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University of the West Indies

Open Campus

Course: Information and Communication Technology in Education

Course Code: EDTK2030

Research

Semester: One

Shenel Byron-Cassius 320051987

Course Coordinator: Dr. D. Marshall-Stuart

Submission Date: October 27th, 2021

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Justify the use of Web 2.0 tools for the development of higher order thinking skills.

As teachers we have the challenge of developing higher order thinking skills in our learners, so

they are better at problem solving, asking complex questions, more engaging in arguments, and

expressing their opinions as critical thinkers. According to Harris (1996) cited in Hopson

(2001), Information Age Citizens must learn not only how to access information, but more

importantly how to manage, analyze, critique, cross-reference, and transform it into usable

knowledge. One way these skills can be developed in our learners is for us as teachers to present

them with learning tasks that will influence their pursuit of inquiries from different points of

views, to assess the sources of their information, question their findings, share ideas, and take a

position based on rational thinking. Designing learning tasks to incorporate aspects of the

respective school curriculum to facilitate the development of higher order thinking skills in our

learners is vital. These tasks must be based on real-life situations that can integrate the skills,

knowledge, and attitudes targeted in the curriculum. Cram (2009) explained that authentic

learning tasks are whole-task experiences based on authentic tasks that integrate skills,

knowledge, attitudes, and social context. ICT-mediated learning environments now possess the

tools to develop higher order thinking skills in our learners. According to Tinio (2003), ICT

refers to Information Communication Technologies which include a range of technologies and

other resources that are used to create, communicate, store, disseminate and manage information.

Higher order thinking skills include creating, evaluating, and analysing (Atherton, 2002) and

pedagogies that promote these skills are varied but include challenging the learner, promoting
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active participation, argumentation, problem solving, conducting investigations, and tackling

subject matter that is complex (Tytler, 2004). Web 2.0 has the potential to create more

interactive and powerful learning environments in which learners become knowledge creators,

producers, editors, and evaluators (Richardson, 2009). Learners’ critical thinking skills can be

enhanced through the opportunity to regularly compare their own contributions to those of their

peers, and the affirmation of their relative standing in the class may be powerful motivation for

learning (Hurlburt, 2008). Web 2.0 technologies such as blogs, wikis, and social networking

sites can be used by teachers for the development of higher order skills in our learners.

Blogs are one Web 2.0 technology tool that teachers can use to develop higher order thinking

skills in their learners. A blog is short for weblog which is an online journal or informational

website displaying information in reverse chronological order, with the latest posts appearing

first, at the top. Zawilinski (2009) explained that as members of the group gather information

from various sources to respond to the initial blog, they must evaluate the sources to ensure that

they are credible and relevant. Several commentators argue that blogs encourage reflective

learning (Chen et al., 2005), that can be used as a diary to keep a record of achievement and of

interesting material. Furthermore, they are organized to allow the reader/viewer to

recontextualize posts according to categories and dates as well as allowing the user to use key

words to search for posts on any topic. Research also suggests that blogs allow a more creative

response from students (Oravec, 2003) and that the open and interlinked nature of blogs connects

learners to contexts beyond the classroom (Baim, 2004).

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Another Web 2.0 technology tool that teachers can use to develop higher order thinking skills in

their learners are wikis. Lever-Duffy and McDonald (2011) describe a wiki as a site in which

content is written collaboratively so that anyone with access to the Internet can edit and add or

modify the information that is provided. Berger and Trexler (2010) explained that wikis allow

students to participate in collaborative activities where the authors must select material, establish

the relevance of the material, write, revise, reflect, edit, and publish information and ideas to

their collaborative wiki site. Participating in these activities will develop and enhance learners’

critical thinking skills. Collaborating using wikis encourages learners with similar thoughts to be

able to expound on each other’s ideas. Moreno (2011) observed that when students work with

wikis, they serve multiple roles such as, writers, and editors, which help to make them more

critical with a greater sense of responsibility.

