Sections

  //**1. Introduction to Web 2.0**// “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” (Arthur C. Clarke, 1917-2008)

Web 2.0 has changed the way we use and interact with the Internet. No longer is it just a static series of web pages. Instead, it has truly come alive. Take, for example, social networking. Novices who barely know how to use a computer are easily able to reconnect with long-lost friends via the World Wide Web and a platform such as MySpace or Facebook. Even though they have absolutely no idea of the sophisticated programming that makes such interaction possible, a user of these social networking pages can post information to a webpage, respond to the posts of others and receive their and everyone else's updates on his or her computer or cell phone.

According to Wikipedia (2010), the term "Web 2.0" was first used in 1999 by Darci DiNucci. The case was not that there was a deliberate effort to upgrade the Internet, but rather, information began to be stored on localized servers, creating a "cloud" of information that would become accessible from anywhere. Blazing-fast Internet connections made it realistically possible to reach out to these repositories of data. Light-weight applications based on the ubiquitous Adobe Flash format made it quick and easy for users to work with the tools they needed. Collaboration in real-time via a webcam or on a "live document" made it so easy for people to make changes to the same document and discuss it in real time.

Web 2.0 has created an environment where it is not about the producer or consumer, yet the focus is on networking with other people, where everyone can participate and learn on the same platform; a more participatory instead of consumer driven world wide web. Web 2.0 has many features, including key highlights: folksonomy, openness, user participation, microcontent, knowledge sharing, social networking, and collaboration. Many technological advanceshave sprung up with the development of web 2.0. In particular, one highly interesting advance has been the Jing Project, where users can enhance their cyber conversations visually.  ​ **Web 1.0 v. Web 2.0 examples (O'Reilly, 2009):**


 * ~ Web 1.0 ||  ||~   ||   ||~ Web 2.0 ||


 * DoubleClick ||  || --> ||   || Google AdSense ||


 * Ofoto ||  || --> ||   || Flickr ||


 * Akamai ||  || --> ||   || BitTorrent ||


 * mp3.com ||  || --> ||   || Napster ||


 * Britannica Online ||  || --> ||   || Wikipedia ||


 * personal websites ||  || --> ||   || blogging ||


 * evite ||  || --> ||   || upcoming.org and EVDB ||


 * domain name speculation ||  || --> ||   || search engine optimization ||


 * page views ||  || --> ||   || cost per click ||


 * screen scraping ||  || --> ||   || web services ||


 * publishing ||  || --> ||   || participation ||


 * content management systems ||  || --> ||   || wikis ||


 * directories (taxonomy) ||  || --> ||   || tagging ("folksonomy") ||


 * stickiness ||  || --> ||   || syndication ||

//**2. Discussion of the chosen Web 2.0 tool (definitions, characteristics, potentials for teaching and learning)**//

According to TechSmith Co., 2009, Jing is a free online software that users can download to their Windows or Mac computer. Jing is a fast and easy way to capture images and create videos of what you see on your screen. Sometimes, using words to express yourself through online conversations just isn't enough. With Jing, you can capture what you want to say with a picture or a video instantly. Pictures and videos really do say a thousand words, and you can capture them all with Jing. Jing allows user to grab either a still shot of the users computer screen or even up to a 5 minute video which records what is happening on the computer screen with narration. Using the screen shot option, users can add text or graphics to the picture and send it to another person via email or post it to their Twitter or Facebook account. Users can also send their recorded screen videos to the same places.

The basic things that can be done with Jing:
 * Capture video or stills of whatever is on your computer screen.
 * Record audio over your videos while you make them.
 * Create short, customized learning objects in about 3 minutes.
 * Send patrons a link to a video or image, rather than sending a bulky file.
 * Let Jing do the work of storing your files and maintaining stable links.

Jing has a lot of potential for teaching and learning.
 * Teachers in classrooms can record lessons on their computers and then students can watch the lessons and learn at their own pace own their own computers. One student may be on Lesson 4, while other students may be on Lesson 3 and still others on Lesson 2.
 * Teachers can use videos or photos to give oral or visual notes on student work which may be easier for the student to understand.
 * Students can make their own pictures and videos to use for peer to peer learning.
 * Jing can be used for distance learning classes.

