HE practice and Web 2.0 - what's stopping us?

The paper identifies a number of challenges or tensions that arise when HE teachers adopt Web 2.0 tools in their learning and teaching practices (Crook, 2008; Dohn, 2008; Land & Bayne, 2008; Owen, Grant, Sayers, & Facer, 2006). The nature of these tensions is very broad and finding ways to address them has far reaching implications. They include philosophical and epistemological challenges alongside, and overlapping with, more practical issues of safety, time and skills. The poster graphically identifies the tensions and shows how they can be grouped into three categories of philosophical, epistemological and practical (using colour coding). People will be asked to vote using post-it notes for the tension(s) that most affect their practice. Responses will be collated onto an accompanying graffiti wall. The poster enables people who have not attended the short paper session to examine the paper’s contents. It will also be relevant for those who have attended to feedback on their views of the paper’s contents (by voting and by adding to the graffiti wall).The paper includes a definition of Web 2.0 tools and examples of Web 2.0 services. The paper identifies some key research questions for further empirical studies focussing on teachers’ skills and how these are acquired, and teachers’ identities and whether there is a disposition which lends itself to openness with Web 2.0 practices.
A poster accompanies a short paper under the same title.