Alan Cann is a Senior Lecturer in the College of Medicine, Biological Sciences and Psychology at the University of Leicester. He has worked extensively on social objects in education and socially-constructed knowledge. In recent years this has involved working with Web 2.0 technologies in order to stimulate and inspire students, and to investigate the most appropriate ways in which these may be embedded in the curriculum. Particular interests include microblogging, development of personal learning environments and use of ePortfolios for personal development planning.