Future Learning Landscapes: Transforming pedagogy through social software
McLoughlin and Lee discuss how education and learning have changed in recent years due to the changes that have been occurring with the Web 2.0 technology and explosion of several different networking sites. Some of the sites that are mentioned are YouTube, MySpace, Flickr, and Wikispaces.
With the changes in these environments it discussed that we also need to change the way we teach due to the changes in which our students learn. They suggest Pedagogy 2.0. Within this pedagogy the content is in some cases learner generated in such a way that students are creating, sharing and revising their own ideas. The curriculum is ever changing and the syllabi are not fixed. They also encourage formal and informal learning. Communication is multifaceted with open communication in several different formats. The resources and learning tasks are rich in media based ideas and are designed to enable learners to help create more content and personalize it for their own learning styles.
They do mention that there are still challenges to Pedagogy 2.0. One of the challenges is that the content may not be reliable or valid. Students may not check their sources as they may in another format. One big challenge is the digital divide that may exist between the students and the instructors. The admit that there are challenges to using some of the social networking sites for teachers due to the change is may cause in the way students look at you.
Another challenge is the ever changing software that is available for purchase and download. More and more software is available as open-source or a web-based service. With these things ever evolving it is hard to keep up with what it out there and what is not longer available.
Their conclusion is that we need to find a way to blend the traditional pedagogies with the new pedagogy 2.0. By doing this we can combine the old methods that are proven and infuse them with new ones that the students are used to experiencing in their lives.
McLoughlin, C., and M. Lee. 2008. Future learning landscapes: Transforming pedagogy through social software. Innovate 4 (5). http://www.innovateonline.info/index.php?view=article&id=539 (accessed September 17, 2008)