What is Web 2.0 ?

Web 2.0 site allows users to communicate like they do on social media, it is the sophisticated version of the world wide web that we all know and it continues to develop. It is the type used in social media sites, blogs, and video sharing sites and so on. The image below provides us with the basics of web 2.0

http://www.slideshare.net/prinsp/p-prinsloo-7-october2013-final

Websites using web 2.0 are more advanced compared to websites that are just made up of texts this type is known as web 1.0 . Web 1.0 just presents information on the website, but web 2.0 allows us to interact with the website , it allows us to perform many different functions such as storing information on the website, tagging, blogging and so many others. Here the user is in charge , web 1.0 does not allow these, it only provides information. Web2.0 make use of Ajax and Java Script on the client side  which allows us to download upload data on to the web site while on the server it uses similar technologies as web 1.0. This means we can store a voice recording message on to the website and keep it there. Web 2.0 is what allows us to be able to record our voice and submit it online to be graded by the professor from his own computer. This is a function of Javascript used by the Web 2.0 , imagine what it would be like if we all still use web 1.0 .

In my foreign language class, we had  to record our voice  to answer some of the assigned homework.We all had to download java and also update it regularly. This is possible because  web 2.0 make use of Java  to store data on the website. It will also allow the  Professor download it from the website listen to the recordings and grade them.

How to become an effective learner

How do we use previous skills and knowledge to analyze  newly consumed information which will involve comparing and contrasting the new information with what we know. This learning process is explained by metacognitive theories.
                           
Components of metacognitive theories:
1. Metacognitive knowledge
2. Metacognitive regulation

                                                        Metacognitive knowledge
What do we know about our cognition?

 Declarative knowledge
         We know we are learners , we use our memory to analyze the  different information we consume. Therefore what makes us good learners is how much we know about our cognition.Good learners have more knowledge about their memory.

Procedural knowledge
       Involves using skills to solve different problems. People that possess better problem solving skills learn faster.

Conditional knowledge
   This is knowing how and when to use the skills that have been acquired over time to solve a problem.

                                                 Metacognitive regulation
How do we control our thinking?

Planning
This involves strategies that makes us to learn better , like asking questions before reading an article.

Monitoring
This involves testing our knowledge while learning , people who are able to effectively utilize this form of metacognitive regulation are good at declarative i.e. they are able to effectively access their memory on the subject  and perform a test while learning.

Evaluation
This requires an ability to be able to uncover some details that are not present in the information we are consuming. This will require us to align our thinking to what the author was thinking when he produced the text we are consuming.

All these components are required in order for us to be an effective learner.




  

http://www.slideshare.net/hjl12141/7-powerpointmy-literacy-learners

Open Pedagogy

http://cimsbschool.org/pedagogy/


Pedagogy is the art of teaching , it is the way and method that an instructor use to transfer knowledge to  consumer. Open pedagogy therefore involves the transfer of information form the producer to the consumer freely, in open pedagogy barriers placed on learning have been removed enabling consumers to learn freely. A pedagogue is anyone that produce information in such away that it can be learned easily by a consumer, in some countries in order to be a pedagogue you will need a Bachelors in Education , or go through a training in  an institute for educators.
Steps used in open pedagogy

                        Make your consumers trust you
                        Provide some information to your consumers or students
                        Let the students consume and translate the information you provide
                        Allow the students the to teach the  newly translated information to another student
                        Provide the students with how their work will be graded
                        Provide students with different methods that can be employed in other to do well
                       Give them a feedback on the work done by the students
                       Allow the students to try this form of teaching


Why do we then need a permission or license in open pedagogy ?
This is because the work by a student that will be effective in teaching other students and also be in accordance with the free access policy of open educational resources and also the 4R permissions.




                      
             http://www.fno.org/sept03/pedagogy2.jpg                    

visual literacy

Visual literacy , enables us to send information like coded messages so that they can convey the same meaning that written words will convey. This will require that the consumer also understand how to read visual information. Knowing how to read visual information is very important when symbols are be used to convey the message.

Visual literacy is important in order to participate in open education which seeks to connect people from different parts of the world, because different  people have different languages. The ability to understand the meaning of visual images will enable messages to be conveyed easily between people in different  parts of the world.

The following are used in conveying visual information effectively

Symbols
This is used to convey an idea, it can be inform of a name or an object. Symbols can be seen on a map , where different symbols convey different meaning.

http://www.kidsgeo.com/geography-for-kids/0027-map-key-and-scale.php



Sign

This is used as a notice to inform people , most likely warn them about something. Below is a no smoking sign

 

 

 

http://www.canstockphoto.com/sign-no-smoking-0065326.html


Icon
This is a form of visual information that comes from our world. Icons are universally understood , it can be an image of a popular monarch .People are expected to understand the meaning of an icon without learning them unlike symbols.


Some terms in visual literacy

Information
Set of facts conveyed by a producer that can be consumed by someone , it sends a message to the consumer. We have different sources of information such as websites , newspapers, and lectures.

Information design
This is used to build information in order to present in a other that it will be manageable and also convey all the information that the producer intends to convey to the consumer.

