Episode 1

Why do we call it Web 2.0 anyway?

Welcome to the first episode of the TeacherCast Podcast. In this episode, we discuss the world wide web of educational technology and learn what makes the difference between Web 1.0 and Web 2.0 content for our students and classrooms.

Topics Covered:

  • The differences in the educational systems in England-vs-Australia-vs-U.S.A.
  • 21st Century Skills in Education
  • Teaching technology to very young children
  • Do we need to teach cursive writing?
  • What is Web 2.0?
  • Using Wikipedia in the classroom
  • What is eLearning? (What does the “E” stand for?)
  • What technologies should we be promoting?
  • What should our students expect from us?
  • When should students start using laptops in the classroom?
  • Using Twitter in the classroom
  • Google+ and Facebook in the classroom
  • Internet safety
  • Blocking websites in schools
  • Using blogs, wiki’s and nings
  • Teaching various writing styles in high school
  • What should teachers be expected to do for our students outside the classroom?
  • Should teachers fear technology for privacy reasons?
  • How to teach Web 2.0 skills on a budget… or for FREE!!

Websites Discussed

About our guests:

Mark Greentree is the principle blogger and podcast creator of www.everydaymacsupport.com. His aim is to inform users at all levels of experience how to get the most out of the Apple hardware and associated software. He is also one of the lead hosts on Not Another Mac Podcast, an Apple based round table discussion with Mac users and experts from all over the world.

When Mark isn't producing content for the Mac community he is an at home father to his two children under the age of 5. Hence, educating his children is one of his top priorities and that makes him well suited to be a guest on the TeacherCast Podcast. Mark is able to bring a different type of discussion to the table as a result.

Mark is also a qualified photographer and worked for over five years as a scientific and industrial photographer for CSIRO Australia before leaving and working for himself.

Steve Wheeler is Associate Professor of Learning Technologies at the University of Plymouth, in South West England. Originally trained as a psychologist, he has spent his entire career working in media, technology, and learning, predominantly in nurse education (NHS 1981-1995) and teacher education and training (1976-1981 and 1995-present).

A trained educator, he now teaches on a number of undergraduate and post-graduate teacher education programs. He specializes in research on e-learning and distance education, with particular emphasis on social media and Web 2.0 tools. He is regularly invited to speak and has given keynotes and invited lectures to audiences in more than 20 countries across 5 continents. He is currently involved in several research programs related to e-learning, social media and handheld technologies.

Steve is the author of more than 150 scholarly articles and is an active and prolific edublogger. His blog Learning with ‘e’s is a regular online commentary on the social and cultural impact of disruptive technologies, and the application of digital media in education and training.

Steve is chair of the Plymouth e-Learning Conference and is co-editor of the journal Interactive Learning Environments. He also serves on the editorial boards of a number of other learning technology-related academic journals including Research in Learning Technology (formerly ALT-J), the International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning and Digital Culture and Education.

In 2008 Steve was awarded a Fellowship by the European Distance and E-learning Network (EDEN), and in 2011 he was elected to serve as a member of the Steering group of EDEN’s Network of Academics and Professionals (NAP). He is also chair of IFIP Technical Committee Working Group 3.6 on distance education and is the author of several books including The Digital Classroom (Routledge: 2008) and Connected Minds, Emerging Cultures (Information Age: 2009). He lives in Plymouth, in the South West of England, with his wife and three children.

Recorded July 2011

About the Podcast

Show artwork for Digital Learning Today: Where Productivity Meets Innovation in the Classroom.
Digital Learning Today: Where Productivity Meets Innovation in the Classroom.
Transforming the Classroom into a Dynamic Hub of Innovative Learning

About your host

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Jeffrey Bradbury

Jeff Bradbury is a globally-recognized educator, educational broadcaster, public speaker, and entrepreneur whose powerful message has inspired thousands of educators through the TeacherCast Educational Network.