Step 1: Managing the Web 2.0 Environment

The Assessment Items

Two main assessment items are being addressed in this first project:

    A group blog: This activity requires students to write a number of blog posts, with a set word limit, each requiring references using the APA referencing system. Students are required to comment on a set number of their colleagues’ posts.
    A media sharing assignment: Students are required to identify and share a set number of media articles related to set topics, and then comment on their colleagues’ articles.

The Web 2.0 Challenge

A significant challenge for teaching in the Web 2.0 environment is developing efficiencies which can be up-scaled to large numbers of participants. After using Facebook as an optional channel for online participation in 2007 (with about 200 participants), I found the effort required was not worth the ‘wow’ factor which some students experienced, even though participation improved dramatically.

Working in an online environment with large groups also means waiting for participants to perform simple tasks like registering new accounts (such as Blogger or Facebook) and requesting new passwords to forgotten email accounts. Further, it is surprising the number of 'digital natives' who have not received a 'digital education'. For example, out of a class of 65 students aged 18-22, only two had blogged before. The administrative tasks are therefore a major obstacle.

Purpose-built learning management systems (LMS) provide better administrative controls to monitor and keep track of participants' contributions. However, LMS do not give students experience with common Web 2.0 applications. I am focusing on assessing the learning outcomes, which include contextual and conceptual knowledge, but in a Web 2.0 environment. The approach is designed to develop students' generic skills in online written communication. While the online environment is a secondary focus, it tends to require the most effort.

The Web 2.0 challenge, then, is to minimise the transaction costs yet provide students with a genuine Web 2.0 experience.

The Browser Drama

In the near future, we should have access to a hosted blog-aggregator or buddypress site. In the meantime, I have set up a simple, private Google Blogger blog and invited students to join as contributors via their student email. During the first computer lab session, numerous problems with web browsers emerged, such as outdated versions, a lack of plugins or no flashplayer or java installed. The usual forgotten email passwords occurred, too, but there is little that can be done other than allowing plenty of time and providing concurrent activities for those who are better organised.

Without a blog aggregator, I decided to use just the one group blog to enable me to keep track of all students and control access to outsiders. But the media sharing activity proved to be a difficult. The different browser characteristics also prevented some students from posting comments during the practice run. I had originally intended to use digg.com for the media sharing, but without an aggregator the setup time seemed daunting.

After dicussions with UC Hothouse colleagues today and some trials this evening, I have decided on the following solution:

• Firefox Portable enables the browser environment to be controlled. I have set up the relevant add-ons, and the blog and other instructions have been set as the home pages. Because Firefox is self contained, I will set up a html intro page with instructions for using the browser with the blog. The entire browser is 35mb so I can set this up on the LMS page for students to download to their flashdrives. I have also located a number of old marketing flash-drives that I can provide for students who need them. This has solved the browser problem.
• I tested a number of sharing apps that integrate with Blogger. I found the AddThis function the best as it enabled me to restrict the sharing choices to Blogger only. This means that students can simply search the Net for relevant media articles, and then use the AddThis button in the browser to share the article via the blog.

This is where I am up to today. Tomorrow I will be testing this approach during the computer lab workshop. The next steps are to solve the browser consistency dilemma and then the identity drama, but more on that later.

What does it mean to be a Lecturer 2.0?

As society moves from the bad old days of the “closed, formal, and protected” educational institution to the “open, inclusive, and shared” educational revolution, there are numerous challenges which will only be addressed by those brave enough to enter uncharted territory.

Lecturers in Australia face a very different environment to their US counterparts, many of whom have been Lecturer 2.0s for some time. Significantly, issues of copyright, duty of care for students, availability and access to higher bandwidth, and a culture which is particularly awkward with higher technologies in traditional institutions, Australian lecturers have many issues to work through.

So I will attempt to be frank and open about my experiences in an effort to become a Lecturer 2.0. While this blog may be predominantly cathartic, I hope that it provides some value for others who attempt to navigate through the big picture and the small picture in an institutional environment which is yet to provide a network of lighthouses.

It's Fraud Week. So get active and report scammers and spammers!

The Australasian Consumer Fraud Taskforce launched the 2010: Online Offensive—Fighting Fraud Online! yesterday and have provided some great tools to keep an eye on online fraud.

The SCAMwatch Radar provides warnings and alerts on the latest scams. Telstra have also released information on Fraud Week, which runs from 1-7 March.

According to the ACMA (cited by Telstra):

[M]ore than one-third of Australians [encounter] a scam in a 12 month period

Online scams have become a fact of online life. Indeed, spam has been increasing on almost all social media sites. During Fraud Week, I have decided to install the ACMA's SpamMATTERS software and have reported a number of constant spammers who annoy me in a variety of ways.

One area which doesn't appear to be captured by the Spam Act 2003 is the annoying trend where spammers make fake blog comments. These are becoming increasingly difficult to identify and are bulk-posted on topic-specific blogs.

Most recently, I received a comment which read:

There are many Australians that use wireless broadband as an additional home broadband service, allowing them the convenience of being connected to both the home and office while out and about or when traveling. -- http://www.let.com.au

If you do a quick Google search of the above text, you will find that the same post has been made on numerous blogs which are related to telecommunications.

This is the first such blog comment spam I have received which links back to an Australian company (I do not know if the company is aware of the comment spam), but I have reported it to the ACMA using their complaints and enquiries form.

I will report back on any response on this matter, as I understand that the Spam Act 2003 does not cover blog comments directly. But in the meantime, Fraud Week is an appropriate time to be deliberately active in reporting scammers and spammers.