This document summarizes a presentation on using Web 2.0 resources in literature teaching. It discusses characterizations of "digital native" students and how current pedagogical theory relates to technology use. Popular social media tools are surveyed, including blogs, wikis, social bookmarking, and social networks. The presentation focuses on classroom materials and activities developed by students for literature courses using these tools. Examples of student work accessible online through various social media are provided.

1. Note: This paper was published on pp 319-323 of
XXXIV FAAPI Conference Proceedings: teachers in action; making the latest trends work
in the classroom. Bahía Blanca: Federación Argentina de Asociaciones de Profesores de
Inglés, 2009. ISBN: 978-987-98045-1-3
Of Mouse and Book – Using Web 2.0 resources in Literature Teaching
(A Room of One’s Own Presentation)
Prof. Mariel R. Amez
Instituto de Educación Superior “Olga Cossettini”
ISPI “San Bartolomé”
mamez@express.com.ar
Abstract
This article introduces the theoretical background upon which the demonstration offered at the
Conference rests. It discusses the characterisation of “Millennial Learners” and the relationship
between current pedagogical theory and the use of technology. It also summarises some of the
features of social software, providing a succinct survey of popular resources and their potential
for exploitation. The demonstration itself focuses on classroom materials and activities
developed by and for students in Literature courses in Teacher Education, and suggests ways
in which these can be adapted for EFL classrooms.
Of Mouse and Book – Using Web 2.0 resources in Literature Teaching
(A Room of One’s Own Presentation)
Digital Natives accustomed to the twitch-speed, multitasking, random-
access, graphics-first, active, connected, fun, fantasy, quick-payoff
world of their video games, MTV, and Internet are bored by most of
today’s education, well meaning as it may be. But worse, the many
skills that new technologies have actually enhanced (e.g., parallel
processing, graphics awareness, and random access)—which have
profound implications for their learning—are almost totally ignored by
educators. (Prensky, 2001)
Much has been written about the profile of “Digital Natives”, “Millennial Learners”, “Net
Generation” or “Generation Y”, students who were born in the 1980’s and 1990’s. It is usually
highlighted that, being technologically savvy and goal-oriented, they prefer information-
connectedness, collaboration, multitasking, and share a focus on immediacy. While recent
studies highlight the existence of a digital divide in this generation, both in access to technology
and in operational capability (Committee of Inquiry into the Changing Learner Experience, 2009)
or challenge the scientific validity of such a generalization (Bennett, Maton & Kervin, 2008), the
fact remains that, as many of the learners in our classrooms do exhibit at least some of those
characteristics, teaching practices should be adapted in order to cater for their learning styles
and preferences. Moreover, it is widely agreed that information literacies are essential for life-
long learning, employability, social inclusion and empowerment to ensure sustainable
development (Paas & Creech, 2008), so education has a vital role in fostering such literacies.
The effective introduction of ICT contents in Teacher Education Programmes is therefore crucial
both for the development of the teachers-to-be themselves, and for the application of innovative
uses of technology in their own teaching practices.
It should be borne in mind that ICT itself does not guarantee sound pedagogical quality.
Technology can and has often been used to reproduce teacher-centred practices that actually

2. hinder the achievements of students and contribute next-to-nothing to innovation and
motivation. What matters is not the use of ICT but the pedagogical model that guides our
practices and the learning tasks set to students, both of which can certainly be enhanced by
resorting to technology:
la tecnología (…) no debe ser el eje o centro de los procesos de
enseñanza, sino un elemento mediador entre el conocimiento que
debe construirse y la actividad que debe realizar el alumnado. El
protagonista debe ser el propio humano que, en colaboración con
otros sujetos, desarrolla acciones con la tecnología. (Area Moreira,
2007)
From a constructivist perspective, effective learning is learning by doing, directed
towards the learner’s interests and undertaken in a community, focused on the process of
learning rather than on content. The teacher – no longer the source of knowledge – should
design experiences that enable students to become independent learners. Some of the
essential skills to develop in our society, given the overabundance of information and multiplicity
of sources, include effective search, authentication and critical evaluation (Committee of Inquiry
into the Changing Learner Experience, 2009) or, to use a broader term, multiliteracies:
From an educational standpoint, the concept of multiliteracies refers to
how people must adapt to the changing nature of communication in a
digital age and to what must be inculcated in students in order for them
to succeed in lives where productivity depends on keeping up with
technology. (Stevens, 2006)
Many institutions have now implemented VLEs (Virtual Learning Environments) with a
management information system, also known as learning platforms. VLEs bring together
communication tools such as email, bulletin boards and chat rooms, collaboration tools such as
online forums, electronic diaries and calendars, tools to create online content and courses,
online assessment and marking – an array of resources available only to authorised participants
in which the tutor can monitor frequency and quality of performance. They are closed systems
that allow remote access, and can thus be extremely helpful for learners to catch up on missed
lessons, work at their own pace, expand learning on a certain topic, and generally improve
organisation of coursework. In addition to commercial versions, there are a number of free
options, such as Moodle or Dokeos.
VLEs are nowadays often integrated with Web 2.0 resources or “social software”. Some
popular examples of social software are:
Blogs, Internet-based journals or diaries in which a user can post text and digital
material while others can comment (Blogger, Wordpress);
Microblogging, a small-scale form of blogging, generally made up of short, succinct
messages, used to share news, post status updates and carry on conversations. (Twitter,
Pownce)
Media-sharing services, which enable the uploading or downloading of media files (flikr;
YouTube, Slideshare);
Wikis, web-based services allowing users unrestricted access to create, edit and link
pages (Wikipedia, PBWorks, Wikispaces);
Social bookmarking services, where users submit their bookmarked web pages to a
central site where they can be found and tagged by other users (del.icio.us, Diggo);
Social network sites (My Space, Facebook, Ning), which can be defined as
web-based services that allow individuals to (1) construct a public or
semi-public profile within a bounded system, (2) articulate a list of
other users with whom they share a connection, and (3) view and
traverse their list of connections and those made by others within the
system. (boyd & Ellison, 2007)

