#sjsu24611learning

Since online courses, and entire educational programs like SJSU’s MLIS, are becoming more ubiquitous it was nice to be reminded just how far education has come in the world of Web 2.0 and social media.  As I thought about all of the distance learning classes I’ve taken I started to realize that even in the last 8 or 9 years of my higher education I’ve seen a lot change.  In my early community college days there were still not a whole lot of options as far as completely online courses.  I remember taking a telecourse and having to watch my lectures on the local public access channel, and then turn in work through an online portal but show up to the actual campus for the midterm and the final.  I also took a telecourse where the course wasn’t actually broadcast on TV but the recordings were available in the campus library.  They were on DVDs and had to be watched in the lab, which proved to be inconvenient.  Sometime in 2008 I took an entire math course through one of my local community colleges that was run primarily through Second Life.  We met for lectures on our designated island, and only met for the midterm and final.  I took a handful of other classes online during my undergrad, and now here I am in an entirely online, accredited, master’s program.

As someone who started working in high school, and prided herself on being independent I think I was drawn to online courses, like some of the readings have pointed out, because of their flexibility.  I was considered a distance learner, but in reality I lived with in easy commuting distance of all the colleges I attended.  The ability to work, and continue my education on my own time was incredibly valuable.  This is a huge advantage to the streamlined platforms that online learning utilizes.  Telecourses were still confined to being home to watch a program, or at least record it on a blank VHS (there was no DVR!).  

I don’t think that in the beginning of learning 2.0 there many advantages besides flexibility.  With the uprise of all of the new tools that are being used for education and the new technology in general there are more advantages that are slowly surfacing.  For one, the ability to communicate via video and/or voice recording has helped quell the notion that online learning is not personal.  What’s more, I’ve actually felt more connected as I’ve progressed through this MLIS program.  It has been eye-opening to meet and interact with so many students from all of the world.  Salman Khan’s vision for Khan Academy to become a global source of learning is exciting.  Social media and Web 2.0 allow for students and educators alike to expand their viewpoints, learn from those not in their physical space, and connect with others on a worldwide level.  There’s something to be said for the ability to interact with cultures unfamiliar to our own.  It provides students the opportunity to be apart of an even larger collective knowledge than just the 25 other students in their class.

The disadvantages are ones that are easily overlooked in the excitement of putting a new tool or piece of technology into action.  Living in San Francisco has made me sometimes forget that the digital divide is still alive and a serious issue that needs to be addressed.  As more technology is adapted to education, the farther behind those who do not have access fall.  There are still areas where dial-up connection is the only way of getting online, and with the rapid speed that technology is constantly being improved it can be costly to keep up with the latest requirements.  The swift moving nature of Web 2.0 and social media also creates problems for maintaining staff that are knowledgeable on how to use these tools.  In order to best implement new tools educators need to be trained, and curricula needs to be critically evaluated to make sure that the implementation is worthwhile.  The dissemination of information in this age of creating and sharing content can be problematic.  It draws attention to the fact that digital literacy skills need to be honed by students more than ever.  On the one hand, the availability of widespread information is great, but deciphering what’s credible and appropriate within different contexts of learning is a skill that needs to be taught.

When I think about how education has changed since the advent of Web 2.0 and Social Media, I can’t help but think of how it has affected me personally. As an introverted child, I had trouble interacting in a classroom setting. My fear of public speaking (even just offering the answer to a question from my desk at the back of the classroom) was crippling. I was content to sit alone and work on a problem until I figured it out; group collaboration gave me anxiety.

