Learning 2.0

The participatory and collaborative tools of the Web 2.0 have paved the path for Learning 2.0. The Internet provides the means for students to learn informally through online social networks and groups where they 'learn to be'. Students participate in online social networks, meeting with others to share information and learn. Learning 2.0 is the way in which we learn or acquire new information on the Web.

We can learn about anything we desire- at anytime of the day or night. Access to the Internet has provided us with the greatest set of encyclopedias - the Web. What would you like to learn about? Just go online and join a group. Learning is easy. Others will let you join their group, add your ideas, and in turn they will provide a learning opportunity about anything you want.

While reading Jason Seeley Brown and Richard Alder’s Minds on Fire: Open Education, the Long Tail, and Learning 2.0 I reflected on my own history as an educator using the Internet and computers in my classes since the 90’s.

Surfing the WWW first I used the Internet to search for information, then progressed to providing students with computer access to complete project-based learning activities and WebQuests. As technologies evolved I used the Internet to bring experts to the classroom using communication technologies at first texting in IM, then advanced to audio enhanced iChat that allowed authors and other experts to speak to my students from a distance. Today in my Ed Technology class students use web2.0 tools to complete projects and upload their projects to personal reflective blogs. They are learning to be -by participating and collaborating in an online class designed to open their minds to the new Web 2.0 tools, joining social networks, learning through an alternative course delivery, while exploring the abundance of online resources, and discovering answers to their own problems through online communities. Learning 2.0 is second nature to this group of students already and they probably aren't even aware.

The evolution of the web now provides learning opportunities for anyone to learn anything through informal, social networks making the possibility of lifelong learning a greater 'virtual' reality. A great time to 'learn to be'.