a blog is a wonderful thing, but it tends not to be very good at building on going dialogue and discussion. so much of what is going on in elearning needs more than a short blurb today and then on to another topic tomorrow. one solution i've decided to pursue is the creation of a wiki linked to eelearning. thus may i present to you the:
eelearning wiki will be dedicated to conversations around topics that i believe are important to learning professionals. at least they'll be of interest to me. everyone is welcome to come on in and participate at whatever level you'd like.
the first topic in eelearning wiki is a review of web 2.0 applications with a learning perspective. there are literally thousands of web 2.0 applications out on the web today. some of them are very useful and have become common day names - youtube, flickr, blogger, skype - even outside of the techie/internet world.
it's not surprising that learning professionals are trying to figure out which of these tools can help in the learning process. obviously, the tools that are marketed and designed right at us - like elgg or nuuvo - are easy to find and blogs have been used in learning situations on a regular basis for several years now. but what of the rest? de.lic.ious and cocomment? ning and myspace? empressr and wridea?
what's in eelearning wiki? well click one of the links to it in this post or in the sidebar bulletin and find out. (FYI, the password is "learning"). oh ok, a bit of a preview:
[web 2.0 review] review of the apps - i'll be reviewing various applications, of my own choosing (see disclaimer on the topic home page) and rating them in three categories - personal effectiveness, learning effectiveness, and coolness. each application will receive one to five - one being bad and five being great. i've started out with 25 and will add 2 or 3 a week. competitor lists - you'll get a chance to help me build a list of competitors for each application. topics regarding web 2.0 applications - i've got a number of things in the works that you'll just have to wait and see when i launch them in the next few weeks. mega, mega list of web 2.0 applications - drawing on other lists and my own exploration of the web 2.0 world, i'll get us started on building the most comprehensive list of web 2.0 apps yet attempted on the web!
but of course, a wiki is about you adding your comments and ideas as well. so come on in, check out eelearning wiki, and let's do this together!
Dave, at which knowledge level are you targeting the wiki, recognising that this may vary from topic to topic?
I ask because the web 2.0 material assumes a degree of existing knowledge. I have no difficulty with this if the target is exchange among fellow professionals who already have a knowledge base. However, a lay reader is likely to get lost.
Posted by: Jim Belshaw | September 17, 2006 at 02:36 PM
blogs, content management systems, wikis - what system to use?
We have done some experimentation of our own, with blogs and content management systems, and have also decided that as something is missing, so wikis may be the answer.
Will be keep an eye on your progress and see what we can learn.
Posted by: paul | September 19, 2006 at 01:43 AM
jim: i'm working with the assumption that most of my readers are learning professionals (except my mom of course - and she does read eelearning - lol). however, your concern about knowledge level is a legitimate one because not all learning professionals are up to speed with Web 2.0. i'll keep an eye on my assumptions.
paul, it took me some time with working with wikis, but I can say that i really enjoy working with them. particularly pbwiki.
Posted by: dave lee | September 19, 2006 at 08:51 PM