Participatory Design of the Participatory Culture: Students’ Projections of e-Learning 2.0

The participatory culture of Web 2.0 and the implicit empowerment of the learners have not been yet associated with participatory design projects that involve learners in the design and development of the new mediating tools. In this paper, we examine students’ projections of Web 2.0 in higher education. Ninety seven undergraduate students participated in 20 design sessions exploiting two needs’ elicitation techniques with the aim of envisioning of a course website that meets their learning particularities, that incorporates and exploits their new technological habits and which can be harmoniously situated in the daily routine of a modern, active student. 583 needs were produced and their abstract categorization is presented. Students proved that they had refined views about the elements that can render successful the next wave of e-learning applications and provided directions that can help designers and researchers in developing more informed designs. Students are the main agents of educational change and, hence, they deserve a more active and contributive role in the knowledge society.