Education for a Digital World Advice, Guidelines and Effective Practice from Around Globe, 2008a

26 – Techno Expression
Constant advances in technology give students more
options for communication and collaboration than they
had even two or three years ago. For the symbolic representation
and focused listing activities described above,
we ask the face-to-face students to use art supplies, pen,
and paper. We would use several technologies to do the
same exercises online: an art program, like KidPix or
Photoshop, a word-processing program or an online
reflection space, and an environment to display the results,
like Angel or Moodle. Web 2.0 brings new possibilities
for expression within educational contexts.
According to Wikipedia, the term Web 2.0 “refers to a
second generation of services available on the World
Wide Web that lets people collaborate and share information
online (para. 1)”. Weblogger Richard McManus
defines “Web 2.0” as “The Web as Platform”. No matter
how you slice it, technology has changed to make it possible
for the everyman to interact with the entire globe,
using just a computer with an Internet connection and
browser.
While this newfound power has many people excited,
there are some who see a downside. “Basically, ideological
lines run thusly: Web 2.0 either empowers the individual
and provides an outlet for the ‘voice of the
voiceless’; or it elevates the amateur to the detriment of
professionalism, expertise and clarity” (Wikipedia, n.d.,
para. 17). It is ironic that the Wikipedia entry for Web
2.0 contains this discussion, since many educators require
secondary sources when students use information
from Wikipedia to support arguments. For example,
“Alan Liu, a professor of English at the University of
California at Santa Barbara, adopted a policy that
Wikipedia ‘is not appropriate as the primary or sole
reference for anything that is central to an argument,
complex, or controversial’ “ (Jaschik, 2007, para. 8). Dr.
Liu is not alone in his hesitation to trust a communitybuilt
resource as a primary reference for an argument.
Since anyone can edit Wikipedia, anyone could add false
or unverified information that students might accept as
the truth.
In the world of education, we do not always have to
be so esoteric. Yes, we need to make sure that research
data is valid, reliable, and unbiased. In fact, I tell my
students that they should question every source: published
or unpublished, print or digital, peer-reviewed or
not. However, when asking our students to participate
in learning activities, our goal is to level the playing field
so that everyone can participate equally. With Web 2.0
technologies, such as weblogs, wikis, and really simple
syndication (RSS), students can share reflections to
which others can reply, collaborate on projects over
distance, and publish media broadcasts (e.g., podcasts)
to which other people may subscribe. We will get into
the tools used for techno expression right after a section
on setting boundaries. In other words, define the rules
before you provide the tools.
CREATE A SAFE PLACE FOR TECHNO EXPRESSION
BY SETTING AND ENFORCING BOUNDARIES
Before the class begins, define any conventions that you,
your department, or college, and even your school or
university have related to student behaviour in the online
environment. Use your syllabus to document these
conventions. Start by stating your own expectations and
having students brainstorm norms that they’d like. You
can augment those rules with those of your department
or college, such as link to a student code of conduct, or
those of your campus, such as a link to an acceptable use
policy (AUP). University first-year experience (FYE)
courses and new student orientations are a good place to
start this type of conversation from the institutional
perspective.
Some instructors just refer to one of the many Netiquette
(Internet etiquette), definitions on the Web.
Common Netiquette rules include “Think before you
post,” “Remember the human,” and “Remember: your
future employer may be reading.” Even if students are
not motivated by the other rules, this last rule may be
more true than students think. An article in the Washington
Times (Palank, 2006) discusses the perils of students
expressing themselves too freely on social
networking sites and other publicly accessible areas online.
Using your syllabus to tell students your expectations
about their behaviour is the first step to successful
expression.
Example
Here is a syllabus section about student responsibilities
in the online environment that includes a sentence
about Netiquette.
Student Responsibilities in Online Environment (Moodle)
We will be using Moodle as the primary method to communicate
class-related messages. You are responsible for
making sure that the correct email address is attached to
your Moodle username, both at the beginning of the
term and if you change your email address. We will use
the “Core Rules of Netiquette” as guidelines for online
interaction (see http://www.albion.com/netiquette/core
rules.html).
Starting with a common framework like Netiquette
does not mean that students cannot express themselves
418 Education for a Digital World