Pre-Conference Workshop M4
Taking Back the Open Web in Higher Ed
Date Wednesday, Nov 23 Time – Price: 90.00 € Status: places available
Antonio Vantaggiato
Professor, Universidad del Sagrado Corazón, Puerto Rico
Antonio Vantaggiato has many years of experience as both professor of computer science and researcher in computing applied to education and AI. He has published and presented in many venues, including prestigious conferences like e-Learn, ED-MEDIA and Online Educa. He had the opportunity to offer workshops on Web-based education at ED-MEDIA 2005 (Montreal) and 2019 (Amsterdam) and earlier in a series of workshops and keynotes on the same topic for the US federal TRIO Programs in New York, Los Angeles and New Orleans.
While he was a Scholar-in-Residence with NYU’s Faculty Resource Network he started working on the research project Zen of Teaching (see zenofteaching.us) and showcased it in a number of presentations, including a keynote at Tulane University and an informal talk within George Siemens’s Change11 MOOC. His (lazy) blog is at http://skateofweb.com.
Links
This workshop and presentation is proposed to start a thoughtful and interactive discussion about the nature of the Web as a fundamental (and open) pedagogical environment. Many commercial educational “platforms” provide a self-contained “little-world exposure” often based on watered-down content, which could well be fully contained on CD-ROM. Despite this, higher education has accepted many such platforms, instead of letting its faculty engage more in Web creation.
The Open Web is a tremendous example of a course platform where content can be mounted on top of other content; interactive, multimedia, universal content that opens everywhere in all conditions and does not depend on proprietary technology.
Unfortunately, however, we have regressed back to the “proprietary technology world” where we must pay respect to the omnipresent, monopolistic operating system. Most higher education institutions have bought into such platforms and as such stay closed within what these have to offer. They devote little time and energy to go beyond the provided track; with few incentives to look for more active-learning experiences, or interactive Web-based experiences.
But the Web is at the centre of a multitude of little loosely joined tools that can be attached to Web course portals that are easy to design, maintain, and contribute to through popular, free, and open protocols such as RSS.
In this workshop we shall explore the alternatives to the closed Web; the open platforms and tools that can be freely joined together. We will also seek ideas and experiences from participants. Materials produced during this workshop will be available openly on the Web and shared with everyone. Participants will be given privileges to contribute.
Outcomes
- Elaborate (partial) answers to the questions posed and come up with personal and universal ideas to reclaim the full Web's potential for education.
- Discuss what can be enhanced in the current use of EdTech in higher education.
- Learn about the tools to build open websites for your courses.
- Contribute your ideas to a shared Web space.
Agenda
- 10:00-10:45- The (Open) Web- Web Use in Higher Ed & Learning Management Systems- Discussion on the current state of LMS and EdTech
- 10:45-11:30-What Can be Enhanced in our Educational Platforms? Why Open is Better?-What About Courses’ Aesthetics?-Reclaiming the Open Web in our Academic Work
- 11:30-12:00 Coffee Break
- 12:00-13:00-Web Sites Built to Complement or Substitute LMS?-Tools-Examples of Courses Designed as Web Portals-How to Build a Course Home Website
Audience
- Higher education faculty & administrators and policymakers.
- Instructional & Educational Technologists and Researchers from all kinds of venues.
- Anyone interested in the topic is welcome!
Level: any level