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Web 2.0 And Social Learning in a Digital

Economy
G Shravan Kumar, BE3/4 CSE-A G. Kanakaiah, BE3/4 CSE-A
gandham.shravan@gmail.com Vasavi College of engineering
Computer science & engineering, Computer science & Engineering.
Vasavi College of Engineering. kanakaiah.guntipally@gmail.com

ABSTRACT
an innovative application of them to increase
Web 2.0, the second phase in the Web’s people’s awareness of Web 2.0 technologies.
evolution, is attracting the attention of IT
professionals, businesses, and Web It is to find answers for two questions:
users.Web 2.0 is also called the wisdom (1) Is Web 2.0 technologies appropriate in

Web, people-centric Web, participative supporting social learning

Web, and read/write Web. Web 2.0

harnesses the Web in a more interactive and
collaborative manner, emphasizing peers’
social interaction and collective intelligence,
and presents new opportunities
leveraging the Web and engaging its users
more effectively. Within the last two to three
years, Web 2.0, ignited by successful Web
2.0- based social applications such as
MySpace, Flickr, and YouTube, has been
(2) how Web 2.0 supports the process of social
learning Based on the four components of
Boisot’s SLC, the paper explores characteristics
of Web 2.0 technologies and the relationship
for between social learning and Web 2.0
technologies, which demonstrates that Web 2.0
technologies are able to support social learning.
Elearning 2.0 is the application of Web 2.0 in
learning, its tenets are creating and delivering
personalized, social and lifelong learning

forging new applications that were

previously unimaginable.
Through web platforms utilizing Web 2.0
The paper provides background theory related to
principles and technologies.
learning and Web 2.0 technologies and describes
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Therefore, it analyzes blog and wiki resources its features, highlighting its potential impact on
for e-learning 2.0, ChinesePod, and social learning.
collaboration systems to demonstrate how Web
2.0 technologies are shaping social learning. 1.2. Aim and structure of the paper
While not designed specifically for educational
1. Introduction purposes, Web 2.0 applications have a number
of affordances that can make them useful in
1.1. Background
teaching and learning environments and are
With the emergence of interactive IT capabilities
rooted in strong pedagogical underpinnings of
such as the Internet and WWW, business and
constructivism [1], which are designed to bring
knowledge exchange have become very strongly
people with shared interests together [2]. The
inter related. Web 2.0 is a term used to herald
increasingly ubiquitous access, ease of use,
the second wave of the World Wide Web, one
functionality, and flexibility of emerging Web
that allows individuals to publish, collaborate
2.0 technologies have made them much more
and share experiences with other like-minded
appealing as instructional tools[3].
individuals or groups. Web 2.0 may simply
Organizational learning is studied from
represent new jargon for what the Web was
psychology and organizational development,
meant to achieve all along, a marked contrast
management science, strategy, production
with what happened during the first wave of
management, sociology and cultural
Web development, which was characterized by a
anthropology [4]. Based on Huber (1991) we
hierarchical structure (ruled by Webmasters)
offer a definition: …an entity learns if, through
offering static web sites broadcasted and
its information/knowledge exchange, the range
distributed mostly through hypertext links. Web
of its potential behavior is changed … an
2.0 is already part of our mainstream culture. A
organization learns if many of its units acquire
and use knowledge that it recognizes as
potentially useful to the organization. [5]
Google search in August 2006 of “Web 2.0”
We selected after a literature survey the social
yielded over 103 million hits. By contrast, a
learning cycle (SLC) theory of Boisot (1995) as
search of Medline with the term “web 2.0.mp”
a starting point for this paper because it assumes
failed to provide even one document. This
organizational learning is a social and dynamic
dearth of information within the biomedical
process of knowledge development and
literature motivated us to write this article, as an
utilization. The objective of our research is:
attempt to introduce the reader to Web 2.0 and
The development and exploration of a
framework based on Boisot’s SLC concept for
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successful integrating Web 2.0 applications in
general, in organisations during an ongoing
process of learning and changing. The ultimate
aim of this framework is to give direction to the
social and dynamic process of knowledge
development Authorized licensed use limited to:
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and utilization for improving organizational
(learning) effectiveness.This paper is structured
in five sections. The introduction–section 1-
presents the background and aim of the paper. In
section 2 is developed a SLC framework for
especially knowledge-based companies what
will be explored in section 3 for analyzing cases
of Web2.0 shaping learning. The findings are
summarized and discussed in section 4. And
section 5 gives recommendations for future
research.
2. Theoretical background
2.1. Characteristics of Web 2.0
Web 2.0 is a term invented by O’Reilly Media in
2004 and defined as follows: Web 2.0 is the
business revolution in the computer industry
caused by the move to the internet as platform,
and an attempt to understand the rules for
success on that new platform [6].
Some of the design principles that characterize
Web 2.0 are the following [7]:
• The user as contributor—some
examples of this include the ability of
the user to write reviews on
amazon.com or rank the reputation of
sellers on eBay.
• Participation not publishing—blogs are
a good example of this.
• Lightweight programming models—
loosely coupled systems, services that
can be bundled together rather than
heavyweight applications, syndicating
data outward not controlling what
happens to it when it gets to the other
end of the connection.
• Trust and collaboration—services such
as Wikipedia, which is built upon the
idea that any user can add an entry and
any other user can edit it, or Flickr
which has collaborative categorization
of sites.
• Software above the level of any single
device—a good example of this is
iTunes where the applications
seamlessly reach from a handheld
device to the backend server with the PC
acting as a local cache and control
station.
• A rich user experience—some examples
of this might be a word processor that
supports wiki-style collaborative editing
not just standalone documents or an e-
mail application.
2.2Boisot’s SLC and the components
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Boisot is considering social learning as moving
through an Information (I) space along two
parallel paths of how meaning are constructed
and are shared. By examining how codification,
abstraction and diffusion interact to move
information/knowledge through the data field,
we can see how new knowledge gradually builds
up in a social system. It consists of four
components:
scanning, problem solving, diffusion
absorption
(1) Scanning:
Scanning-a left movement in the I space through
which data which is generally available and
diffused crystallizes into singular
idiosyncratic patterns that then become the
possession of individuals and small groups. This
stage requires establishing shared vision and
meeting the different needs of each stakeholder.
labeled as adoption and diffusion is extensively
discussed in innovation theory.
(4)Absorption and impact
Absorption and impact –a downward movement
in the I space by means of which the newly
created knowledge is internalized through
repeated use and becomes therefore largely
implicit. It becomes embedded in concrete
and practices and physical or IT artifacts. An
organization is facing the familiar question of
whether old knowledge will compete or
collaborate. Will there be an integration or
collision. It depends on the characteristics of the
and innovation and their related new knowledge.

