Web 2.0 and Professional Development of Academic Staff

Abstract

This chapter argues that the latest wave of Web 2.0 technologies has the potential to transform online learning. To realize this potential, universities must rethink the way in which they develop academic skills in online teaching. The current emphasis on training academics to teach online using learning material and learning management systems has yielded mixed results. Too much of the focus has been on "top-down" models of change. Web 2.0 technologies favor "bottom-up" approaches to staff development, approaches that leverage the power, ease of use, and flexibility of Web 2.0 technologies. These have a better chance to produce the constructivist, student-centered online learning that is now widely regarded as the ideal. The authors use fictional accounts in order to capture some of the issues involved.