3. The advantages of integrating social software are numerous. As they constitute
“horizontal” spaces, with no hierarchies, they foster the development of networking, teamwork,
st
and collaboration, essential 21 century skills both for education and the labour market. They
can also encourage bonding among members, even modifying traditional power structures. In
addition, they can provide access to a wider variety of resources to encompass not only plural
views but also a diversity of media (images, videos, audio), and allow for individual and joint
discoveries and feedback.
Some difficulties of assimilating social software into teaching, as Bennett et al (2008)
point out, refer to the fact that while young people do frequently own state-of-the art
technologies, only a minority create their own content for the Web. Moreover, students
identify certain technologies as ‘living technologies’, for their own
personal and social use (eg SMS, games), and others as ‘learning
technologies’ and more research is needed to determine the specific
circumstances under which students would like their 'living
technologies' to be adapted as 'learning technologies'. (Dobozy &
Pospisil, 2009)
However, as stated above, ICT and social software in particular need to be an integral
part of education and Teacher Education in particular. They must become as invisible as chalk
and board so that students learn to interpret and assess critically the information that surrounds
them, and are able to express themselves and communicate using available technology (Area
Moreira, 2007).
VLEs are useful for the classified storage of resources, quizzes, emailing, chatrooms
and forums. Blogs are ideal for reflective journals open for comment by peers and tutor, and wikis
for collective content creation and development, complementing or replacing lectures. Through social
bookmarking, lists of articles or activities online can be expanded and commented on. Multimedia
presentations available online can do away with the monopoly of textbooks, and the creation of such
presentations by students to be shared through social media can show their emotional response and
their abilities to deal with complex technological resources.
Based on this theoretical framework, I have been working to integrate ICT – and
especially Web 2.0 resources – into my Literature classes in Teacher Education, and it is the
tasks designed and their realisation by the students that are the core of this demonstration. The
activities range from personal reading journals to forums to raise expectations or share
responses; from selecting existing materials to designing an imaginary film trailer based on a
book discussed. Some of the resources illustrated through students’ productions can be found
at:
VLE: http://ies28.sfe.infd.edu.ar/aula/
Yahoo Group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/literature_in_english_I/
Wiki: http://ieslit1.pbworks.com/
Social network: http://litineglish.ning.com/
Social network (reading preferences) http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/2354802-
lucia
Social bookmarking: http://delicious.com/tag/litinenglish3
Media sharing: http://www.slideshare.net/mamez/masset-creative-writing
References
Area Moreira, M. (2007). Algunos principios para el desarrollo de buenas prácticas pedagógicas
con las TICs en el aula. Comunicación y pedagogía: Nuevas tecnologías y recursos
didácticos., (222), 42-47.
Bennett, S., Maton, K., & Kervin, L. (2008). The `digital natives' debate: A critical review of the
evidence. British Journal of Educational Technology, 39 (5), 775-786.

4. boyd, d. m., & Ellison, N. B. (2007). Social network sites: Definition, history, and scholarship.
Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 13(1), article 11. Retrieved July 1,
2009, from http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol13/issue1/boyd.ellison.html
Committee of Inquiry into the Changing Learner Experience, (2009). Higher Education in a Web
2.0 World, 570 (1.1), Retrieved July 3 2009, from
http://www.jisc.ac.uk/media/documents/ publications/heweb20rptv1.pdf
Dobozy, E., & Pospisil, R. (2009). Exploring flexible and low-cost alternatives to face-to-face
academic support. Teaching English with Technology, 9 (2), Retrieved July 11, 2009,
from http://www.iatefl.org.pl/call/j_article6_35.pdf.
Paas, L., & Creech, H. (2008). How ICTs can support Education for Sustainable Development:
Current Uses and Trends. International Institute for Sustainable Development,
Retrieved July 6, 2009, from http://www.iisd.org/pdf/2008/ict_education_sd_trends.pdf
Prensky, M. (2001). Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants, Part II: Do They Really Think
Differently?. Retrieved July 17, 2009, from Marc Prensky Web site:
http://www.marcprensky.com/ writing/Prensky%20-%20Digital%20Natives,%20Digital
%20Immigrants%20-%20Part2.pdf
Stevens, V. (2006) Revisiting Multiliteracies in Collaborative Learning Environments: Impact on
Teacher Professional Development. TESL-EJ 10 (2). Web. Retrieved 29 May 2009 from
http://www.tesl-ej.org/ej38/int.html