The Web Explorer

INTRODUCTION

Learning is becoming increasingly easier due to the arrival and the evolution of many new technologies and a numerous of software. Web 2.0 is considered as the second generation of internet usage and Web 1.0 is the first generation. No longer getting one-way communication on the web; now Web 2.0 is about constructing knowledge collaboratively on the web. Web 2.0 is engaging and active compared to the passive and un-engaging Web 1.0 applications which ideal for the virtual learning. This kind of learning are made possible through advancements in technology. Web 2.0 applications (Facebook, MySpace, Blogs, Wiki’s, iGoogle, Flickr, RSS Feeds and YouTube. Etc) are effective teaching and pedagogical tools. These provide a platform for social networking through a medium that allows for sharing, informing, communicating and interacting. Web 2.0 requires active user’s participation in creating content (user generated content). In learning theories, importance of active participation, critical thinking, social presence, collaborative learning and two way communications are also underlined for quality learning (Beldarrin, 2006).

This paper is intended to give an example for how wiki could be implemented to build an online community. Building online learning community is one of the examples of web 2.0 adoption for educational purposes. A constructivist learning process occurs in online community because the characteristics of online community have similarities with the constructivism learning characteristic, for example:

· The member of the community is actively involve

· Online communities usually have democratic environment

· The content is user/member centered and the activity of the member are interactive

· Each member is encouraged to be autonomous and responsible. The community leader only serves as a moderator who manages and filter the flows of information (netiquette , unsolicited content)

WEB 2.0 PLATFORM SELECTIONS

Wiki is a system that allows one or more people to build a large collection of knowledge using process creating and editing pages. The content of knowledge is limited to specific subject that is being a main concern of the online community that builds a wiki site. The most famous wiki is Wikipedia with more than four million entries in four years. There are numerous hosting services that provide wiki service to the Internet user. This service can be obtained free of charge or pay a certain amount of cost depends on the features offered. Nevertheless, wiki services that are most frequently used by regular user are wikispaces (http://www.wikispace.com) and wiki-site (http://www.wiki-site.com ). Wiki-site is a wiki provider that offers wiki service that has the same engine with the well known wiki system – Wikipedia. Wikispaces launched in March 2005 and own by Tangient LLC is a hosting service based in San Francisco, California. Wikispaces provides free basic wikis with WYSIWYG editing to the general public under a Wikispaces sub domain. Wikispaces provides intuitive and easy to understand user interface. This is the main reason why I used Wikispaces for my wiki project.

SUBJECT SELECTION

Subject selection is the important point when want to build an online community. An online community can be formed when there are a number of people who have the same hobby, concern and interest to a specific subject, topic, or a problem and want to group so they can share and build collection of knowledge related to their interest. For this project, I choose Moodle LMS as a specific subject for my wiki. Moodle is one of popular open sourced based LMS (Learning Management System) and it is gaining popularity right now. I have experience using various LMS platforms from commercial to open source base and I found that Moodle is an interesting one. It is free and rich features comparable with commercial LMS. It is also easy to deploy and manage, have simple and easy to understand interface. For the people who have programming skills, Moodle has program library so they can modify, make a modules to enrich its features. And the best thing is its scalability; it fits from 10 to 100 thousand users. I would recommend Moodle for those institutions who want to start e-learning services but only had limited resources (limited funds, etc). Of course, this is based on my subjective opinion after trying various LMS. But unfortunately just the same with another open source software, it lacks witch vendor support. Some potential user may have to think twice before deploying a Moodle or migrating another LMS to Moodle because of that problem. By using a wiki, I hope I can make a simple solution to that problem by replacing ‘vendor support’ to ‘community support’. This wiki will act as a knowledge based management system so the community member can have an online resources repository which can help them solving their problem related to Moodle administration and usage. Internet user who have interest in Moodle can join the wiki by visiting http://wiki4moodle.wikispaces.com. I also provide access to Moodle site (http://learning.dimasap.web.id ). User who have interest in Moodle but do not have enough resources to make their own Moodle site can use this site for free.

CONCLUSION

Collaborative is the main key to make an online community to become more attractive and can survive in the Internet world when specific topic and tools are provided to extend the topic and to transform to other topics that are still relevant. The following are additional key points that are needed to build a good online community:

1. Ease of use. Rather than displaying a complex web page, wiki offers simple and easy to use text editor for day to day use.

2. Rule. Every community needs rules, including an online community. Make the rules simple and clear, and does not tempt people to intentionally violate it.

3. Extend it with real content. It is easier to join an existing conversation rather than make a new one. Build a community with a clear and directed topic.

REFERENCES

Parker, K. R., & Cao, J. T. (2007). Wiki as a Teaching Tool. Interdisciplinary Journal of Knowledge and Learning Objects , 3.

Usluel, Y. K., & Mazma, S. G. (2009). Adoption of Web 2.0 tools in distance education. International Journal of Human Sciences , 2, 89-98.