(2) Problem solving

Problem solving by codification and abstraction
is an upward movement in the I space through
which new patterns gain a definite form and
contour. It gives structure and coherence to
insights that resulted from scanning and
transforms tacit knowledge in more explicit
knowledge. Figure 1 Boisot’s Social Learning Cycle

(3) Diffusion 3. Research model, methodology

Diffusion –a rightward movement in the I space
and case study analysis
that makes the newly created knowledge
available to a larger population. This topic
3.1. Research model
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While many traditional web applications focus
on the delivery of content, Web 2.0 applications,
such as blogs, wikis, social networks, and social
bookmarks, focus more on social connectivity.
These Web 2.0 applications provide venues for
collaboration and sharing of information to
support the networks necessary for social
and active learning.
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Based on these four components of SLC, we
analyze those four components to demonstrate
how Web 2.0 technologies influence social
learning. On the Scanning stage, Web 2.0 has
many tools to facilitate this process by providing
real time monitoring of users and stakeholders’
behavior to see just what their new needs are,
and how to meet their new needs. Through
Providing the platform of participation, it helps
people establish shared visions. The photo-
sharing site Flickr is also finding use within
learning - as it provides a valuable Resource for
learners and educators looking for images for
use in presentations, learning materials or
coursework.
On the problem solving stage, Web 2.0 would
enable well-defined work groups to share results
that continue to build on successes and to learn
from failures. They also have the capability to
provide space for discussion aimed at problem
solving. Blogging is increasingly finding a
home in learning (both in school and university),
as not only does the software remove the
technical barriers to writing and publishing
online - but the “journal” format encourages
students to keep a record of their thinking
Over time. Blogs also of course facilitate critical
feedback, by letting readers add comments -
which could be from teachers, peers or a wider
audience. On the stage of diffusion, Web 2.0
applications provide numerous opportunities for
learners to publish their work globally, which
provide for a number of pedagogical benefits.
Learning environment that include
learner’s publication afford opportunities for
learners to examine problems in different ways,
establish new connections, and ultimately
develop a new entity that can be shared globally
[8]. Podcasting has become a popular
technology in learning, in part because it
provides a way of pushing educational content to
learners. For example, Stanford University has
teamed up with Apple to create the Stanford
iTunes University - which provides a range
of digital content (some closed and some
publicly accessible) that students can subscribe
to using Apple's iTunes software. And for
absorption and impact, using Web 2.0
technologies such as wikis and social networks
could create an interactive, collaborative
learning experience for learners in a media they
are familiar with, which is benefit for learners’
absorption.
3.2 Research methodology
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In this study was chosen for an explorative case
study approach in order to collect a rich picture
of the reality, asking for how and why. In a case
study a contemporary phenomenon is
investigated within its real life context Because
the boundaries between the phenomenon and the
context are not clear. A major strength of the
case study strategy is that it allows for the use of
multiple sources like documentation, archival
records, interviews, direct observations,
participants observations and physical artifacts.
This research could be a starting point for a
further more quantitative survey in order to
determine the exact relationships that are
identified.
§ Is Web 2.0 technologies appropriate in
supporting social learning?
§ How Web 2.0 supports the process of social
learning?
3.3 Case study description-learning
2.0
E-learning 2.0 is the application of Web 2.0 in
learning, its tenets are creating and delivering
personalized, social and lifelong learning
through web platforms utilizing Web 2.0
principles and technology.Edublogs.org and
wikispaces.com are two examples of blog and
wiki resources for e-learning 2.0. Steve's post
includes many other examples of edu-blogging,
podcasting, media sharing and social networks.
