Investigating the use of Web 2.0 tools and Open Educational Resources for ICS

The availability of Web 2.0 tools together with associated Open Educational Resources (OER) enables the creation of new collaborative online learning spaces. This paper discusses initial findings from the Higher Education Academy (HEA) Information and Computer Sciences (ICS) funded project: ‘Using Open Educational Resources and Web 2.0 Tools to support Ethical Reasoning in ICS Project-Based Learning’. The project started officially in December 2009 (students joined in February 2010) with the aim of investigating the potential of Web 2.0 tools and OER to support students engaged in final year project-based learning at the Open University. Capitalising on existing online environments and tools as well as available learning resources in the area of ethical reasoning in ICS, this project explores the potential of openly and freely accessible Web 2.0 tools to provide a space where students can interact with each other and their tutor to discuss concerns that arise within their project work including those related to ethical issues. This intervention was planned as existing arrangements that support communication between tutor and distance learning students (the course website, separate closed tutor group forums and email) appeared to be insufficient to facilitate the necessarily intense episodes of interaction required for productive supervision. This paper discusses students’ views of social networking tools and seeks to shed some light on which tools they would prefer to use for formal learning