Elearning - February/March 2008 - (Page 26) usingweb2.0tools cations. This is usually a task that requires significant programming experience. To combine several concepts presented throughout the semester, students used Microsoft Popfly (www.popfly.com) to create their own mashups. By dragging, dropping and connecting blocks, Popfly makes it easy to mix data from a variety of sources in order to create new applications. Popfly blocks represent ways to access, process, or display information. For example, Figure 4 shows the design of a Facebook Friends Map. First, a Facebook block calls an operation to get a list of Facebook friends. By connecting the Facebook block to the GeoNames block, it is possible to determine the latitude and longitude for each friend’s city and state obtained from Facebook. Finally, by connecting both the GeoNames block and the Facebook block to the Virtual Earth Mapping block, the mashup displays the friend’s name and photo in the appropriate location on the map, as shown in Figure 5. CONCLUSION “Web 2.0” implies a new milestone in how we have come to use the Internet. The Information Systems Department at Bentley College in Waltham, Mass., where he teaches an innovative introductory information technology course using Web 2.0 technologies as a tool for learning IT concepts. Frydenberg has published several articles and spoken internationally on teaching with emerging technologies in the college classroom. Bentley College (www.bentley.edu) is a national leader in business education. Centered on education and research in business and related professions, Bentley blends the breadth and technological strength of a university with the values and student focus of a small college. Its undergraduate curriculum combines business study with a strong foundation in the arts and sciences. Offerings at the McCallum Graduate School emphasize the impact of technology on business practice, including M.B.A. and Master of Science programs, Ph.D. programs in accountancy and in business, and selected executive programs. Enrolling approximately 4,000 full-time undergraduate, 250 adult part-time undergraduate and 1,270 graduate students, Bentley is located minutes west of Boston. Figure 5. Facebook Friends Mashup World Wide Web’s evolution is the result of advances in both technology infrastructure and in how people embrace technology. The Web has evolved into a platform facilitating new ways of information sharing, collaboration and communication. Teaching Web 2.0 concepts and using its tools in an introductory technology course offers students new ways to interact with their data and their peers as they develop skills that will be valuable to them as future information technology professionals. Mark Frydenberg is a senior lecturer and software specialist in the Computer 26 February/March 2008 Elearning! http://www.popfly.com http://www.bentley.edu http://www.masie.com http://www.masie.com
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