Week 1 Prompt

What have been your prior experiences with Web 2.0 technologies? Do you consider yourself a leader or follower in this realm, or something else altogether? Why? Also, discuss what you hope to get out of this class.


     As a member of the “Net Gen” as Hodell (2011) described I would aspire to be a leader in this realm of the technology and social media explosion. However, I am not quite sure that I am well versed in presenting and expanding on these revolutionary new community outlets and internet attraction. I hope when I complete this class that I will be much more familiar with the impact social networking has and will have on the instructional designers role, as well as the obstacles that come with understanding the emerging younger learners and user-centered designs to meet their expectations (Crook, 2012 gave ALOT of obstacles students experienced that must be taken into consideration).
     I would say that my prior experiences with Web 2.0 technologies were unbeknownst to me while I was growing up along side them. Starting for me with Web 1.0, where I was always the consumer email, AOL instant messaging, and simple chatrooms were my humble Web 1.0 beginnings. Before I even entered High School (2002), I was joining my first official Blog when I set up a LiveJournal and then a Xanga, and then a MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, Google+, StumbleUpon, Pinterest etc. Needless to say I am now part of a very large and continuously growing Web 2.0 community. Most recently, I received my undergraduate degree as a distance learning student. It really opened my eyes to the possibility of community and what can be accomplished through a more informal learning environment and technology. Now I am 100% invested in giving back to the larger community and understanding the core concepts and foundations behind ISD, PLE’s, Informal Learning, and the idea of the “prosumer” as Vanessa mentioned in our first webex session.
     Web 2.0 technologies open a world of opportunities for instructional designers as informal learning is gaining much deserved attention. Hodell (2011), wrote a quote that stood out to me, “For in the end, the less students think about the process of learning, the more likely they are to be successful at it.”  I’m really excited to collaborate and explore the internet, after all it is my favorite place to be :)