University 2.0

Someone else has decided to jump on the band-wagon and use the ‘2.0’ name for something else .. this time it’s ‘University 2.0’. So, what’s it all about then?

As I see it it’s just another way of talking about Web 2.0 or eLearning, but this time it’s more specific to the use of these tools in a University environment.

Aditya writes, in her (?) blog, that Universities makes “use of several Web 2.0 technologies” in an educational environment. Listing the usual suspects of Wikis and Blogs, as well as LinkedIn and other Social Networking systems, but has missed out on introducing such tools as Second Life.

However, Terence Armentano goes further to explore University 2.0 and correctly identifies that “we are part of a global human network in which we can now harness the collective intelligence of people from all walks of life to come up with solutions to problems that could have never been possible in the past” … isn’t this the whole point of eLearning? Well, it is for me.

It isn’t necessary to list the tips and tricks of University 2.0 as I’ve already mentioned them in my previous posts about Web 2.0 (see below) but it is worth mentioning that we have arrived at the point in development of Web 2.0 where “the online learning environment is the ideal space for communication and learning to occur”.

It is worth saying, however, that we can still get it so very wrong if we don’t pay attention and develop the resources correctly. A well designed online course uses technology to offer an interactive, communicative, and collaborative environment, and is able to “equip students to become the leaders of the future”.