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Student: Tracy Zuniga

Class: WRIT 473

Business & Professional Writing

Professor: Beth Concepcion

Quarter: Summer 2010

Web 2.0: The Future of Online Education

Online students need to work around asynchronous communication,

combat feelings of isolation and participate in class structure that
allows for flexible schedules in learning. Instructors that employ web
2.0’s features allow for a greater sense of community while students
are able to use a medium that they are already familiar with for
collaboration. With the simple addition of a classroom blog, Facebook
page, or even a networking LinkedIn group that all students could
contribute to, it would foster a sense of community and students would
take advantage of the internet’s “architecture of participation”1.

Keywords: online students, web 2.0, collaboration

Introduction
Learning online has its share of difficulties: asynchronous communication,
feelings of isolation due to limited interactions with both students and
professors as well as a constant stream of distractions. Despite this, online
learning can be a natural environment for collaborative learning. By gauging
the climate and skill level of the students, the professor can effectively lay

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http://oreilly.com/pub/a/oreilly/tim/articles/architecture_of_participation.html
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the foundation for a dynamic and creative collaborative learning

environment. E-learning classes have the revolutionary potential with the
unique attributes of the internet, but first we must understand its full
capacity to embrace these immense opportunities.

So why is collaborative learning important? Collaborative learning is

important for idea sharing and creative solutions and it is an extremely
valuable trait in an individual as well as a business leader. Studies have
shown that students that participate in collaborative learning produce
superior results than the individual efforts from even the best students.2

A Little History
Distance learning has been around almost as long as the hand written letter.
Correspondence courses were offered as early as 1840 with a shorthand
course being offered through the mail.3 Since then there has been a constant
reinvention of the process with more students eager to learn and become
part of the classroom atmosphere. The computer and internet have made
virtual classrooms the new reality. It is an ever-evolving process with
unimaginable potential. E-learning allows for flexible learning anywhere at
anytime, but where it struggles in the engagement of the student. Students
tend to be more distracted and disconnected during e-learning sessions so it
is imperative that the professors find ways to engage each of the students. A
recent study by UCLA’s Higher Education Research Institute has found that
collaborative learning is now used in over a third of higher education
courses, and their use has increased in the past six years more than any
other learning method.4

2
http://mako.cc/projects/collablit/writing/BenjMakoHill-CollabLit_and_Control/x93.html
3
http://ezinearticles.com/?A-Brief-History-of-E-learning-and-Distance-Education&id=496460
4
http://www.ion.uillinois.edu/resources/tutorials/pedagogy/instructionalstrategies.asp
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New Solution to an Old Problem

E-learning students have a unique opportunity. Minds are brought together
that may have never crossed paths in a traditional classroom. All of these
students come to the table with varying skills and past experiences and the
desire to learn. This is the foundation for all learning and the heart of
collaboration: sharing knowledge and discovering things students were
unaware of. The virtual classroom casts a larger net of sharing and
discovery. The main obstacle is finding a way to engage students to foster
the classroom collaboration with other students as well as professors.

One of the unique traits of online learning is the asynchronous

communications. Because students are located all over the globe, time
differences and availability varies person to person. Although this generation
is used to this type of stunted communication, it undercuts the formation of
natural relationships. However, it does succeed at making conversations
more meaningful. For example, if a person at one end does not understand
what the other person is talking about, they can quickly look-up online and
get up to speed quickly, something that is virtually impossible in face-to-face
conversations.

Online learning can benefit from taking advantage of all of web 2.0’s
features, such as: social networking sites, blogs, wikis and video sharing
sites. Setting up a Twitter account for the classroom or even an open blog
where anyone from the class can upload quick comments, pertinent articles
or links to images would do well to keep everyone in an open dialogue, form
friendships and exchange ideas. It’s the “if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em”
mentality; students are going to be on social networking sites, they may as
well receive class updates when doing so.

Facebook Best Practices

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The first week of class is an excellent time to break down barriers between
students. Learning online is an anonymous medium. It can be cold and
lonely. Even though most online classrooms have student home pages, it
takes extra time and effort to view all of the students. An online student may
already have too many demands on their time where this might just seem
like an added burden. During this first week of class, additional more
informal introductions should be made on the discussion boards (or even
better, a Facebook page), especially in foundation classes where the student
body may be more varied than upper level (more specific) courses. By
fostering this sense of communication, this small icebreaker accomplishes
three core objectives:
• Introduces people to one another
• Reduces stress by bringing people together and giving them an
opportunity to participate in low-risk experiences and
• Enables information sharing (goals, interests and concerns regarding
the class)5

Twitter Best Practices

Starting a Twitter page for the class is an excellent place to begin that
introduction. Given the 140-character limit of Twitter forces students to be
creative and succinct. By turning the cold emptiness of a virtual classroom
into an enjoyable prospect using something the student is not only already
familiar with, but enjoys using, the students’ guard comes down, friendships
are made and collaboration can begin naturally and organically.

What to Look for in a Solution

Online learners have several roadblocks to learning: asynchronous
communication, isolation and distractions. The framework of each classroom

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needs to overcome these obstacles by engaging all of the participants

through showcasing personality, social interactions and flexibility. By utilizing
web 2.0’s “architecture of participation” a collaborative environment is
fostered through specific expectations and flexible outlets for participation.
When students engage in these small collaborative exercises, not only is the
professor able to monitor progress, but now all of the students can engage
with each other leading to a higher quality of sharing and discovery.

E-learning students expect the latest and best information. Course materials
need to be fresh, vibrant as well as checked for accuracy. Employing
additional web 2.0 tools, such as Twitter and blogs go miles to engage the
learner and encourage collaboration among students. Understanding that
the internet is about two-way communication and collaboration only serves
to support online learning. It is simply the tool, the students and faculty are
the crafters of the solutions. Educators need to explore its many options to
determine what suits each class the best.

Online Collaboration Success Stories

Edward Volchok, PhD, Stevens Institute of Technology has taught an online
graduate level Marketing Management course for the past 8 years. End of
course surveys are always filled with rave reviews. Over the years, he has
learned a few tricks to create a successful collaborative learning
environment. He found that students were not learning anything by
cramming for tests, so he did away with them. Little exercises are used as
warm-ups in the beginning of the semester to give the students confidence,
then he puts them in groups for important projects to solve larger problems
and to encourage collaboration. Ignoring differences is education levels and
experience, all class members are treated equally. Students are clearly
informed of what is expected out of each of them through not only the
syllabus, but also a personal phone call to each one a week before class
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begins. It is this type of framework that he uses to set up his class for
cooperative efforts from all of his students. Additionally, he has 10 tips for
setting up successful teamwork and collaboration in the online classroom
that can be found at e-Learn Magazine.

Conclusion
E-learners are in a position to be a new generation of collaborators. Problems
will come to us from all over the globe and collective intelligence will be
gathered not in one boardroom, but one chat room. In order for this new
style of learning to be successful we need to adapt traditional principles of
classroom engagement and combine them effectively with all of the tools
available. The internet is a tool e-learning students are already using and it’s
web 2.0 features should not be overlooked simply because they are
unfamiliar to pedagogy. Understanding all of these capabilities and fostering
collaboration through flexibility and active engagement will not only enhance
student learning, but also to foster a community of collaboration. It is only
through this experimentation with new mediums that educators can push
forward and find new and better ways to communicate with their students.
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Bibliography

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Coughlin, Ed; Kajder, Sara. “The Impact of Online Collaborative Learning on

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Miller, James; Wald, James; Harris, Stephen; Bollier, David; Mako Hill,
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