1. WEB 2.0 AND LEARNING
1.1 Introduction
Today, the term Web 2.0 is used to describe applica-
tions that distinguish themselves from previous generations
of software by a number of principles. These new, Web 2.0,
applications take full advantage of the network nature of the
Web: they encourage participation, are inherently social and
open. Whereas Web 2.0 is not characterized by a new step of
technology as is the Semantic Web [10], in the last years the
Web changed from a medium to a platform, from a read-web
to a read-write-web, thereby fullling Berners-Lee's original
vision of the Web [9].
These principles are in line with modern educational the-
ories such as constructivism and connectionism and thus
make Web 2.0 applications very attractive for teachers and
learners. Wikis, blogs, and social bookmarking are now com-
monly used in learning [2]. Recent work at the crossroads
of technology-enhanced learning (TEL) and Web research
focuses on exploiting Web 2.0 features such as tags for user
modeling [16], personalization of mashups [36], and ontolo-
gies and authoring [1].
While this research shows convincing examples of using
Web 2.0 services for learning, in-depth analyses of the rela-
tionship between Web 2.0
technology
on the one hand and
teaching and learning
on the other hand are still rare. How-
ever, the signicance to understand the implications of tech-
nology is underlined by Noss [28] who asks [w]hat kinds of
pedagogy are appropriate to using [a new] technology and,
more fundamentally, how does this technology change the
epistemologies of what may or may not be taught in schools".
Being able to evaluate the implications of an technology, i. e.,
critical media literacy" [17], requires understanding the very
basics of this technology.
With respect to education, it is indeed the case that tech-
nical features often impose a specic pedagogical approach.
For instance, typical learning management systems such as
Blackboard
1
present courses as mostly static Web pages,
enriched with multiple choice questions. These traditional
learning management systems implement what Schulmeis-
ter [32] calls administered learning", which is based on the
knowledge-transfer paradigm of behaviorist learning. In con-
1
http://www.blackboard.com
hal-00588757, version 1 - 10 May 2011
Author manuscript, published in "17th International World Wide Web Conference, Beijing : China (2008)"
trast, Intelligent Tutoring Systems (ITS) are associated with
cognitive theories of learning: an ITS usually implements
user-adaptive teaching based on a cognitive theory of the
mind [23], such as the
Pact
-tutors building on Anderson's
ACT-*
theory [4, 5].
Obviously, such a classication is very broad and does not
capture the eld of TEL in all details (e.g.
ActiveMath
[25] is a Web-based learning environment based on construc-
tivist paradigms), but the relevant point is that one often
observes that technical characteristics lead to specic peda-
gogical characteristics. Thus, it is important to analyze the
technological basics underlying Web 2.0.
1.2 Overview on the Article
The contribution of this paper is as follows:
First, we will analyze the technological principles of
the Web 2.0 and elaborate on their pedagogical impli-
cations on learning. The focus on technological princi-
ples distinguished our work from prior research in this
area, such as [19, 2] that explores the potential of Web
2.0 for education in general or [6] that describes the
Web 2.0 principles for an educational audience .
Secondly, we intend to show that Web 2.0 is not only
well suited for learning but also for
research
on learn-
ing: the wealth of services that is available and their
openness regarding programming interfaces and data
allow to assemble prototypes of technology-supported
learning applications in amazingly small amount of
time. These prototypes can be used to evaluate re-
search hypotheses quickly.
The in-depth analysis is subject of Section 2. In Section 3,
we will elaborate on what we mean by rapid prototyping of
learning applications. We will present two examples that we
realized: micro-blogging for language learning 3.1 and so-
cial bookmarking for authoring learning object annotations
3.2. These two projects allowed us to learn practical lessons
about using Web 2.0 services for prototyping, which we will
discuss in Section 4. We will start by brie y introducing one
of today's prevalent learning theory, constructivism, which
will provide a context for the subsequent analysis.
1.3 Parenthesis: Constructivism
Constructivism is based on the premise that knowledge
cannot be transmitted but has to be constructed by the
individual. Therefore, learning is an active process of in-
tegrating information with pre-existing knowledge.
