by Alan Nelson
The power of Web 2.0 was brought home to me by the interesting box office performance of Sacha Baron Cohen’s latest creation, Bruno. The film had received massive pre-release coverage, not least because Cohen is so good at making stories through his own personal appearances. His antics not only created column inches but, just as significantly, stimulated an unprecedented number of Tweets on the micro-blogging site, Twitter.
This was great news - until the Tweets turned sour. So just as remarkable as the first night success of the film was the comparative drop off in audience numbers for the second night. Traditionally films that receive a big pre-release hype, but turn out to be disappointing, see a drop off in audience numbers come the second weekend. This is the first time that the effect has been so immediate.
This has parallels in the world of online learning, although you will be relieved to hear that I am not intending to walk around in a brightly coloured posing pouch to promote our courses. People attending a face-to-face event tend not to leave until the first coffee break even if it is terrible! Online they will go elsewhere if they aren’t seriously engaged within the first few minutes.
Our approach to non-linear, learner centred resources has always meant that we have had to focus on how to ensure that diverse groups of people each find something useful as soon as possible after logging in. As we move towards wider acceptance of web 2.0 technologies for creating collaborative learning environments, we will have to take this a big step further. Personally I am excited by this, but we shouldn’t underestimate the challenge inherent in passing control to the users.
ps This blog was prompted by a newspaper article. I couldn't remember where I read it. I thought perhaps the Guardian. I knew it wasn't the Observer because I was on the train and it was a weekday. So I googled to see if I could find it and was presented with the sad truth that the paper I habitually read is in fact not any of these fine liberal braodsheets, but the London Paper. What have I become?
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