Hellenic Open University

Term coined by Dale Dougherty in 2004 and popularised by Tim O'Reilly

Tools that promote sharing, collaboration and interaction -- 'social software' as they allow users to develop Web content collaboratively

Offer information sharing and collaboration features;

Aid the construction of meaning through the act of self-design of knowledge databases;

The Web is seen a space in which anyone can participate;

Reduce the technical skill required to use their features;

Allow users to focus on the information exchange and collaborative tasks without the distraction of a difficult technological environment;

SocialisationSocialisation - - SStudents tudents build networks and develop build networks and develop relationships with real people.relationships with real people.

CollaborationCollaboration - They can - They can work with others to construct work with others to construct and share realand share real knowledge. knowledge.

CreativityCreativity - They can create - They can create genuine products, in a range genuine products, in a range and combination of media, and combination of media, that will have a real audience. that will have a real audience.

Authenticity - The tasks they complete and the people they communicate with are real and motivating.

Sharing - They can share what they create and learn from each other.

Motivation

Authenticity

Creativity

Sharing & collaboration

Learner autonomy

Socialization

Web 2.0 tools

Synchronous and Asynchronous CMCAn example:

http://www.learnwithcomics.blogspot.gr/

an electronic journal that allows the user to keep records of his/her writing on a website that is updated frequently (Johnson, 2004)

Not originally intended for use in EFL classes but with immense potential as an extremely valuable tool in EFL teaching.

Tool for individual expressionTool for individual expression Frequent updatesFrequent updates Blog entries (‘posts’) in reverse chronological Blog entries (‘posts’) in reverse chronological

order so that the most recent post appears order so that the most recent post appears firstfirst

Can combine text and audio (audioblogs) or Can combine text and audio (audioblogs) or video (videoblogs)video (videoblogs)

Not simply one-way publication sites, but that Not simply one-way publication sites, but that they can become highly interactivethey can become highly interactive

The Tutor Blog --run by the teacher of a class. Students restricted to being able to write comments to the teacher's posts.

The Class Blog --a shared space, with teacher and students being able to write to the main area. Used as a collaborative discussion space. Students reflect in writing on themes touched upon in class.

The Learner Blog --Involves giving each student an individual blog. Benefit : this becomes the student's own personal online space. Students encouraged to write frequently about what interests them, and post comments on other students' blogs.

To provide extra reading practice for students.

As online student learner journals that can be read by their peers.

To guide students to online resources appropriate for their level

To increase the sense of community in a class.

To encourage shy students to participate.

To stimulate out-of-class discussion.

To encourage a process-writing approach.

As an online portfolio of student written work.

To help build a closer relationship between students in large classes.

• written language is unmediated;

• displays the process of writing in its naked, unedited form;

• identical to neither speech nor writing, but displays properties of both;

• Short responses and informal language -- features which give a blog interaction a dynamic, conversational feel;

• lacks simultaneous feedback;

• “Emoticons” [‘emotions’ + ‘icons’]

• relaxation of the rules of spelling, punctuation and capitalization. Language is a mixture of informal letter and essay, of spoken monologue and dialogue.

http://www.multimediatrainingvideos.com/blogger/ to create a blog in www.blogger.com

http://agg66athens3.wikispaces.com/

A collaborative website whose content can be edited by visitors to the site, allowing users to easily create and edit webpages collaboratively (Chao, 2007)

• Fully editable websites. Users can visit, read, reorganize and update the structure and content (text and pictures) of a wiki as they see fit (open editing)

• Some wikis restrict access to a group of members, allowing only members to edit page content although everyone may view it. Others allow completely unrestricted access, allowing anyone to both edit and view content.

A source of information and knowledge, A tool for collaborative authoring Allows visitors

• to engage in dialogue • to share information among participants in group

projects, • to engage in learning with each other by using wikis as

a collaborative environment in which they construct their knowledge

A well known wiki is Wikipedia, an online collaborative encyclopedia, where anybody can edit and update the site content as they see fit.

