content? Are lines blurring?

What’s Needed: ICT Literacy

Technical skills Content generation skills Research skills Information literacy Media literacy Online safety and responsibility

What’s Next? Web 3.0, of course!

The read/write/execute Web Users executing their own scripts Tools that let you build online, create software Immersive virtual environments, user controlled Example: Second Life

Are Schools Ready?The Jury’s Still Out

Many schools just getting comfy with Web 1.0 Blogs sometimes get bad press Congress: Force schools to filter Web 2.0 sites Districts blocking Blogger.com, MySpace, Wikipedia Wikipedia now blocking school districts! Established Web 2.0 education projects popular

overseas, not here (Cyberfair, IEARN, ThinkQuest) Web 2.0 projects are inherently constructivist But does NCLB make them irrelevant?

PBS learning.nowwww.pbs.org/learningnow

Thanks!

Andy [email protected]

www.pbs.org/learningnowwww.andycarvin.comebook.telecentre.org

Presentation:www.andycarvin.com/buffalo.ppt