This program is an excellent tool to promote self-guided learning for students of all ages from elementary to college and adult learners.

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//**3. Current practices and critiques** //

Jing is being used in numerous classrooms around the country in many different ways. Here are some of the more popular uses for Jing in the classroom.
 * Teachers recording short lectures - Teachers are able to record short lectures or lessons with video which students can watch in class or at home.
 * Giving students audio/visual feedback - Teachers are able to bring up a student's work on their computer and actually show and talk about problems or good points.
 * Explaining project directions - Instead of writing out pages of instructions, teachers are able to explain and show directions.
 * Testing students - Students can be given a picture and using Jing they can label parts of the body or identify the countries of Europe.
 * Web Tour guide - Teachers can give a tour of great websites and point out areas that might warrant special attention.
 * Collaborating on a project - Students working on the same project in different classes can do a quick video that shows what work they got done during their class period.
 * Student peer review - Students can send snapshots or videos to other students and critique each other's work.
 * Providing hints for homework - Teachers can record themselves working problems similar to student's homework problems and if the student needs help, they can watch the videos.
 * Send home an audio/visual of teacher evaluation of a student to his or her parents - Parent/Teacher conferences aren't always convenient for parents to attend. This way a teacher can go over grades or problems and the parents can watch at their convenience.
 * Send work with audio/visual information to a sick student or a student spending time out of the country

Critique of current uses of Jing in the classroom.

We knew Jing had some useful aspects that could be used in classroom applications, but once we started researching the actual ways Jing is being used in the classroom, we have been extremely impressed. Teachers have been using Jing in a multitude of ways from recording screenshots and proving lessons online lessons and tips to using Jing to give quizzes and tests. I really feel the teachers have embraced this program and are exploring new ways to apply it to their individual classrooms. There are projects in history, math, art, biology and more using Jing. One of the biggest points for using Jing in the classroom is that it is free to download. Any teacher with a computer can download Jing and use for their own classroom projects. We are very pleased that teachers are finding new and exciting ways to incorporate Jing into their lesson plans or creating completely new lesson plans centered around Jing. We think this software is a great classroom tool that teachers are utilizing in new and exciting ways to promote better student interaction and learning. Jing is currently the only mac compatible screen-casting software and is considered a valuable tool due to its free price and speed (Howell, 2009). Mainieri (2009) reviews Jing praising its various uses; the only con discussed of Jing, is the fact that the video format is not compatible with many servers. In another article, Mainieri (2009) claims:

Many people seem to dislike the unfriendly interface of the software and although it's cute, many think that it's rather hard to use and understand. It also only supports two photo formats which are SWF and PNG. It also does not have that many options such as the timer, filters for adding effects to the images and a free form selector.

Although Jing has been in use for a few years, there is a lack in the amount of peer-reviewed literature on the topic that is currently available.

//**4. Guidelines and Justifications ** //

Student-centered learning (SCL), or learner-centeredness, is a learning model that places the student (learner) in the center of the learning process. In student-centered learning, students are active participants in their learning; they learn at their own pace and use their own strategies; they are more intrinsically than extrinsically motivated; learning is more individualized than standardized. Student-centered learning develops learning-how-to-learn skills such as problem solving, critical thinking, and reflective thinking. Student-centered learning accounts for and adapts to different learning styles of students (National Center for Research on Teacher Learning. 1999).
 * What is Student-Based Learning?**

The main principles of student-centered learning according to Nelson (2006) are:

 * The learner has full responsibility for her/his learning
 * Involvement and participation are necessary for learning
 * The relationship between learners is more equal, promoting growth, development
 * The teacher becomes a facilitator and resource person
 * The learner experiences confluence in his education
 * The learner sees himself/herself differently as a result of the learning experience.

A simple example of Jing is the ability to take screenshots and put notes on there to help students or point out certain things as this picture below shows (O'Shea, 2009).



Jing can also be used to post simple instructions in a more visual way which may help students learn in a better way than just using written instructions as the example below shows (O'Shea, 2009).



