For our group project in my EDU 520 Digitally Mediated
Teaching & Learning course, I was assigned to work with two classmates on
an online website/wiki/presentation on the topic of digital literacy. We were tasked with creating on online sort of
wiki/repository with the Google Sites platform. Our task was to select three of the nine
themes of digital citizenship. The Digital Citizenship website defines digital
citizenship today as "the continuously developing norms of appropriate,
responsible, and empowered technology use" (Nine Elements: Nine Themes of
Digital Citizenship, n.d.).
We chose the following three themes: Digital Access, Digital Communication
& Collaboration, and Digital Security & Privacy. We each assumed one of three
roles in this project: Content Locator, Site Designer & Organizer (SDO), and Multimedia
& Graphics Designer. As an instructional designer already in the field, I was of course drawn to the
SDO role as I have a passion for design and had a whole lot of fun designing the website for this project. Honestly, this entire project was a positive, their were no negatives. We were given a bullet list of objectives we
had to complete, but "the how" for the completion of the bullet list of objectives was for us as a team to decide. I loved how the
project itself allowed for all of us to take a creative approach to the
project.
The use of web 2.0 tools, such as the Google Sites platform, allows for higher levels of engagement amongst learners when utilized, while also providing a platform for students to learn together and teach each other concepts due to the various viewpoints and interpretations amongst the group of collaborators, directly translating to increased learning and comprehension. So, the pedagogy behind the pedagogy with this project was to give us students exposure to collaboration via the use of web 2.0 tools. By allowing all of us to choose our roles, we got to explore the topics our way, experiencing firsthand how engaging and beneficial the use of web 2.0 tools can be to the learning process.
This was perhaps the best group project experience I have had as student to
date. Click to view our group project.