E-Learning 2.0.....

education, online education, online tuition, online school, online college, online university, online study, online books, online teaching, online teacher, online primary education, online secondary education, online educational university, online degree, online diploma, online ph.d, online project, online degree project, online medical degree, online engineering degree, online arts degree, online science degree, online technical degree, online research programs, online educational academy, online educational trust... high quality online education, online degrees and online courses at lowest cost... Immediate online solutions only at education.getfreebooksonline.com

Home

Online Education

Online schools

Online colleges

Online degrees

Virtual education

Links

Custom Search

The term e-Learning 2.0[15][16] is used to refer to new ways of thinking about e-learning inspired by the emergence of Web 2.0. From an e-Learning 2.0 perspective, conventional e-learning systems were based on instructional packets that were delivered to students using Internet technologies. The role of the student consisted in learning from the readings and preparing assignments. Assignments were evaluated by the teacher. In contrast, the new e-learning places increased emphasis on social learning and use of social software such as blogs, wikis, podcasts and virtual worlds such as Second Life. This phenomenon has also been referred to as Long Tail Learning

The first 10 years of e-learning (e-learning 1.0) was focused on using the internet to replicate the instructor-led experience. Content was designed to lead a learner through the content, providing a wide and ever-increasing set of interactions, experiences, assessments, and simulations. E-learning 2.0, by contrast (patterned after Web 2.0) is built around collaboration. E-learning 2.0 assumes that knowledge (as meaning and understanding) is socially constructed. Learning takes place through conversations about content and grounded interaction about problems and actions. Advocates of social learning claim that one of the best ways to learn something is to teach it to others.

The eTwinning portal offered by European schoolnet is one of Europe's largest eLearning projects, comprising 50,000 registered teachers from across Europe. It is funded by the European Commission's Directorate General for Education and Culture, and has a network of 22 National Support Services, mostly operated by the national Ministries for Education in the EU.

As another example, Second Life has recently become one of the virtual classroom environments used in colleges and universities, including University of Edinburgh (UK) Princeton University (USA), Rice University (USA), University of Derby (UK), Vassar College (USA), the University of Plymouth (UK) and the Open University (UK),. In 2007 Second Life started to be used for foreign language tuition. Both Second Life and real life language educators have begun to use the virtual world for language tuition. English (as a foreign language) has gained a presence through several schools, including British Council projects which have focused on the Teen Grid. Germany's cultural institute Goethe-Institut started an island in 2008, Spain’s language and cultural institute “Instituto Cervantes” has an island on Second Life. A list of educational projects (including some language schools) in Second Life can be found on the SimTeach site. SLanguages 2008 was the 2nd annual conference of language education using virtual worlds such as Second Life. The event took place in Second Life at the EduNation islands. Additionally, Mobile Assisted Language Learning (MALL) is a term used to describe using handheld computers or cell phones to assist in language learning.

There is also an increased use of virtual classrooms (online presentations delivered live) as an online learning platform and classroom for a diverse set of education providers such as Fox School of Business for Templer University, Grades Grow, Minnesota State Colleges and Universities, BenAstrum Center of Regulatory eTraining, and Sachem. Webex is a Cisco Web Meetings and Collaboration Solution. The platform has worked for educational institutions because of real time collaboration using an interactive whiteboard, chat, and VOIP technology that allows audio and video sharing. In distance learning situations, while replacing the classroom with features, institutions have also looked for security features which are inherently strong in a Cisco powered collaboration environment. The downside is that Webex is not a free platform like WiZiQ or Moodle, and fees are paid per 'host' of a classroom or a meeting.

Another real time collaboration provider making headway is Web Train. The Technology in Business Schools Roundtable, a group representing over 70 Canadian and US business schools, announced a program for their AACSB accredited members and affiliated colleges and universites to use WebTrain for faculty meetings, student association meetings, virtual live classes, homework assistance, tutoring, teacher aid assistance, student technical support and remote control, lecture broadcasting, board meetings, virtual labs and anonymous drug, rape and depression counseling. The announcement stated TBS will assist member business schools and their associated colleges and universities with implementation planning and rollout assistance to help increase the success of e-learning initiatives. The announcement also stated Web Train will provide their hosted services free to the business school and their associated college or university for a fiscal school year to reduce financial risk related to using an enterprise class hosted service.