Document mode--contributors create collaborative documents written in the third person. Authors leave their additions to the wiki document unsigned. As time passes, multiple authors edit and update the content of the document and gradually the content becomes a representation of the shared knowledge or beliefs of the contributors.

Thread mode-- contributors carry out discussions in the wiki environment by posting signed messages. Others respond leaving the original messages intact and eventually a group of threaded messages evolves.

Student Journaling Personal Portfolios (e-

portfolios) Online note-taking (with

the benefit of allowing notes to be peer reviewed and changed by fellow sts)

Reflective Diaries (enabling them to share reflections and thoughts regarding teaching practices)

Collaborative writing/ Peer-correction

Research project development (with the W serving as ongoing documentation of sts work)

Project coordination and collaboration

Publishing of course resources, i.e. syllabi, handouts

Presentations (as a presentation tool in place of conventional software)

Brainstorming (editing a given wiki topic can produce a linked network of resources)

Student wikis Student-created

glossaries Submission of assigned

work

WIKIS & WRITING INSTRUCTION

Using a wiki as a writing tool maximizes the advantages of reflection, reviewing, publication, and of observing cumulative written results as they unfold (Fountain, 2005).

Lamb (2004) reports that :• wikis stimulate writing ('fun' and 'wiki' are often associated);• wikis provide a low-cost but effective communication and collaboration tool (with an emphasis on text rather than software);• wikis promote the close reading, revision, and tracking of preliminary work;• wikis discourage 'product oriented writing' while facilitating 'writing as a process'; and• wikis ease students into writing for a wider audience

“Writing a film review” http://kontogeorgi.wikispaces.com

Student Journaling http://studentnewspace.wikispaces.com/

Writing reviews http://dosimariarealitytvreviews.wikispaces.com/

Wiki Journal

Motivation

Collaboration

E-Literacies

Process writing

Writing Skills Development

PBworks (formerly known as PBwiki): http://pbworks.com. Example : › Nergiz Kern's SL Experiments Wiki, which is used for

collecting and sharing ideas on how to use Second Life for teaching foreign language: http://slexperiments.pbworks.com

Wetpaint: http://www.wetpaint.com . Examples of wikis created with Wetpaint: › CILT Cymru: http://ciltcymrutrial.wetpaint.com

WikiSpaces: http://www.wikispaces.com. Examples of wikis created with WikiSpaces: › Mark Pegrum's E-Language Wiki: http://e-

language.wikispaces.com › Graham Davies's Personal Wiki Page:

http://grahamdavies.wikispaces.com

Wiki or Blog (Parker & Chao 2007)

• Wikis are designed for collaborative authoring by everyone while blogs are more personal and generally written by a single author.

• Wikis typically organize information into topics while blogs organize information in reverse chronological order. Since they are reverse chronologically ordered, information in blogs is more of a historical record and rarely changes.

• The reverse chronological order of blogs makes it difficult to find all postings on a particular topic, and to browse through all postings on that topic. On the other hand, wikis do not show as easily when information was documented or in what order, but it does show what information is related and make it easy to browse

• Wikis receive feedback by allowing the public to edit topics directly, while blogs provide a mechanism for reader comments. The contents in blogs belong to the owner.

• Wikis encourage knowledge sharing around topics while blogs are a sharing of spontaneous thoughts.

• Blogs are a better communication tool for disseminating information to people and for enabling feedback while keeping the original text intact. Wikis are better when information is intended to be modified and enhanced as part of a collaborative effort

Wiki or Blog

A type of website where people can seek other people who have similar interests & share information and resources

Allow users to set up a personal profile page where

1. they can post regular status updates;

2. maintain links to contacts known as 'friends' and

3. assemble and display their interests in the form of texts, photos, videos, group memberships

Ning : A platform that enables you to create your own social network. A Ning enables anyone to create a network focusing on a particular topic or catering for a specific membership, for example a group of teachers working together on an educational project. Typically, a Ning includes blogs, announcements of events, a forum, live chat and facilities for uploading photographs and video clips.

