When the Briton Sir Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web, did he realize what kind of 'monster' his invention was likely to mutate to a few years down the line? His was an innocent concept of a virtual space where things such as documents were interlinked on a global scale (Anderson 2007). But what do you do with the consequences of a brilliant idea whose time has come as Frenchman Victor Hugo lamented in his History of a Crime (Wikiversity n.d.):
"There is one thing stronger than all the armies in the world, and that is an idea whose time has come"
If you haven't heard it, then welcome to the brave world of Web 2.0. To begin with, the open nature of the Internet technologies enabled Sir Berners-Lee's idea to grow into the huge 'monster' that the Web is with its very many tentacles - applications, services etc. - as a result of the creative minds of the worldwide audience the Web environment provides. The problem with this 'monster' is that it is growing tremendously and in strange ways that there is a feeling that it has entered another phase of its metamorphosis - thus Web 2.0.
But what is this Web 2.0? Is this not one of those terminologies coined every other time as this Web 'monster' keeps growing in strange ways? Well, according to Anderson (2007), Web 2.0 is "an umbrella term that attempts to express explicitly the framework of ideas that underpin attempts to understand the manifestations of these newer Web services within the context of technologies that have produced them". Wow, what kind of explanation! Web 2.0 emphasizes web content generated by user, social collaboration technologies and newer ways to connect with internet applications (Franklin and van Harmelen 2007).
To be more focussed, let us look at some of these Web 2.0 technologies (blogs, wikis, podcasts, RSS feeds, tagging etc) and the role they play in supporting knowledge management especially in higher education. A detailed definition of these Web 2.0 technologies is outside the scope of this article.
Role of Web 2.0 technologies in supporting KM
Web 2.0 technologies are particularly useful in enhancing learning and teaching at institutions of higher learning like universities (Franklin and van Harmelen 2007) which are citadels of knowledge. Because there is a high concentration of knowledge assets within their portfolio, universities need to manage these assets properly. In other words, they should practice what they preach. Among newer approaches they can use to foster and enhance their academic teaching and learning to their students is the collaborative technologies the Web 2.0 provide. Question is: how?
Take the case of students doing Knowledge Management Strategies module in Middlesex University as part of their MSc programme. Each student has created a blog where they can post any viewpoint or thoughts like what I am doing in this post and being one of the said students. They then critique or support each others work through comments. Such an approach is different from some of the conventional methods like reading from a textbook or journals.
In this blogging approach, it is more intellectually satisfying compared to reading a textbook as it creates a sense of communal learning, an aspect supported by work done by Gross and Leslie(2008) at Edith Cowan University. Also, it helps in improving writing and communication skills, a key learning outcome of any course, enabling students to comprehend better the subject matter. With blogging, knowledge can be shared easily, refined, retained and transferred - what knowledge management efforts seek to do.
What about wikis? Who can deny the enormous advantages and ease of use that Wikipedia provides? Is the knowledge there on different subjects, people, places etc, as a result of collaborative efforts, not much richer? Even though some academics contest the veracity of its content like Rosenzweig(2006), it is definitely a huge reservoir of knowledge.
Wikis enable a group of students and their tutors to work collaboratively in exploring and extending knowledge on a given area of interest. Unlike the conventional approach of website development where users are passive readers and consumers of web content, wikis enable users to co-author and share their thoughts on a given subject. For example, in developing a wiki by a group of students, some can create new web pages and ask their colleagues to populate them, while others can check spelling and grammatical errors of the wiki content. This way, it not only helps students to improve writing skills like the case of blogs, but helps spur creativity and spawn new ideas - necessary attributes for innovation (Bryant 2007).
There are quite a number of higher education institutions where wikis have been used successfully as new models of learning and teaching. For example, at Tallinn University's Institute of Information Studies, students use wiki tools within their learning environment named IVA to collaboratively develop their projects (Virkus 2008). At the University of Applied Sciences Soloturn's department of education, they use a wiki named TWiki for teacher education, despite barriers like English language difficulties (Doebeli-Honegger 2005).
However, not all is glossy when it comes to Web 2.0 social software and tools. They have their challenges as well as they are relatively newer technologies with so much experimentation going on. For instance, with the open source software foundation these technologies are based, wikis are prone to sometimes low-quality writing, errors and influence of special groups (Bryant 2007). Some "old-world teachers" can be uncomfortable in their teaching by using alien methods in unfamiliar ways like what Web 2.0 offers (Franklin and van Harmelen 2007).
Web 2.0 technologies are particularly useful in enhancing learning and teaching at institutions of higher learning like universities (Franklin and van Harmelen 2007) which are citadels of knowledge. Because there is a high concentration of knowledge assets within their portfolio, universities need to manage these assets properly. In other words, they should practice what they preach. Among newer approaches they can use to foster and enhance their academic teaching and learning to their students is the collaborative technologies the Web 2.0 provide. Question is: how?
Take the case of students doing Knowledge Management Strategies module in Middlesex University as part of their MSc programme. Each student has created a blog where they can post any viewpoint or thoughts like what I am doing in this post and being one of the said students. They then critique or support each others work through comments. Such an approach is different from some of the conventional methods like reading from a textbook or journals.
In this blogging approach, it is more intellectually satisfying compared to reading a textbook as it creates a sense of communal learning, an aspect supported by work done by Gross and Leslie(2008) at Edith Cowan University. Also, it helps in improving writing and communication skills, a key learning outcome of any course, enabling students to comprehend better the subject matter. With blogging, knowledge can be shared easily, refined, retained and transferred - what knowledge management efforts seek to do.