Another example of how to use Jing is to have the students label different parts of something using the screen shot capability along with the text and arrow tool. This example labels parts of the human body, but you could label anything...plant parts, Spanish speaking countries,

In this lesson, the students will use Jing to label all the muscles of the body. They will take a picture of the human body and use the tools on Jing to name muscles by using text boxes and arrows that point to each muscle //(O'Shea, 2009).//


 * Lesson plan using Jing.**
 * || ** The Human Body ** ||
 * Objective || The students will learn how to use Jing by labeling all the body muscles on a picture of the human body. They will work with one other partner and get a picture of a body off the internet. They will then use Jing to label each body muscle with the correct name. Once they have labeled each muscle then they will write on a piece of paper a way to strengthen that muscle to reduce the risk of injury. ||
 * Learning Environment || The class will work in groups of 2 to create a picture of the body including all their muscles labeled. They will do this on a computer in the computer lab. ||
 * Types of Students || The students will be in middle school levels 6th-8th grade ||
 * Standards || Standard 5: Students will demonstrate the ability to use decision-making skills to enhance health. ||
 * Materials || Computers in computer lab with internet access, Jing, a picture of the human body, a piece of paper, and a pencil or pen. ||
 * Procedures || 1. The students will pair up with one other person then they will review the muscles of the human body.

2. After learning how to use the program, the students will take a picture of the human body and label each body part. They will put an arrow from each muscle then make a text box saying which muscle it is.

3. After they have determined which muscle is which, then they will get a piece of paper and write down one exercise they could do for each muscle to reduce the risk of injury.

4. They will then print out the picture of the body with the muscles labeled. ||
 * Application || Using Jing the students will find a picture of the human body and label each body muscle. ||
 * Evaluation || As a whole class we will go over it and each pair will need to say a muscle and what type of exercise they could do to reduce the risk of injury.

The students will be evaluated based on the following: · Being able to get all the muscles correct- 10 points · Being able to choose and exercise for each muscle- 10 points · Individual participation – 5 points

25 points ||


 * In this project, Jing is used to help explain plot and theme to young students** (O'Shea, 2009).


 * "In my Project 1, I found that this application was very easy to use. I did my project on the book //Where the Wild Things Are//, and taught second graders the four story elements. The four story elements are main character, setting, plot, and theme. Main character and setting are easy concepts for second graders to understand, however, explaining plot and theme would be difficult. I found a hard time trying to come up with ideas on how to explain plot and theme and I was not sure of what kind of activities I could incorporate. Then I was introduced to Jing. This application is very easy to use, and it is awesome! I used Jing to help the kids work through plot and theme exercises. I found that I could use Jing to target visual and auditory learners. The students could listen and see what plot and theme were. I also used Jing to help students think critically about questions that I provided them with. Overall, Jing is a great tool to use in the classroom. It helps the students become more active in the learning experience." - Jennie Nahlik, EDCI 270, Purdue University (O'Shea, 2009).
 * Lesson plan using Jing**

Jing can record videos of what is happening on your computer screen while recording a narrative voice over. Here is a good example of a teacher providing audio & visual feedback to a student who is writing a paper (McCollum, 2009).


 * Jing being used by a professor for audio/visual student feedback.**

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Here is an example of a student providing audio & visual feedback to another student which is sometimes called peer review from McCollum (2009).


 * Jing being used by a student for a peer review.**

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Jing can also be used for creative and fun projects in the classroom. Here is an example of Jing art. Students find a picture they like, take a screenshot and the just get creative with the tools Jing has to offer. Here is an example of the fun side of Jing. More artwork can be viewed at [] (O'Shea, 2009).



//**Conclusion**// Jing is just one of many new Web 2.0 tools that facilitate learning in the classroom. We hope that you will find it a useful part of your teaching arsenal. Jing is nothing short of magical because it is advanced software that doesn't come with a price tag. It is so easy to use for not only you the teacher, but also for your students. Used well, your students will learn more than ever before and have fun doing it.


 * Further literature and information concerning Jing and its educational uses, please see
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//**References**//