Transcript Opportunities and Challenges of Social Computing Kirsti Ala-Mutka European Commission, JRC Institute for Prospective Technological Studies Information Society Unit Learnovation workshop in the EDEN 2008 Annual.

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Opportunities and Challenges of
Social Computing
Kirsti Ala-Mutka
European Commission, JRC
Institute for Prospective Technological Studies
Information Society Unit
Learnovation workshop in the EDEN 2008 Annual Conference:
Building a culture of innovation in learning
The views expressed by the author are not necessarily those of the EC
Institute for Prospective Technological Studies
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IPTS: Part of DG JRC of the EC:
7 Research Institutes across
Europe
Mission: “to provide customerdriven support to the EU policymaking process by researching
science-based responses to
policy challenges that have both
a socio-economic as well as a
scientific or technological
dimension”
Social computing
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● Digital applications for social networking (e.g. Facebook);
video-sharing (e.g. YouTube); photo-sharing (e.g. Flickr); usergenerated content (e.g. Wikipedia); multiplayer virtual online
worlds (e.g. Second Life); blogging, etc.
● Social computing applications enable interaction and
collaboration:
– Users are participants (co-creators not end-users)
– Networks of individuals and communities become collective
resources
● Related IPTS studies:
– Exploratory research on socio-economic impacts of social
computing
– Web2.0 and user-driven innovation in public services
– Social computing for immigrants and ethnic minorities
– Social computing for health
– Impact of Learning2.0 innovations for E&T in Europe
– Upcoming: Pedagogical innovations and new learning
communities
Adoption of social computing
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● 9.5 million articles in all
combined Wikipedia
sites in approximately
250 languages, 680
million visitors yearly
(May 2008)
● 200-250 million unique
visitors per month for
YouTube, 6th largest
internet audience
(March 2008)
● 110 million blogs (May
2008)
● Over 250 million profiles
in Social Networking
sites (Oct 2007)
Some suggested impacts
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● New availability of resources for learning
– Easy access to free information resources (dictionaries, encyclopeadia)
– New variety of sources and resources
– Education providers pressured to open up their resources to show their quality
● New learner empowerment and connections
– New empowerment in choosing the learning provider
– New means to express and show one’s skills
– Collaborative communities, new support for informal learning and professionalism
● New participation in learning processes
– Digital natives expect to use participative approaches also in organized education
– Learning tool developers are already integrating and developing participative tools
to their products
– Collaborative approaches let students with their special expertise support and teach
others, also the teachers
● New challenges
–
–
–
–
Quality and reliability of information and resources
Responsibility and awareness of security and privacy issues
Ethical questions, e.g. http://www.ratemyprofessors.com/, cyberbullying
Need for new skills (danger of new digital divides) -- both for learners and teachers
Conclusion
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● Social computing is increasingly used for leisure, work, civic
participation and learning, also in innovative ways
● Education and training need to prepare people for these tasks
– Young people are already using social computing outside school, but may
lack necessary skills
– ICT skills, media literacy and participation skills are needed also by people
past formal education
● Social computing can enable new collaboration between and among
teachers, learners and other actors
– New opportunities to support formal education with informal learning and
networks
– New opportunities to support building personal skills and resources for
lifelong learning
– New demand for quality in education through empowered learners
● Challenge of enabling everyone to benefit from the potential of social
computing
● Social computing is both a driver and an enabler for innovation in
education and training
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Thank you for your attention!
http://is.jrc.ec.europa.eu/
[email protected]