The emergence of social (or so-called ‘Web 2.0’) software provides new and exciting opportunities for teachers to create dynamic, collaborative and sociable learning environments for their students. This incarnation of the world wide web holds transformational potential for teachers and students alike (RICHARDSON, 2006). Mashups, mixes and aggregations of digital artefacts form the basis for a dynamic and creative emerging environment within which students can learn through collaborative working and community based enquiry. Feed burning software enables users to receive alerts of web page updates direct to their desktop computers or mobile devices. The popularity of these applications is rising rapidly, as students see the opportunities to free up time and space so that learning can be fitted into busy lifestyles.
Read the rest of this entry »

• 0 Comments

Web 2.0 is the name for the latest internet technologies that enable users from around the world to connect online and share their knowledge and expertise. These technologies include blogs, wikis, social networking sites (MySpace, Bebo, Facebook), and community tagging tools (such as del.icio.us and Digg).
Read the rest of this entry »

• 0 Comments

An important concern is that posting personal information on social websites such as Facebook, MySpace and Bebo is putting children at risk of abuse. Our survey of children at Key Stages 3 and 4 shows that a substantial minority (42%) of children regularly interact socially online with people they have not met face to face. This does not, of itself, indicate that children are naive or engaging in behaviour that puts them at significant risk. Rather, it shows that online interaction forms a different, though overlapping, social space to that of face-to-face friendships, involving friends of friends and people encountered in the online world, for example, through multiplayer games.
Read the rest of this entry »

• 0 Comments