Leveraging technology for engaging learning design

Abstract

Web 2.0 tools alone do not teach or result in effective or meaningful learning. A review of literature on evolving learning designs based on the tenets of Pedagogy 2.0 (Lee & McLoughlin, 2010) highlights four contributing elements of design for socio-constructivist learning environments: authenticity, motivation, scaffolding and skills development. This paper details an innovative learning design for the integration of technology to provide flexible access and encourage engagement while facilitating the development of knowledge management skills in an undergraduate course. A combination of technologies and strategies were used to encourage students to sufficiently engage in the assessment tasks. These were: course website for information provision, WebQuest for scaffolded instructions, wiki for collaboration and social bookmarking for sharing and reviewing references. The evaluation of the learning design was generally positive with students reporting increased 'tech savvyness'. However, a significant challenge was facilitation of equitable and synergistic group work which is central to socio- constructivist learning designs. Future iterations of the design will focus on this aspect in addition to encouraging student engagement with the Web 2.0 tools that were underutilized this time.