Cognitively oriented constructivist theories such as dis-
covery learning [13] and microworlds [31] emphasize explo-
ration and discovery. Socially oriented constructivist the-
ories, such as social constructivism [41] and cognitive ap-
prenticeships [12] stress the collaborative eorts of groups
of learners as sources of learning.
In constructivism, the control over the learning process
shifts from the teacher to student, with the learner play-
ing an active role in the learning process. Learning takes
place in context and in collaboration and provides oppor-
tunities to solve realistic and meaningful problems. In con-
trast, the teachers focus mainly on preparatory activities
and provide support in case assistance is needed. Conse-
quently, the teacher is an initiator of and an adviser in the
learning process.
The last years have seen an increasing research in and
appliance of constructivist approaches. Pure constructivist
approaches, however, are not unchallenged: instructions and
drill still need to play a part in the classroom [24]. Hence, the
moderate constructivist theory has developed as a pragmatic
approach which integrates instructions into a theory that has
a clear constructivist tendency.
2. ANALYZING WEB 2.0 PRINCIPLES
FROM A LEARNING PERSPECTIVE
The term Web 2.0" runs danger of becoming a buzzword
as empty as e-learning": some years ago, every learning
software that used the Internet in some way was coined as
e-learning software", regardless of whether it was innovative
or helpful for learning. Today, Web 2.0 faces the same fate:
every Web-site with a fancy interface is sold as Web 2.0.
However, careful analysis shows that Web 2.0 can be used
to describe a new set of software applications that distin-
guish itself from previous applications by a number of prin-
ciples. While in the beginning of the Internet, software was
modeled after the practices prevalent at that time, slowly a
new kind of applications emerged. The dening principles
of these applications were rst captured by O'Reilly [30].
Anderson [6] used a slightly dierent categorization of what
he calls the ig ideas" of Web 2.0 and gives examples of
current usages of Web 2.0 services for learning and digital
libraries.
None of the principles is a new technology or development
for itself. As the inventor of the Web, Tim Berners-Lee,
points out, Web 2.0 works on the same standards as Web
1.0 [6], and his original vision of the Web was the one of a
ead-write-Web", where everyone could add and edit Web
pages [9]. However, taken together the ig ideas of Web
2.0" have reached a critical mass that transforms the way
of publishing and information exchange so distinctively that
the term Web 2.0" is warranted.
In the following, we will analyze Web 2.0 principles (based
on [30, 6]) and analyze each principle with respect to the im-
plication on technology-enhanced learning. This will allow
us to make general statements about the implications of Web
2.0 on pedagogy based on the inherent technical features of
Web 2.0.
2.1 Individual Creativity
Web 2.0 enables and facilitates the active participation
of each user. Web 2.0 applications and services allow pub-
lishing and storing of textual information, by individuals
(blogs) and collectively (wikis), of audio recordings (pod-
casts), of video material (vidcasts), of pictures, etc. Au-
thoring of this user generated content is greatly facilitated
by providing easy to use desktop-like interfaces. While some
time ago, Web applications were easily distinguishable from
their desktop counterparts due to their design and point-
click-wait interaction, today's Web 2.0 applications are of-
ten recognizable as being Web application only at second
glance. Due to techniques such as Ajax and Flash, responses
from the user interface now behave similar to desktop appli-
cations (as long as a fast Internet connection is available).
Additionally, Web 2.0 services typically put much eort in
usability and aim at simplifying the interactions as much as
possible by concentrating on the task or service the applica-
tion provides. Customers often have several similar services
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to choose from, and as consequence a service is designed to
please in order to attract and keep the customers.
This stimulation of active participation distinguishes Web
2.0 based learning from traditional Web 1.0" learning, which
is exemplied in traditional learning management systems,
where users read Web pages and solve exercises but cannot
contribute and social interactions are restricted to forums.
Together with the social dimension captured by the har-
nessing of the power of the crowds", these two principles
are the most visible ones and as such the most analyzed
and stressed by pedagogical research: Downes stresses the
constructivist nature of these principles and contrasts the
delivered learning of learning management systems with the
learner-centered activities triggered by Web 2.0 applications:
he Web was shifting from being a medium, in which infor-
mation was transmitted and consumed, into being a plat-
form, in which content was created, shared, remixed, repur-
posed, and passed along" [19].
Howev