Last week I attended an e-learning symposium at De Montfort University, focusing on the use of web 2.0 technologies. I was very impressed with the level of staff enthusiasm and innovation and the way in which new technologies are being used creatively by staff throughout the university. It is very refreshing to see an institutional culture of embracing a range of different technologies rather than being wedded to a single monolithic learning environment.
An excellent opening keynote was given by Lawrie Phipps from the JISC on learner expectations and technology, which raised some very interesting ideas around web 2.0, connectivism and the rhizomatic model of collaborative communities. I’ve seen several different definitions of ‘web 2.0’ but I particularly liked the simplicity of Lawrie’s definition of ‘web 2.0’ as “anything that’s new and interesting and users want to use”.
