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The Future of Web 2.0
An interview with WSU's Gary Brown
2/27/2008
As director of Washington State University's Center for
Teaching, Learning, and Technology, Gary Brown has stewarded the
acceptance and growth of online learning, forged faculty development
programs for early adopters and laggards alike, and struggled with the
issues of assessment and accountability. But Brown sees more
comprehensive changes ahead, especially as Web 2.0 technologies become
widespread.
We're already well down the path to what some call a 'Web 2.0 world.' Is Web 2.0 having a transformative impact on higher education? We actually need to begin thinking about moving to the next generation of online learning in a Web 2.0 or Learning 2.0 world, in which a variety of tributaries are starting to come together: demographics, technology, accountability, and the general direction of education. But so far, instead of transforming the traditional classroom with online learning, we've merely transposed it to what is now the traditional course management system [CMS] or collaboration and learning environment [CLE].
Right now, we've only swapped the little red schoolhouses for the little online boxes we call course management systems. Students enroll, read posted information, and maybe listen to podcasts. A few of the more sophisticated students have some kind of electronic discussion with other students in the class, but the instructor is still at the center of the classroom. That model, pedagogically as well as for all kinds of practical purposes, is starting to lose its effectiveness.
Are changing student demographics contributing to a need to alter the model? When that model arose, we had a smaller percentage of the population in higher education, and people were committed to that kind of an approach. Now, a postsecondary education is increasingly perceived as a necessity for success in the world, and we've recognized generally that we need to have a college-educated population. Our workforce demands it.
Yet, full-time undergraduates are no longer the dominant population. Fifty percent of our college population goes to community colleges and must work, and continue to work. That population will be increasing. And about 50 percent of the college population is "swirling" now; students are taking courses from multiple colleges and universities-from at least two institutions, and sometimes more. What does that mean for the curricular coherence of programs built upon those little online boxes?
Then let's talk about how technology may or may not help: Can ePortfolios, for instance, handle the 'swirling' phenomenon? Higher ed professionals are beginning to recognize that ePortfolios may be more effective than standardized tests when it comes to documenting student learning. The Association of American Colleges and Universities has released a survey that brings that point home. Employers, too, are telling us, "We don't care about test scores. What we want is evidence that students have been involved in internships and service learning programs, and that they've done project work and have developed team, collaboration, communication, and leadership skills."
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