Classroom 2.0 describes it self as a "social network for those interested in Web 2.0 and collaborative technologies in education":http://www.classroom20.com

Cloudworks: A place to share, find and discuss learning and teaching ideas and experiences. Cloudworks is being developed by the Institute of Educational Technology at The Open University: http://cloudworks.ac.uk

www.twitter.comwww.twitter.com

variation on social networking services

Twitter: As the Twitter site says: "Twitter is a service for friends, family, and co–workers to communicate and stay connected through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to one simple question: What are you doing?": http://twitter.com

Twitter allows users who've signed up for a free account to:› post short status updates (140 characters) in their Twitter stream,

often including links to webpages, photos or videos› follow the updates in others' Twitter streams› retweet (i.e., repost) interesting updates from others' streams in

their own stream› converse with other users, either in public Twitter streams or (for

those users you follow and who follow you) through private direct messaging.

A great service for keeping up with the latest developments in any given field of study or research. For teachers interested in educational technology, Twitter can prove an invaluable way of receiving trustworthy information on the latest piece of kit/website from colleagues who are actually using it in their classrooms.

Very effective for continuous professional development as you get instant feedback

A gateway to the most current thoughts of millions of people around the world

It can serve as a useful back-channel to a conference presentation allowing the audience to focus and share ideas while attending a presentation.

A good way of › receiving educational or administrative updates

from teachers or educational institutions; › collaborating on group projects; › saving and exchanging information while

collaborating at a distance; › keeping in touch with peers; › beginning to build personal learning networks

(PLNs).

For tips on how to use microblogs in education, see Educause's 7 things you should know about microblogging and 7 things you should know about Twitter

Nineteen interesting ways to use Twitter in the classroomhttp://docs.google.com/Present?docid=dhn2vcv5_118cfb8msf8

great post learning with twitter by Steve Wheeler

Baya, G. (Summer 2006). Using wikis to foster collaboration in writing tasks. IATEFL CALL Review, 24-29

Chao, J. (2007). Student project collaboration using Wikis. Proceedings of the 20th Conference on Software Engineering Education and Training (CSEE&T 2007), Dublin, Ireland: July 3-5. Davies, G. (2009). Virtual worlds: A brief history. In Molka-Danielsen J. & Deutschmann M.

(eds.), Learning and teaching in the virtual world of Second Life. Trondheim, Norway: Tapir Academic Press. Retrieved from http://www.ict4lt.org/en/Virtual_Worlds_History.doc

Franco, C. de Paiva. (2008). Using wiki-based peer-correction to develop writing skills of Brazilian EFL learners. Novitas-Royal 2(1), 49-59

Godwin-Jones, B. (2003). Blogs and wikis: Environments for on-line collaboration. Language Learning & Technology 7(2), 12-16Harding, K. (2007). English for Specific Purposes. Oxford University PressJohnson, A. (2004). Creating a writing course utilizing class and student blogs. The Internet

TESL Journal X(8). Retrieved from http://iteslj.org/Techniques/Johnson-Blogs/ Kiliçkaya, F.  (2008) PBwiki: Web 2.0 tool for collaboration. IATEFL Poland Computer Special Interest Group Teaching English with Technology A Journal for Teachers of English 8(2).Kovacic, A., Bubas, G., Zlatovic, M. (2007). Evaluation of activities with a wiki system in

teaching English as a second language. International Conference "ICT for Language Learning", Florence, Italy.

Langdon, S. (July 2005). Wikis & blogs. IATEFL CALL Review, 38-40.Lund, A. (2008). Wikis: a collective approach to language production. ReCALL:The Journal of

EUROCALL 20(1), 35-54Lynch, S. (June 2004). EAP & ICT: Stirred, not shaken. IATEFL CALL Review, 9-14.