When Web 2.0 and Social Media arrived on the scene, long after I’d graduated high school, I slowly began to venture out of my shell. Some years ago, while working on my B.A., I recall a semester in which I took a couple of online classes. For the first time, I was engaged in discussions with the professors and other students. Up until that point, I’d always managed to say the bare minimum in the physical classroom… just enough to get by. (If participation was required, I would force myself to share a few thoughts during class; if it was not, I’d sit quietly for the entire class session.) In an article published by PBS Newshour, Goble (2014) explains that “the quietest students in [his] class speak the loudest on social media.” There is much truth in what he says.   I can’t explain why it’s easier to “speak” to a classroom online than it is in person. It just is, for some people. Web 2.0 and Social Media have given me a non-threatening venue to voice my thoughts without the fears I associate with the physical classroom.

In the PBS article, two teachers debate whether or not teachers should be using social media in the classroom. Leicht (2014) argues against it. She claims, “Students want to use social media for socializing, not as an extended classroom. Social media (more specifically, chatting on a cell phone via text or Twitter) is preventing our students from being socially aware of anything beyond themselves or their immediate social circle.” While she makes a valid point about students’ motivations for using social media, she is ignoring the potential lesson that can come out of this. Goble, on the other hand, sees the potential for a lesson and argues social media should be taught in the classroom. He explains, “Social media has become one of the greatest educational tools of all time, and yet, it goes untaught. Why? Fear of the unknown? Lack of value? The time is now for education to instead embrace this form of learning and begin, even in small ways, embedding social media lessons in all classrooms.” Social Media is not going away. It is here to stay and students are going to use it at some point in their lives. It seems irresponsible of teachers not to provide students a solid basis upon which to build their online presence.

This week’s question asks us to think about how education has changed, as well as some of the advantages and challenges of learning in a social media/web 2.0 world. What's the most obvious change? Wikipedia and Google Scholar.

Wikipedia taught us that all information is not created equal. Maehre (2014) argues that Wikipedia is not only a good thing, but can be useful in teaching information evaluation. We can all agree that there are great Wikipedia articles and there are trash Wikipedia articles. The great ones have references that are almost as long as the article, hyperlinks that aren't broken, headings and subheadings to get lost in. The trash ones are plagued with this:

A great Wikipedia article lights a spark, makes you want to read more, makes you feel as though you've learned something. A trash Wikipedia article will make you question your educational choices. Maehre (2014) sees this as good. For him, learning is a process, a journey, with no particular end in sight. You should always be engaged in thinking critically about the information that you come into contact with, and using Wikipedia, in conjunction with other educational techniques, can teach you how to do that (Maehre, 2014). The background or authority of the author takes a backseat to the quality of information presented.

Google Scholar is something that I've only just discovered in graduate school. Google is fast becoming a one-stop shop. It's a verb, for Pete's sake! Access to scholarly articles without having to be connected to an academic institution. Who would have thought that was possible 15 years ago? It is here that a student may come when searching for that magical combination of keywords and phrases combination that will net us a good 5 or so pages of results that we can sift through. We do this, because we want general information.

It has always been my understanding that a good research project moves from the general to the specific. Starting with internet searches, whether through Google or Wikipedia, is a tried and true technique of graduate students, indeed of undergrad students as well (Liyana & Noorhidawati, 2014). From the internet search for general information, we begin to form our thesis; we begin to frame our research. Then we move on to library research, online or physical.

The advent of web 2.0 and social media, I think, has forced us to become more discriminating in information sources. We know, now, that we can't trust everything someone tells us and/or that we read on the internet. We know, now, that some news outlets report without gathering all of the facts in an attempt to be first. Ever heard the phrase, "It's not true until it's on the BBC"? From all accounts, the BBC doesn't worry about being first. They worry about being right. I could be wrong here, but that's my impression. Web 2.0 has brought the hows of information evaluation to the forefront of the conversation. Rather than saying "don't use bad sources" or "beware of biased authors", web 2.0 and social media has made it possible to gain multiple perspectives, so that we may determine what a bad source is, what it is about the information that makes it unsuitable.

Liyana, S. & Noorhidawata, A. (2014). How graduate students seek for information: Convenience or guaranteed result. Malaysian Journal of Librar & Information Science, 19(2), 1-15.