Web 2.0 vs. Web 1.0 in education

YouTube EDU launch

Few days ago YouTube EDU channel was launched. It took a year to elaborate partnership system with American Universities and colleges from concept to launch. Google suppose that more universities join YouTube EDU in next months. Actually, YouTube can be especially useful for education field. Nowadays, localized versions of YouTube exist in 22 countries. YouTube videos can be embedded in most of the social media accounts, so YouTube easily penetrates in different blogs, social networking sites, and other Social Web media. Probably, it is the most “mashable” Web 2.0 technology.

Penetration of Web 2.0 technologies into classrooms is a fact, and it is useless to reject it. Students are using laptops and smartphones; they search for information using Google or Wikipedia articles in an increasing number. They even rate their US professors on Web 2.0 site, and academia can do nothing with it. In what way do educational institutions respond to this challenge? The so called Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) systems did a lot for distant learning. Are these systems compatible with Web 2.0 technologies? It is not an easy question.

First version of WebCT system, a pioneer in creating VLE, was launched as early in 1996. In 2006 WebCT was acquired by Blackboard Inc and WebCT name disappeared. Few years earlier Moodle and later Sakai open source systems were launched. All these systems lack interaction, are very close and can be referred to Web 1.0 system. They contradict to such inherent features of Web 2.0 applications as openness, architecture of participation and user-generated model of existence.

Nevertheless, some endeavors of adapting VLE to Social Web have been made. For example, open source VLE Sakai allow students create wikis for educational purposes. Supporters of Moodle VLE open source system actively use Web 2.0 tools (blogs, wikis, etc) as “outside” environment” to create communities and share knowledge about the system.

Though YouTube EDU project looks promising, it discovers only top of an iceberg. More and more individual attempts are being undertaken to include Web 2.0 applications into educational curriculum outside the borders of VLE systems. Though these endeavors look chaotic and irregular, their number is increasing very quickly. Further I will try to cover this issue in more details.