Info graphics
This is used to produce information in such a way that it can be easily consumed. It simplifies information that would have been very difficult to understand.



http://www.wired.com/design/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/infographic_of_infographics.png

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                                                                                                                                                       

 

 

 

A global perspective on metaiteracy; Metaliteracy in Beta

This discourse information and its neutrality , that is information can be seen from different perspective and different, it is not just limited to one direction. There we can all be a producer of information because no matter what our previous knowledge was , our information will still be useful to someone who might not be in our immediate environment.
A new place where people can seek information Web 2.0 , this is a large storage of information it is like an online library where we can all sorts of information , and the best of it is that it is free to use , free is important here because metaliteracy MOOC serves to enable students to have unlimited access to different academic resources and at no cost unlike the traditional books we have that have been made expensive by publishers and make education seem less attractive because of the cost of buying the books which keeps going up as new edition of different books keep springing up.

Critical conscious has been  identified as the foundation of metaliteracy.
It involves using the appropriate delivery system to disseminate information. Produce information in multiple media formats to enable access to this information to be easy. Monitoring feedback responses, this will also enable the producer of the information to learn from peoples responses. Understand personal privacy, licensing issues and citing appropriately.

Understanding metaliteracy involves understanding this world , that is being aware of what is going on around us, this will allow us to disseminate relevant information, information that will be of use. It will also enable us to know that different religion and different cultures exist therefore when we are producing information we have to know the kind of participatory environment and not disseminate an information that will be offensive to a particular group of people.

Metaliteracy field theory perspective requires enables us to understand people capabilities based on their individual skills, the environment where they grow up , the laws of their society on types and the kind of information to be produced. The field perspective theory also requires capital . Capital is needed to achieve the necessary skills one desires, capital is needed to acquire the resources for learning one skills .

Openness and metaliteracy

This involves different ways through which educational  resources can be made accessible to the public  and also free,  we will also talk about how to verify the authenticity of the materials made available . Key terms in this blog includes , OERs, Creative Commons , MLA commons,  Gifted Commons



OERs- Open Educational Resources

These includes any kind of teaching material like textbooks , full courses, course materials, syllabi, modules, lesson plan, videos, exams and techniques, that are made available to the public for free. Here the public can review the article or book that is about to be published and also work on it by adding to it or removing from it, they can also share with other people. The purpose of OERs is to make materials needed for education free because of the rising cost books. There have  been issues with regards to  the licensing of materials made open such as  the violation of copyright laws that protect most of the traditional books that we all use. Therefore not all books can be made available to the general public for free. This takes us to our next key term creative commons .




Creative commons
 Creative commons is an organization that deals with the issues of licensing by ensuring the provision of more licensing to avoid the issue of violating copyright laws. The allows creativity allowing people to worry less about issues of violation.   They give out licenses known as creative common licenses, Wikipedia uses one of such licenses. Creative commons give out six major licenses which is derived from four major conditions:  Attribution, Share alike, Non  Commercial and No Derivative. Creative commons ensures that ownership of materials stays with the author unlike  when the publishers take over ownership rights of books they publish from the authors. Creative commons is sponsored by a lot of different software companies this includes big names like  Google and Microsoft. Creative commons has also been plagued with issues of violation of some rights.

MLA Commons
MLA stands for modern language association.  Here people would present on this platform different articles .The article , material or book presented will then  be reviewed by peers. The community  will have the opportunity to contribute and decide if the material should be made available to everyone or if it should be taken down.

Gifted commons
Example of this is You Tube. Gifted commons is a place where expertise is given freely. On YouTube , you can watch videos on how to cook, how to fix you home , how to paint , how to download a document for free.

These are different steps that have been taking in order to take education to a different level and  ensure open learning which is the peak of higher education.  The success of this new way of learning will allow  everyone all over the world the opportunity  to obtain resources for learning at a very cheap rate , it will  allow people to be able to contribute  to the different books available to the general public, it will also allow us to control what is being published. Thus the high cost publishers place on different books will not be a barrier to learning anymore  and the loss of creativity due to restrictions place by different copyright laws will no longer occur and people will be able to create freely.

A literacy of awareness

Our ability to learn depend on so many different factors, these includes.
Developmental factors
   This is based on development of the brain, which varies in different people. It is said that we do not make use of our brain at the full capacity to which it can function, therefore almost everyone can be said to possess enough brain capacity to learn.
Cultural factor
   The environment we live in affects our learning process. A child born and bred in the United States will be more advanced technologically than some other child in other countries that is less technologically advanced. The environment where you raise a child also matters a lot ,if a child is raised by an educated family , there is a high possibility that the child will get to college level of education but a child raised by a non educated parents will most likely drop out of school. With exceptions there has been a wide gap in the SAT scores of students raised by educated parents as compared to those raised by non educated parents.
Social factors
  Our learning is also affected by the people around us. This is mostly due to peer pressure and competition .

Meta cognitive knowledge and meta cognitive experience are two broad categories used in describing metacognition. Metacognitive knowledge involves our ability decide if something is easy or difficult and our we plan on approaching it, we decide if an information is worth spending time on, we decide if the information is going to be of use to us . The more information we gather , the more our knowledge expands . Metacogintive experience on the other hand is based on our previous encounter with a similar information that we are trying analyse. We use the previous information that we have gathered to define the unknown , this will then enable us to add on to previous information from the new one we just encountered.