eXtension 2.0:Interaction, Participation and

CommunityRobert Hughes, Jr.

University of Illinois

Just In Time Parenting, adviser

Let the conversation begin—

http://open2learn.blogspot.com/

From Extension to Web 2.0

• How do we get from our work today to the kinds of activities that Michael Wesch described?

• Interaction• Participation

• Community

Web 2.0—A definition

“the Web was shifting from being a medium, in which information was transmitted and consumed, into being a platform, in which content was created, shared, remixed, repurposed, and passed along. And what people were doing with the Web was …having a conversation, with a vocabulary consisting not just of words but of images, video, multimedia and …And this became, and looked like, and behaved like, a network.”

Downes, 2005 http://www.downes.ca/post/31741

eXtension 2.0

A platform in which scientists, educators and the public engage in interactions with content and ideas, participate with others in creating new content and ideas and form collaborative learning communities to address the major issues of society.

How Successful Web Services Structure Persuasion

(from Fogg & Eckles, 2007)

Interaction

• It is important for learners to take control of their learning.

• “Understanding” is important– people must recognize when they understand and when they need more information

• Sense-making, self-assessment and reflection are key strategies for active learning.

FAQs or Questions and Answers– the fundamental building block of active learning.

Quizzes

Example of a One-Item Quiz.

Note link to additional information.

Polls & Surveys—Asking People what they think? Collecting data. Providing comparison data.

Budgeting and Financial Calculators provide interaction with content.

e-Newsletters and Feeds are another way to engage learners.

How Stuff Works

Example of website that uses illustrations, pictures, videos, sounds, etc. to explain ideas.

"I think that participation is the saving of the human race. Participate in games, puzzles, fun, storytelling and when you're grown up participate in education….. It's the key to the future of the human race-- participation. "

Pete Seeger, 2008

Participation

Encouraging people to contribute value to our websites—

• Tagging and rating

• Participating in discussions

• Serving as reviewers, editors, etc.

• Contributing content

Comments, Rating, and Tagging– Basic User Participation that adds value & Encourages User action

User-tags?

Email articles?

Connections to tagging sources—Del.icio.us

Blogs, Pictures, Videos– User-Generated Content

Autism-Vaccine Searches

A: Vaccines Caused Autism Symptoms in Girl, US Officials Say, But Regulators Still Deny Autism-Vaccine Link

Newsinferno.com - Mar 6 2008   

B: Autism-Vaccine Link Gets Day In CourtCBS 5 - May 12 2008   

Society & Science: The Autism-Vaccine Debate

• The Debate: Are vaccines the cause of autism?• Science votes “no”• Society votes “yes

• Analysis of media & scientific literature• Media focus on vaccines• Scientific literature on other causes

• Blog posts on autism-vaccines• 7.5 per day• No blog posts by scientists• 57% of references about research are negative• Some good discussions by small percentages of bloggers

• YouTube videos on immunization• Positive 48%, Negative, 32%; Ambiguous, 20%• Negative videos were more likely to be viewed, rated, and have high

ratings.

Science 2.0: Platform for Participatory Science

Encouraging Participation

• Participation Inequality– The 90-9-1 rule– Blogs 95%, 5%, .01%

• Nielsen’s recommendations– Make it easy to contribute– Make contributing a side activity– Make users editors rather than authors– Highlight quality contributions & contributors

Community“…social learning is based on the premise that our understanding of content is socially constructed through conversations about the content and through grounded interactions, especially with others, around problems or actions. The focus is not so much on what we are learning but on how we are learning”

(Brown and Adler, 2008, p. 18).

Collaborative Learning Communities

• “It takes a village to create a wiki.”

• Everyone involved is viewed as both a teacher and a learner.

Roles in Learning Communities– LEARNING ROLES

• Exploring the content & community

• Beginning to be an active learner

• An active & interactive learner

• Developing new understanding

• Discovering new content & actively participating in learning.

– TEACHING ROLES• No teaching

• Commenting, rating & tagging

• Creating content in collaboration

• Leading development of content & communities

• Creating new collaborative communities

Building Online CommunitiesButler et al., 2008

• maintaining the software interaction tools themselves so that they work for the group;

• recruiting new members to the group to replace those who leave;

• managing social dynamics or group process;

• participating or contributing to the interaction.

Why do people participate in community?

Butler et al., 2008

• Informational– learn something

• Social– get to know new people

• Visibility– gain recognition & influence

• Altruism– a chance to help others

Questions

1. How can I make our work more active and interactive?

2. How do I encourage more participation?

3. How do I create a more robust community?

• video