November 20th, 2008 by Learning Systems
Teaming Web 2.0 technologies with online courseware is providing many students with a more interactive learning experience. And more online courseware teachers are beginning to choose which technologies they’d like to try out. Advertising styles becomes one factor worth considering for many online courseware teachers, and fortunately an increasing number of Web 2.0 companies are choosing less glaring and unobtrusive approaches.
But how do successful Web 2.0 companies like Facebook get away with running such miniscule ads? The key is thinking more creatively. Facebook uses what it calls “engagement ads” to invite users to comment on videos, attend an event, or send a virtual gift. For example, this year on election day, Ben & Jerry’s bought an ad that let users send a virtual ice cream cone to their friends (to advertise its offer of a real cone to anyone who votes). The beauty of social software is its voluntary interactivity, and advertising shouldn’t be an exception.
November 20th, 2008 by Learning Systems
The obstacles schools face in integrating Web 2.0 technologies into their existing LMSs or courseware systems are often tough to overcome. However, if your school does have the means and you’ve got some ideas you want to explore, using blogs, discussion boards, wikis, podcasts, etc, the vast terrain of Web 2.0 is your playground. And although intrusive ads may bother some educators and courseware system students, it’s comforting to know that some Web 2.0 companies are making efforts to choose advertising that doesn’t dazzle and distract.
When incorporating your courseware system with Web 2.0 technologies, choose technologies that respect their users. Of course, most social networking companies still fill their pages with enormous ads. On MySpace’s login page, for instance, it’s difficult to even find the login box amidst a sea of hypnotically dancing images. But companies like Facebook and Google–whose choices often inspire smaller companies–are sticking with tiny ads.
November 13th, 2008 by Learning Systems
The internet harbors an enormous power to mobilize people toward a cause. It becomes a vast web of learning systems and social linking networks, educating the masses on a topic and connecting individuals to other people.
Take the recent U.S. election. Highly influential political learning systems on the net included everything from YouTube to Facebook, with campaign videos and supportive messages. The Obama campaign raised $650 million–two times the amount achieved by the McCain campaign–mostly through small donations made online. It also mobilized an army of about 7 million volunteers to register new voters.
Websites for social and environmental causes become influential learning systems for potential movers and shakers. Maybe you read a newspaper story about oil drilling in the Amazon. Want to do something about it? It’s not difficult to find a group of activists fighting for your cause and donate a buck.
September 17th, 2008 by Learning Systems
YouTube broke the mold early on. Whether we’re dealing with learning content per se or music videos, YouTube has always been both a site and a mediator of “its” learning content: viewers could go to the web site and watch videos, and they could embed and watch them on other web sites, e.g. blogs.
YouTube always knew that if viewers had to make their virtual way over to the web site, they were going to get a lot less traffic than if they made their learning content this flexible. YouTube videos can be found on MySpace, Facebook, etc.—places many people spend countless time perusing, and may rather browse than YouTube alone. Of course, when people want to browse through categorized learning content, the YouTube site is always available.
September 11th, 2008 by Learning Systems
Creative educators and recruiters using LMSs may consider taking into account applications like the ones used by Facebook. Although the most popular activities on Facebook are profile- and picture-browsing, there are many features available that educators and business trainers might tap into as part of their LMS.
Features that LMSs could adopt include course-based chat rooms and instant messaging, where students can discuss ideas and thread conversations; their own profiles where they can pose questions and create their own discussion points; and homework assignments that can be sent, graded and returned as email attachments.
Social networking sites like Facebook can be used to post notifications, to acquaint students with one another, to form groups and networks, and to handle authentication. The best part is that Facebook applications are extremely user-friendly, and a good portion of your students or trainees are already familiar with and comfortable using them.
September 11th, 2008 by Learning Systems
Any school teacher working with online learning systems can tell you that among the five top websites they catch students using against the rules in class is Facebook. It’s just one of many sites that distracts not only young students using e-learning systems, but also many adults, who may find themselves idly browsing through their friends’ Facebook photo albums at the office.
For educators in high school classrooms tired of telling students to get off websites like Facebook and focus, is it possible that they could actually use the direction of their students’ attention in their favor? Could Facebook be used by educators as part of their learning system?
Facebook applications involve not only the users, but those looking to take advantage of the vast audience Facebook draws. The latter is where LMS trainers and educators come in.
