Project outline

There is widespread awareness that young people are increasingly engaged with the internet.  The term “Web2.0” has emerged to describe a set of internet activities that seem particularly compelling to them.  They often involve the extension or building of personal social networks.  This is made possible by tools that allow people to link up at computers – through conversational interaction or through the publication and exchange of personal files.  However, such networking is just one aspect of a larger shift in internet practices: namely, a shift towards the cultivation of more participatory opportunities for its users.  That, in turn, seems to be drawing young people into a wide range of creative production – such as video, images, and expressive text, all of which can be uploaded, systematised, and shared.  At its best, these opportunities may stimulate the imagination of young people and draw them into new forms of collaboration and research. Unsurprisingly, educational practitioners are anxious to recruit these new enthusiams and skills into the classroom and the curriculum.

Becta, the UK government agency charged with overseeing educational technology policy and practice, have commissioned us to find out in what ways and to what extent young people are using Web2.0.  And to find out just how far this use is starting to migrate into education – or how far it might be able to. The aim of the research is to help provide recommendations as to the future role of Web 2.0 in the education sector. The work is oriented towards children in Key Stages 3 and 4 (i.e., aged 11-16) of the curriculum and will take place between September 2007 and July 2008.  The practical work will be grounded upon a literature review of research in this area along with a summary of reported Web2.0 projects that are in progress within educational contexts.

That practical work will involve research with students and teachers from 12 representative secondary schools and 12 schools that are innovating with Web2.0 technologies.  We will also make contact with at least 30 individual educators who are identified as innovating in this area.  Data will be collected via a combination of activities including surveys, group and 1 to 1 interviews.  From this fieldwork we will endeavour to characterise how and why young people are engaging with Web2.0 opportunities, and how this experience relates to their existing classroom involvement with ICT.  We will set this snapshot against the perspectives of teachers, educational managers, and parents.  The research will critically explore the apparent potential of Web2.0 in education by reference to illustrations of projects currently in progress.  Finally, we will seek to address issues relating to young people’s e-safety and e-security while using such technologies, and the implications of such concerns for organisational management at the school and at local authority levels. 

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