Enabling e-governance through Web 2.0 : role of ICTs in civic assignation

Citizen participation is essential for progressive representative democracies.  In this paper, we analyze the rolw of ICTs and particularly Web 2.0, in Indian Elections of 2009, to unearth it ICTs had enabled citizen empowerment and engagement e-democracy.  We build on preliminary research over the past decase, anf outline the role of Web 2.0 in the pivotal elections process using the methodological framework of historiography and critical discourse analysis.

Marking machinima : a case study in assessing student use of a Web 2.0 technology

The model of learning best suited to the future may be one which sees learning as the process of managing the different kinds of participation an individual might have in complex social systems. Learning capability and engagement is thus dependent on the relationship between an individual identity and social systems. We report on the incorporation of machinima, a Web 2.0 technology, as part of an interdisciplinary and collaborative project where the focus is not on the mastery of the tools or the acquisition of predetermined knowledge, but on the development of learning engagement. We provide the case study of a pilot project involving students across two Arts disciplines collaborating via the game, World of Warcraft, to produce an animated adaptation of one of Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. Their contributions were differently assessed according to the pre-existing requirements of their home disciplines. We argue that the assessment in such projects, in conjunction with innovations and experimentation with Web 2.0 technologies, should shift from an emphasis on product to process. We believe that this has a sound pedagogical and theoretical foundation, and also fits better with the increasingly digitalised, unfixed and interdisciplinary world that students will face on graduation.

Redesigning learning through social media, Web 2.0 and F2F teaching : an action research study

The focus of this research was to explore how social and participatory media could be used to enhance the face-to-face teaching and learning process. Action research was used to design learning that valued the students’ own experiences and to encourage students to create, connect and form a partnership in the learning process: hence supporting students' strengths and abilities. To monitor and participate in the use of social media required an increase in the teacher's work time. As a partial counter-balance, it was found that the teacher/researcher successfully reduced her time spent on correction by implementing peer and self-assessment and by making more effective use of classroom observations. This led to a valuable triangulation of assessment data. Reviewing many of the screen clips collected in this study, one can see the diversity of roles and activities in which the students were engaged, and their development over time through the action research cycle. Combining Web 2.0, face-to-face teaching and social media, where students made online friends and used pseudonyms, provided students with more choices and flexibility when working, communicating and learning. This research may help curriculum developers interweave new technologies, new literacies and multimodal learning methods into day-to-day learning programs. The developed methods of learning and designs should also be transferable to other educational learning environments.

Piloting social networking and Web 2.0 software at Deakin University

Deakin University piloted social networking software in order to complement and add a new dimension to its online learning and teaching efforts. In the first semester of 2007 eight teaching academics adopted three software applications. Six were used with students for learning while the other two were used by staff for professional development and research. This paper reports on the first attempt at providing institutional support for Web 2.0 and what was learned through the experience of these eight teaching academics which is essential to the ongoing development and decisions related to the future take up of these software applications.

Assessing perceived destination image and brand equity through web 2.0

Social media technologies of Web 2.0 play an increasingly important role in destination brand management practice and the consumer selection of destinations. Consumers freely discuss their travel stories, travel recommendations, travel experiences and attitudes through blogs, forums and social media. This material is read and added to by millions of people and the content has a role in determining the image of a travel destination. Therefore it is critical that destination brand managers understand what is being discussed and written about their destination. What is the content of the Web 2.0 discussions? What are the attributes, associations, experiences, connotations, connections, contexts and ramifications?

Anti-apathy approaches in representative democracies: e-governance and web 2.0-facilitating citizen involvement?

Apathetic citizens disenchanted with conventional channels of participation in democratic processes are a predicament for mature representative democracies, as it reflects in the depleting voter turnouts in elections and participation in community associations. Recognising the reverberations of this apathy on governance, economies ostensibly search for anti apathy approaches. Recently E-governance using the pervasive power of the internet/Web 2.0, during the election has been instrumental for democratic engagement. We considered Australia and France, applying a historiographical view exploring the pre-election scenarios, attempting to evaluate the use of the Internet/Web 2.0 as valid benchmarking anti-apathy approaches of e-governance, to facilitate citizen participation.

Using Web 2.0 applications to deliver innovative services on the internet

The emergence of Web 2.0 has brought about new Web applications being developed. Represented chiefly by Web applications such as YouTube, MySpace, blogs and Google applications, these community-based technologies are changing the way we use the Internet. One interesting result of these innovations is the extensibility of these applications. For example, YouTubepsilas content can be displayed on other Websites and hence, are popularly dasiaextendedpsila to be displayed on individual blogs and other organization Websites. In this paper, we discussed two applications that were a result of extending Google Earth and Google Maps. These two applications illustrate how new solutions can be quickly built from these extensible applications thus suggesting the future of application development, one that is built upon applications rather than object-oriented components.

