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Effective Strategies for Using Web 2.0 in Collaboration with Content Areas in Secondary Schools

Bobbie B. Keenan

Gainesville, Georgia 30506

An Annotated Bibliography Submitted to: Dr. D.A. Battle of Georgia Southern University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for EDUF 7130 Y01

July 17, 2010 Statesboro, Georgia

Effective Strategies for Using Web 2.0 Tools in Collaboration with Content Areas in Secondary Schools

After introducing several Web 2.0 tools to students at my school this past year, I witnessed how powerful and motivating the collaborative process can be when technology is used. The days of dreading group projects appeared to be over from my perspective, because everybody wanted to participate. However, the teachers werent as convinced. In light of the fact, that we are starting our first high school classes this year at my school, I feel it is imperative that all the teachers at our school get on board and overcome their fear of change. I would like to research the Web 2.0/Collaboration phenomenon and how other educators in various subject areas are using it to motivate and inspire their students. I plan to share what I learn with my colleagues to inspire them to use more collaborative Web 2.0 activities in their content areas. I used the Academic Search Complete database to locate the articles relating to my topic. The articles that I chose provide information that is not only relevant to my topic but provides evidence that will help me pursue similar strategies to help the students and teachers I work with become more open to working collaboratively with Web 2.0 tools inside as well as outside the classroom. Batane, T. (2002). Technology and student collaboration. T H E Journal, 30(3), 16. http://proxygsu-gso1.galileo.usg.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx? direct=true&db=a9h&AN=8940528&site=ehost-live This article focused on a study conducted on secondary school students in Botswana to determine whether or not integrating technology into the existing curriculum had any effect on

the students ability to learn. The students were receptive to the use of computers and particularly Web 2.0 tools that enabled them to communicate with other students from other countries. The students became more enthusiastic about what they were learning, and there was a marked increase in daily attendance as well. The integration of computers and Web 2.0 tools allowed students to work collaboratively with teacher assisted instruction for guidance. Having the ability to communicate as well as work with others outside their classroom to solve problems, provided the students with a sense of control over their own learning and helped them feel more confident about their futures. Brown, C., & Dotson, K. (2007). Using digital primary sources: a success story in collaboration. Teacher Librarian, 35(2), 29-33. http://proxygsu-gso1.galileo.usg.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx? direct=true&db=a9h&AN=28531442&site=ehost-live This article focused on teaching information literacy skills to twelfth graders through a collaborative effort between students, their teacher and the school librarian. The goals of the assignment were to enable the students to refine research questions, recognize facts, points of view, opinion, and be able to collaborate with others by technological means to finalize the assignment. The teacher and librarian were available to assist students by giving them feedback that allowed them to refine their work as well as intervene when technological glitches would arise. Overall, this activity proved successful. The collaborative approach of the teacher and librarian proved informative as to how to approach similar assignments in the future.

Davis, V. (2009). Influencing positive change: the vital behaviors to turn schools toward success. Teacher Librarian, 37(2), 8-12. http://proxygsu-gso1.galileo.usg.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx? direct=true&db=a9h&AN=47500179&site=ehost-live This article defined behaviors that todays schools need to adopt to be successful. Success was defined by providing students with a world class education that would be beneficial to them in throughout their lives. At the core of these behaviors were technology and collaboration. The article stated that while technology is a vital part of a todays education, its not so much about the tools, but how the tools were used in the classroom. In addition, schools must allow teachers the freedom to make choices as to how lessons were to be taught. This included being able to teach beyond the classroom walls and collaborating with students and teachers in other schools all over the world via Web 2.0 tools. Teachers must also keep themselves aware of the ever evolving landscape of the Internet, and how to incorporate their knowledge into their curriculum, as well as be flexible enough to allow the students to teach them on occasion. David, C. (2007). Working the web. University Business, 10(4), 64-68. http://proxygsu-gso1.galileo.usg.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx? direct=true&db=a9h&AN=24699907&site=ehost-live This article discussed how Web 2.0 technology was designed to promote collaborative activities for its users. Various Web 2.0 tools were discussed such as YouTube, social bookmarking tools, and Wikis. The author pointed out that since the global workforce is seeking potential employees that are capable of collaborating via numerous Web 2.0 technologies, it would be wise for schools to integrate these skills into their curriculums. The article also mentioned numerous

universities that have not only embraced the collaborative nature of Web 2.0 technologies theyve also used these technologies to educate their student bodies as well as the Internet community at large. Website links were provided for each of the universities mentioned to allow the reader to further explore the possibilities of Web 2.0 collaboration. Fontkhiaro, K. (2009). More than friendship. Knowledge Quest, 37(4), 64-67. http://proxygsu-gso1.galileo.usg.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx? direct=true&db=a9h&AN=38813486&site=ehost-live This article discussed how collaboration was a skill that needed to be learned. People are social by nature, but that doesnt mean that they could successfully work together, in any medium, without learning how to do so effectively. Sometimes the best collaborations resulted from people working together who didnt know each other personally. As a result, they were able to focus on the work, rather than being side tracked by social distractions. Collaborative lessons could be designed that are structured so each member of a group had a specific role to play. This balanced the workload of a larger project, but also allowed students to work independently. AASL Standards for the 21st Century Learner was also referenced as a way for educators to integrate lessons of a collaborative nature into their curriculum, so collaboration wasnt the exception but the norm for their students. Sprenger, M. (2009). Focusing the Digital Brain. Educational Leadership, 67(1), 34-39. http://proxygsu-gso1.galileo.usg.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx? direct=true&db=a9h&AN=43971758&site=ehost-live