There are some interesting web apps for students
popping up, for example a collaborative note
taking app called stu.dicio.us and the
ReadWriteThink Printing Press -which enables
users to create a newspaper, brochure, etc. For
an in-depth look at one of the leaders in this
space, Steve profiled Elgg -a social network for
education. This is an excellent example of how
web 2.0 is shaping learning. Another great
example of an e-learning 2.0 app is Chinese Pod.
It uses podcasting, RSS, blogging and other
Web 2 technologies to teach Mandarin Chinese.
This complements the free offerings - basically,
the Mandarin podcasts - very nicely. For
example, if you want to dive into learning
Mandarin straight away: select one of the
episodes, plus you can participate in the
discussions. The first level subscription is called
'Basic' and gets you a PDF transcript of the
podcast. If you want get really serious about
learning Mandarin, sign up to the premium
subscription service and receive learning
resources such as Review Materials and Lesson
Plans. The community aspect of Chinese Pod
shows what can be done with web 2.0
technologies in e-learning. The other example is
collaborative E-learning Systems. As well as
blogs and wikis, there is a class of Web 2.0
software that is more of a platform product.
These are referred to as collaboration systems
and examples are Elgg, Nuuvo and Digication.
Elgg is social networking software designed
especially for education - built from the ground
up to support learning.
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4. Conclusions
We separate case study conclusions from
general conclusions.
4.1. Case study conclusions
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As this article shows, there is a lot of web 2.0
activity n the e-learning space - including from
the big Internet companies like Google and
Apple.
The Web is increasingly becoming a social
place: there has been a shift from just existing on
the Web to participating on the Web.
Community applications such as collaborative
wikis, blogging, photo and bookmark sharing,
and online social networks have become very
popular recently, both in personal/social and
professional/organizational domains [9]. As
examples of this, there has been huge growth in
taxonomy and folksonomy usage[10]on sites
like the Wikipedia, del.icio.us, CiteULike and
Flickr and within some application areas
interconnections between people as well as
content have been formed through social
networks, trackbacks, blogrolls and interwiki
links. However, these applications are hitting
boundaries in terms of information integration.
For example, many people have multiple user
accounts through which they will create new or
replicated content across sites, and there is little
in terms of connections between these user
accounts and the associated content.
4.2. General conclusions
Continuing the case conclusions we now
generalize our findings by answering the two
main research questions of this paper:
(i) Is Web 2.0 technologies appropriate in
supporting social learning?
(ii) (ii) How Web 2.0 supports the process
of social learning?
• For the first question, this study finds
that the use of Web 2.0 technologies has
significant potential to support and
enhance learning. The development of
social collaborative technologies, such
as blogs, Wiki, and social networking
sites (SNS), results in an extraordinarily
fast growing online virtual community,
in which people communicate, share
information, and keep in touch with
each other.
• For the second question, the results of
this study provide evidence that
integrating Web 2.0 technologies such
as blogs and wikis into the learning
environment can be effective at
increasing learners' satisfaction with the
course, improve their learning and their
writing ability, and increase learner
interaction with other learners and
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providers; thus changing the learners'
role from passive to active learners,
allowing them to better create and retain
knowledge.
5. Recommendations for future
research
The goal of this study was to increase people's
awareness of the benefits of Web 2.0 to
supplement learning and encourage people's
decisions to adopt these tools using the
decomposed theory of planned behavior.In this
study the relationship between social learning
and Web 2.0 were explored. Future research is
still necessary in order to identify the most
effective methods of utilizing Web 2.0
technologies to improve teaching and learning
productivity; and to better support active, social,
and engaging learning environments.
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