Webmaker/Teach/Terminology
Terms we use on Webmaker.org
Web Literacy
Web Literacy is a subset of Digital Literacy skills focusing on the World Wide Web.
The Web Literacy Map is a flexible specification of the skills and competencies that Mozilla and our community of stakeholders believe are important to pay attention to when getting better at reading, writing and participating on the web.
Kit
A kit is a modular collection of activities and/or resources at Webmaker.org.
We can add modifiers for clarity:
- Teaching Kit: a collection for how to teach a web literacy competency or competencies
- Event Kit
- User Testing Kit
- Codesign Kit
- etc.
Activity
An activity is a something you do with other people together. Many of these are documented and tagged on webmaker.org.
Examples:
- Spectrogram
- Sprint
- Jam
- Event
- etc.
Resource
A resource is something that supports teaching or learning in an autonomous context.
Resources might be:
- Tutorials, templates, Starter Makes, Makes
- Discussion Guide, Reading, Cookbook (ie Hive Cookbook)
- images, links, videos
To avoid confusion, consider all of the things listed above *types* of kits, activities or resources. Most of these terms have been deprecated, but there are instances where we still need the terminology for one reason or another.
Terms used broadly
Content
Content is something someone created and posted on the Web.
OER
Open Educational Resource - any piece of content, under an open license, designed to support teaching or learning.
Lesson plan = Curriculum = Teaching Kit
A collection of teaching and learning resources constructed with a pathway through learning objectives. This pathway is clearly defined so that an educator/mentor/teacher knows what kind of prior knowledge is required and can assess learning in their individual contexts.
Guide
Sometimes this is equivalent to a lesson plan/curriculum or teaching kit, but most often a guide is about a single topic. Lesson plans, curriula and Teaching Kits tend to have an arc through various topics.
Learning Pathways
Now we're getting tricky. A pathway is the way a learner navigates through learning content. Read this for a better description: http://edglossary.org/learning-pathway/
Remix / Fork
Creating a copy of something and using that copy as the base for something new
Hack
Modifying the original of something
Isn't hacking bad?
Although the word "hack" may have some negative connotations, the Open Web community uses it in a positive context. To "hack" something is simply to take something that already exists and change it to make something new. You can hack physical things- like board games or you can hack the web. Hacking has always been a key element in the creative process. It is a constructive collaborative activity, not a destructive one.
We have an unique definition for hacking. When we say hack we are talking about remixing content to make new things for the web. We mean hacking as tinkering. We are not implying anything malicious or illegal.
There's lots of great posts on the topic. Here's a random sampling.
- http://blogs.canada.com/2012/02/15/why-mozilla-is-teaching-kids-to-hack/
- http://yalsa.ala.org/blog/2012/01/22/i-hacked-john-greens-web-site/
- http://secondaryworlds.com/2012/03/when-hacking-is-a-good-thing-using-hackasaurus-to-teach-argument/
Why is teaching kids about the web and hacking important?
Beyond technical knowledge, Webmaker helps develop “hacker habits” — the combination of technical and social skills youth need to become active co-creators, shape their environments, and take charge of their own learning. In this fast-paced world, it’s important that youth understand how to tinker with technology rather than just consume it.
Autonomous Learning
The learner working alone.
Mentor
People who teach others either by actually mentoring and teaching people or by making resources that are designed to support other mentors in teaching or learners in learning.
Professional Development
a program or course designed to help professionals in their careers
Train the Trainer
A professional development approach that helps people learn and gain experience in teaching certain skills or facilitating with certain methods.
Teach the Web program
our training program designed to help people contribute to Webmaker and spread Web Literacy. It is both a professional development and a train the trainer program.
It is a modular offering that mixes online and offline learning to teach mentors 1) our pedagogy and webmaking 2) how to use, remix and create new teaching kits and 3) how to align resources with the Web Literacy Map.
Online Courses
Facilitated learning experiences that take place online
MOOC
Massive Open Online Course - a learning experience that is open to anyone. MOOCs are time boxed.
cMOOC
Connectivist MOOC - a MOOC that is designed to strengthen and help connect a community around a particular topic. So you want to run a cMOOC?
Offline Courses
Facilitated learning experiences that take place offline
Blended Courses
Facilitated learning experiences that take place partially on- and partially offline
Blended Learning
any learning experience that take place partially on- and partially offline
Pedagogy
the method and practice of teaching
Participatory
a pedagogy in which learners participate with others in the community, either IRL or online
Constructivism
a pedagogy in which learners "build knowledge", usually through creation of a tangible thing. See wikipedia definition
Connectivism
a pedagogy that emphasizes the social and cultural context in learning. See wikipedia definition
Co Design
a collaborative development process in which users are guided to find their own solutions to design problems. See wikipedia definition
Collaborative
a method in which people work together to achieve shared goals.