The article discussed the down side to students (digital natives) being overly technologically connected, and how teachers could help them find a balance that would keep them connected without leaving them isolated. While digital natives are experts at multitasking they run the risk of losing the ability, or not even knowing, how to connect with people without a personal mobile device or a Web 2.0 tool being involved. The article discussed seven strategies that teachers can use to keep balance between their students cyber-life and their real life, without compromising either, and even combining the two with effective learning results. Vogel, C. (2009). A call for collaboration. District Administration, 45(5), 22-25. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_6938/is_5_45/ai_n31849206/ The article discussed how classroom learning was rapidly evolving from isolated activities that required students to work alone, to collaborative assignments that allowed students to discover their own strengths while learning from their peers. Much of this was due to the availability of Web 2.0 tools. The ability to collaborate with others was a highly valued skill that will be required for all members of the global workforce. The article cited several examples of how collaboration in different content areas, via Web 2.0 tools, made learning more enjoyable and effective. The article reinforced the theory that if students played an active role in the learning process, they were more likely to retain information being taught. Wang, Y. (2008). Collaborate to learn: a case study of technology-enhanced, collaborative language learning. AIP Conference Proceedings, 1007(1), 189-198. doi:10.1063/1.2937605.

The focus of this article revolved around a case study that investigated how students responded to a collaborative technology enhanced means of studying language. The point of the study was to determine whether or not students could improve their learning abilities through the use of collaborative and technological strategies. While the study was not conclusive due to the limited amount of respondents, the data that was collected concluded that the students that participated in the study were very enthusiastic about working collaborative through the use of technology, with only a few draw backs. The issues students had with these methods of learning were the occasional technical difficulties and lack of computer literacy that left some students at a disadvantage. Overall, collaborating through technology enabled students to be more in control of their own learning and motivated them to want to learn more. Waters, J. (2008). In the driver's seat. T H E Journal, 35(6), 43-50. http://proxygsu-gso1.galileo.usg.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx? direct=true&db=a9h&AN=32698011&site=ehost-live The primary focus of this article was how Web 2.0 tools have made education a more student driven environment. While some educators have shied away from the ever transforming world of Web 2.0, others have embraced it fully with the use of a new generation of e-portfolio. The eportfolios discussed in this article not only allowed students to keep track of their best work effort as they progressed, they also allowed others to collaborate with the students in a way that helped them continually modify and perfect their e-portfolio. This technology combination was not just geared at students, but could be used by professionals as well. Several software companies were taking it further by including software packages in addition to the Web 2.0 capabilities that made various e-portfolio systems more attractive to potential users. The different

options available to students made the potential for learning on their own terms a real possibility in the very near future. Implications for Applications to Educational Settings When I originally started doing research for my topic, I envisioned finding articles with tons of ideas that would provide me with various strategies on how to integrate collaborative activities that require Web 2.0 tools into content areas. I was going to take all these new ideas back to the teachers at my school, and show them it wasnt going to be as difficult as they thought. Instead, I found that despite the fact that technology is evolving at a dizzying pace and global employers are clamoring for workers that possess these skills, many educators are trying to find a way to simply understand how some of the Web 2.0 tools work themselves or simply avoid them altogether, which is exactly what is going on at my school. There were also plenty of articles that were just trying to convince educators that technology and collaboration are necessary requirements for the future of education. Some of the articles that I chose for my original three AB resource assignment, I abandoned in favor of other articles that I felt would better help me illustrate the need for to move forward with what I have already established at my school. One article, (Fontkhiaro, 2009), that I found after I started this paper really got me to think about the process of collaboration and how it needs to be taught and structured to achieve the desired results. Its not as simple as sitting down and working together with friends. The article even points out that working with friends might not be the path to take for optimal results. Another article that I thought was very insightful was the Sprenger (2009) article. This article illustrated exactly why we have to approach digital native learners from a different

perspective. Because they were basically born with technology in their blood, they dont learn the way we and generations before us did. It is us up to us, as educators, to adapt to their educational needs instead of us trying to change them to fit teaching methods that are rapidly becoming ineffective as well as irrelevant. I plan to make a copy of this particular article and put it in every teachers mailbox when we go back in a few weeks. I started this assignment with the hope that it would help me in my endeavor to bring the teachers in my school around to being more open to technologically collaborative teaching methods, especially since were starting our high school this year. I believe that I have found evidence that will assist me in the process it just wont be as straightforward as I had initially hoped. However, these articles did open my eyes to potential problematic issues I had not considered. In addition, through the articles I read, I was also directed to several extremely helpful websites designed to teach educators how to use Web 2.0 tools without overwhelming them. These websites alone will make my life much easier, and hopefully will benefit the students and teachers at my school in the long run.