The use of Web 2.0 Technologies to promote higher order thinking skills

During 2007 several independent Victorian secondary schools participated in a study exploring the ways in which the use of learning technologies can support the development of higher order thinking skills for students. This paper focuses on the use of Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) including Web 2.0 technologies for promoting effective teaching and learning in science. A case study methodology was used to describe how individual teachers used ICT and Web 2.0 in their settings. Data included interviews (focus group and individual), questionnaires, monitoring of teacher and student use of smart tools, analysis of curriculum documents and delivery methods and of student work samples. The evaluation used an interpretive methodology to investigate five research areas: Higher-order thinking, Metacognitive awareness, Team work/collaboration, Affect towards school/learning and Ownership of learning. Three cases are reported on in this paper. Each describes how student engagement and learning increased and how teachers’ attitudes and skills developed. Examples of student and teacher blogs are provided to illustrate how such technologies encourage students and teachers to look beyond text science.

The decline of experts in the Age of web 2.0 : lay blogger perceptions of experts

With the advent of Web 2.0 tools such as Weblogs (blogs), lay people can more easily share knowledge with the public and have far greater reach and impact. At the same time a literature review reveals that experts have been criticised on many fronts. This paper explores key criticisms of experts using 1) a literature review and 2) an interpretive study of lay blogger perceptions of experts. The paper provides important insights into lay blogger criticisms of experts. Findings indicate that a major lay blogger criticism of experts is class-based and powerbased. Experts are perceived as elitists who wish to control the flow of knowledge. Interestingly, many of the lay bloggers studied held mixed feelings about experts and the value of lay knowledge on the internet. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.

Professional development and Web 2.0, can the space make a difference?

A professional development (Summer School) with over two hundred teachers of English participating in the activity for over six months, was supported by an online social software website. The employment of Web 2.0 technologies to facilitate the delivery of the summer school was reasonably successful, but other benefits were realised. This poster presentation will show how scaffolded learning along with new experiences and knowledge, can potentially have added long-term value when sustained in an authentic, supportive learning environment.

What, how and why Web 2.0?

This article focuses on introducing Web 2.0 technologies and possible uses for student and teacher learning and collaboration. Many of these tools are already used in social and business contexts. These new and emerging applications are also gaining popularity in classrooms across all education levels. Various applications are introduced to raise awareness and encourage educators to explore these new avenues for teaching and learning.

Examining how teachers use web 2.0 technologies in Science lessons to promote higher order thinking in teaching science

During 2007 several independent Victorian secondary schools participated in a study exploring the ways in which the use of learning technologies can support the development of higher order thinking skills for students. This paper focuses on the use of Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) including Web 2.0 technologies for promoting effective teaching and learning in science. A case study methodology was used to describe how individual teachers used ICT and Web 2.0 in their settings. Data included interviews (focus group and individual), questionnaires, monitoring of teacher and student use of smart tools, analysis of curriculum documents and delivery methods and of student work samples. The evaluation used an interpretive methodology to investigate five research areas'. Higher-order thinking, Metacognitive awareness, Team work/collaboration, Affect towards school/learning and Ownership of learning. Three cases are reported on in this paper. Each describes how student engagement and learning increased and how teachers' attitudes and skills developed. Examples of student and teacher blogs are provided to illustrate how such technologies encourage  students and teachers to look beyond text science.

Helping business leverage web 2.0 to generate social capital

Businesses large and small are keen to leverage Web 2.0 applications to interact with customers, suppliers and other stakeholders. Whilst some have achieved success, others are still struggling to understand the opportunities and threats associated with using Web 2.0 in business. This paper discusses the development of a conceptual framework to help businesses understand how they could leverage Web 2.0 applications to generate social capital. The proposed framework helps businesses (i) identify opportunities to leverage the strengths and features of various Web 2.0 applications, and (ii) develop business strategies for Web 2.0. As a positional paper, it contributes to theory by proposing a systematic and structured approach for understanding how social capital is created, captured, distributed, and consumed online.

Web 2.0 VDS : social networking as a facilitator of design education

In 2009, Deakin University and the Chinese University of Hong Kong trailed the use of Web 2.0 technologies to enhance learning outcomes in a third year architectural design studio that was modelled on the Virtual Design Studios (VDS) of past decades. The studio developed the VDS further by integrating a social learning environment into the blended learning experience. The Web 2.0 VDS utilised the social networking sites Ning.com, YouTube and Skype; various 3D modelling and video- and/or image-processing software; plus chat-software. These were used in combination to deliver lectures, communicate learning goals, disseminate learning resources, submit work, and provide feedback and comments on various design works in assessing students’ outcomes. This paper centres on issues of learning and teaching associated with the development of a Social Network VDS (SNVDS).