What about wikis? Who can deny the enormous advantages and ease of use that Wikipedia provides? Is the knowledge there on different subjects, people, places etc, as a result of collaborative efforts, not much richer? Even though some academics contest the veracity of its content like Rosenzweig(2006), it is definitely a huge reservoir of knowledge.
Wikis enable a group of students and their tutors to work collaboratively in exploring and extending knowledge on a given area of interest. Unlike the conventional approach of website development where users are passive readers and consumers of web content, wikis enable users to co-author and share their thoughts on a given subject. For example, in developing a wiki by a group of students, some can create new web pages and ask their colleagues to populate them, while others can check spelling and grammatical errors of the wiki content. This way, it not only helps students to improve writing skills like the case of blogs, but helps spur creativity and spawn new ideas - necessary attributes for innovation (Bryant 2007).
There are quite a number of higher education institutions where wikis have been used successfully as new models of learning and teaching. For example, at Tallinn University's Institute of Information Studies, students use wiki tools within their learning environment named IVA to collaboratively develop their projects (Virkus 2008). At the University of Applied Sciences Soloturn's department of education, they use a wiki named TWiki for teacher education, despite barriers like English language difficulties (Doebeli-Honegger 2005).
However, not all is glossy when it comes to Web 2.0 social software and tools. They have their challenges as well as they are relatively newer technologies with so much experimentation going on. For instance, with the open source software foundation these technologies are based, wikis are prone to sometimes low-quality writing, errors and influence of special groups (Bryant 2007). Some "old-world teachers" can be uncomfortable in their teaching by using alien methods in unfamiliar ways like what Web 2.0 offers (Franklin and van Harmelen 2007).
References:
Anderson, P. 2007. What is Web 2.0? Ideas, technologies and implications for education. JISC Technology and Standards Watch. http://www.jisc.ac.uk/media/documents/techwatch/tsw0701b.pdf (accessed March 01, 2009).
Bryant, L. 2007. Emerging trends in social software for education. Emerging Technologies for Learning 2:9-22. http://partners.becta.org.uk/page_documents/research/emerging_technologies07_chapter1.pdf (accessed March 29, 2009).
Doebeli-Honegger, B. 2005. Wikis - a Rapidly Growing Phenomenon in the German-Speaking School Community. International Symposium on Wikis 2005. http://www.wikisym.org/ws2005/proceedings/paper-10.pdf (accessed March 29, 2009).
Franklin, T., and M. van Harmelen. 2007. Web 2.0 for Content for Learning and Teaching in Higher Education. JISC. http://ie-repository.jisc.ac.uk/148/1/web2-content-learning-and-teaching.pdf (accessed March 23, 2009).
Gross, J., and L. Leslie. 2008. Twenty-three steps to learning Web 2.0 technologies in an academic library. The Electronic Library 26(6):790-802.
Rosenzweig, R. 2006. Can History Be Open Source? Wikipedia and the Future of the Past. The Journal of American History 93(1):117-46 http://www.historycooperative.org/cgi-bin/justtop.cgi?act=justtop&url=http://www.historycooperative.org/journals/jah/93.1/rosenzweig.html?pr=jah931 (accessed March 29, 2009).
Virkus, S. 2008. Use of Web 2.0 technologies in LIS education: experiences at Tallinn University, Estonia. Program: electronic library and information systems 42(3):262-74.
Wikiversity. n.d. Victor Hugo Quote - Wikiversity. http://en.wikiversity.org/wiki/Victor_Hugo_quote ( accessed March 01, 2009).
Very interesting Richard :)
ReplyDeleteWeb 2.0 is just the same thing but a new version just like with any other software versions out there on the market, agree? I think web 2.0 is tailored to be designed for more of individual basis to collaborate with everyone else. [i.e. like me, I don't collaborate much with everyone therefore no one really knows who I am. But this web 2.0 it depicts that form and starts to expose the inner of me, such as who I really am from someone else angle.
Like in class, if I just sat there and stayed quiet, you would of not of have know me whereas the use of web 2.0 such as 'del.icio.us' for instance, reflects this but in invisible space... I must admit though that web 2.0 somehow can invade ones privacy right?..
I wonder when will web 3.0 come out...? :p
:)
Hi Richard, as I see you praise the usage of wikis. I too think that they are quite useful and one of the most valuable web 2.0 tools. you mention that academics contest the validity of the contents in wikis and especially in wikipedia. This is a good opportunity to point out one of the wikis weak spots. For both academics and organizations the issue of the improper usage and poor quality content contribution is an important factor when considering the use of a wiki for academic purposes or as part of a KM strategy. This weak spot is identified by a lot of people (like Hasan and Pfaf in their article 'The Wiki: an environment to revolutionise employees’
ReplyDeleteinteraction with corporate knowledge' for example).
Even though this is a serious issue my opinion is that it is not reason enough to abolish the idea of using a wiki and there is a number of counter-measures that can be taken to tackle this kind of problems. If you wish you can read my article on my blog on advantages and disadvantages of wikis.
Thanks for your comments.
ReplyDeleteChristos, this was just skeleton work on wikis as I am going to update the article. After that, I will definitely comment on yours.
The article is now complete and please post your comments
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