I found the reading on the various uses of Web 2.0 technologies interesting as they seemed to focus on building the type of communities in a distance format that can be found in face to face classes. I think that sense of community is really important to retaining and taking away as much as possible from the classes I am taking at UMUC as in the first courses I did feel somewhat isolated from the other students. Taking a more active role in discussions and really getting a feel for my classmates experience and work has been eye opening for me and the use of the Web 2.0 tech has allowed for that experience.
The digital book section of the Module 3 reading was of special interest as it is something that my students have had mixed feelings with in the Undergraduate School at UMUC. A totally book free class experience is the goal for undergraduate students, and many of the classes have already been converted to a format that allows all materials to be downloaded for free from LEO. Many of them are happy to not have to pay for books, but at the same time, many of my students are not happy that they no longer have the book in front of them and have to spend more time in front of a computer.
A student I have been working with for over a year came in to my office today and was excited that none of her classes were going to require books. A year ago I vividly remember having a conversation with her about how upset she had been when her classes started to only have digital materials. She felt at the time that something had been lost in her studies, but clearly that opinion has changed. As UMUC embraces a digital course material format for its classes, I wonder if the decreased cost will draw more students, or if some will be put off by the lack of physical books?