Social networks are the final Web 2.0 tool for this research that can be used to develop higher

order thinking skills in our learners. Shah (2010) explained that in a social network each person

has a specific network of direct relationships with other users. What makes social network sites

unique is not that they allow individuals to meet strangers, but that they enable users to articulate

and make visible their social networks. When learners engage with social networks, they are

expected to critique each other’s work and contribute to discussions. These discussions

encourage blending of ideas and experiences while creating a learning environment. Using

social networks can help in the development of higher order thinking skills in our learners

because these networks allow the learners to use ICT tools to illustrate alternative views and

create innovative ideas when responding to other’s work. They are also able to reflect on what

has been posted giving their perspectives which fosters communication and collaboration. When
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they receive responses, they can do further introspection while assessing the relevance of what

was shared by others.

Web 2.0 could be characterized by openness, user participation, knowledge sharing, social

networking and collaboration, user-created content, and folksonomy (Alexander, 2006; Brown &

Adler, 2008; Downes, 2005; Thompson, 2007; Richardson, 2009). Web 2.0 technologies

encourage and enable teachers and learners to share ideas and collaborate in innovative ways.

They also force us as teachers to rethink the way we teach and learn to transform our education

practices. In doing this we can support and develop higher order thinking skills while making

more active and meaningful learning that involves learning to be as well as learning about.

Solomon and Schrum (2007) state that Web 2.0 tools and their attributes can engage and

motivate students.
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References:

Alexander, B. (2006). Web 2.0: A New Wave of Innovation for Teaching and Learning?

EDUCAUSE Review, vol 41(2), p. 32-44.

Atherton, J. S. (2002). Learning and Teaching: Deep and Surface Learning. Retrieved from

http://www.dmu.ac.uk/~jamesa/learning/deepsurf.htm

Baim, S. (2004, August). Blogs Help Create a Learning Community. Online Classroom.

Brown, J. S., & Adler, R. P. (2008). Minds on fire: Open Education: The long tail and learning

Web 2.0. EDUCAUSE Review, vol 43(1), p. 17-32.

Chen, H. L., Cannon, D., Gabrio, J., Leifer, L., Toye, G., & Bailey, T. (2005). Using Wikis and

Weblogs to Support Reflective Learning in an Introductory Engineering Design Course.

Paper

presented at the 2005 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference and

Exposition.
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Downes, S. (2005). E-learning 2.0. eLearn Magazine, from

http://www.elearnmag.org/subpage.cfm?article=29-1&section=articles

Hartshorne, R., & Ajjan, H. (2009). Examining Student Decisions to Adopt Web 2.0

Technologies:

Theory and Empirical Tests. Journal of Computing in Higher Education, vol 21(2).

Hopson, M. H., Simms, R. L., & Knezek, G. A. (2001). Using a Technology-Enriched

Environment to Improve Higher Order Thinking Skills. Journal of research on technology in

education, vol 34(2), p. 109-117.

Hurlburt, S. (2008). Defining Tools for a New Learning Space: Writing and Reading Class

Blogs.

MERLOT Journal of Online Learning and Teaching, vol 4(2), p. 182-189. Retrieved from

http://jolt.merlot.org/vol4no2/hurlburt0608.pdf.

Lever-Duffy, J. and McDonald, J. B. (2011). Teaching and Learning with Technology (4th ed.).
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Boston: Pearson.

Ley, D. (2007). Ubiquitous Computing. In Emerging Technologies for Learning vol 2, p. 64-79.

Coventry, UK: British Educational Communications and Technology Agency.

Oravec, J. (2005). Blending by blogging: Weblogs in blended learning initiatives. Journal of

Educational Media, vol 28(2&3), p. 225-233.

Richardson, W. (2009). Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms

(2nd ed). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Solomon, G. & Schrum, L. (2010). Web 2.0 How-to for Educators. Eugene, Oregon:

international

Society for Technology in Education.

Thompson, J. (2007). Is education 1.0 ready for web 2.0 students? Innovate, vol 3(4).

Tytler, R. (2004). Higher Order Thinking: Support Reading for EME244/502 p. 1-7: Deakin
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University.

VCAA. (2005). Victorian Essential Learning Standards (VELS). Retrieved include access date

fromhttp://vels.vcaa.vic.edu.au/essential/discipline/science/index.html.

Williams, J. B., & Jacobs, J. (2004). Exploring the Use of Blogs as Learning Spaces in the

Higher

Education Sector. Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, vol 20(2), p. 232-247.

Zawilinski, L. (2009). HOT Blogging: A Framework for Blogging to Promote Higher-Order

Thinking. The Reading Teacher, vol 62, p. 650-661.