The morning was filled with a well presented keynote followed by lots of interesting workshops which kickstarted debates around a small number of key themes.

One of the main ones was around the use of a range of different online tools that could be used to support teaching and learning, possibly as a replacement to a VLE. Much of the discussion was about engaging with learners in different ways and encouraging communication and collaboration. There were vast differences in the level of access organisations allow, as well as policies in place and how much they were already used by different people. Regardless of the different tools being explored most conversations seemed to end with pedagogical thoughts about how they should be used (effectively) not which should be used – which is a positive step related to making learning better.

Concerns and questions were raised about keeping personas separate and whether professional and social lives can or should overlap and how the fear of the risk can often lead to organisations banning the use of online (social media / web 2) tools completely, and where they are allowed guidance is often lacking. The informality of some tools was explored briefly in one workshop in relation to potential problems if individuals ‘speak’ more freely than perhaps they should in such an ‘open’ forum – are your students aware of this side of the media they are using?

Linking to the theme of the conference, if some teachers and managers are struggling with appropriate use of web technology is that passed onto the students, or are they already using it in better ways? Perhaps the question should be, are we assuming correctly that ‘digital natives’ (or whatever current term is most appropriate to younger learners) are better at using social media tools and are able to apply it to their learning or should we be making sure they actually have the skills to use these tools after they leave the formal learning environment, in a professional and appropriate way, so they are more appropriate to the world of work?

How do you use online, social media or web 2 tools with your learners and how effectively / appropriately do you think they use it?

Tags: future11, pedagogy, social media, VLE, web 2