Essay

Web 2.0 is essentially an increasing range of Software that supports a variety of technologies for open and collaborative communication, learning and creativity. Discuss. 

Through this course we have discovered the new online world of Web 2.0. It is a new and exciting immersion of technology that allows the user to, for example:

·        Create their own webpage with a group and collaboratively edit the work

·        Create moving videos and movies

·        Blog in a safe and interactive space

·        And learn in accordance with all the multiple intelligences that Gardiner stated. 

Such programs that Web 2.0 is linked with are:

·        Flickr

·        Anitmoto

·        Myspace

·        Facebook and so on. 

As teacher in training, I am surprised at how well this online invention can be an attribute to my future teaching. In our Education course of Networked learning we were asked to design an assessment for a student in our major teaching field using the Web 2.0 technology. Searching through the Web there are many programs that I can use to my teaching advantage and I myself can learn from. 

To understand how Web 2.0 can aid a teacher in their job I will go through a couple of different advancements in programs that are correlated to Web 2.0. A great blog site to lookup is Heyjude on WordPress. This site is a personal reflection of someone who has though about Web 2.0 and how to use it in everyday life. It is up to date and easily to access. This table has been added by Tim O’Reilly, a recognised name in the development of Web 2.0

DoubleClick	–>	Google AdSense
Ofoto	–>	Flickr
Akamai	–>	BitTorrent
mp3.com	–>	Napster
Britannica Online	–>	Wikipedia
personal websites	–>	blogging
evite	–>	upcoming.org and EVDB
domain name speculation	–>	search engine optimization
page views	–>	cost per click
screen scraping	–>	web services
publishing	–>	participation
content management systems	–>	wikis
directories (taxonomy)	–>	tagging (“folksonomy”)
stickiness	–>	syndication

Web 1.0

Web 2.0

 It clearly shows the differences from Web 1.0 and 2.0. Digital natives have already grown into this type of online world. Whereas the digital immigrants would be still trying to get used to the ways the new technologies work. One of the most fantastic this about the internet and Web 2.0 is that you can generally always find what you are looking for! If you do not know how to tie a knot or can’t embed a video onto your blog, all you have to do is go to Google or your preferred search engine, type in your question and up pops thousands of answers. This way you can sift through the bad to find the good, or take a little from each answer. 

Other programs like IGoogle, YouTube, Blog, Wikipedia and RSS Feeds allow the users who have signed up to them to freely use and collaboratively work on assessment, comment on pictures, change layouts and add games and tools to enhance the Webpage. The definition of collaboration means to work together, a joint intellectual effort. This is an important factor of Web 2.0 as it encourages communication between the participants. And with the advancements in technology, the participants do not have to be near each other to work on their assigned task. Using a site like pbwiki, you can create your own, free, webpage that can be accessed all the time and also edited whenever. Each participant has the same access and can leave their personal mark on the page. As a teacher this tool is very effective in seeing group work skills and to help students understand the new style of online learning. This site also lets you see who has edited or added to the page and when so that you can monitor their progress over time. 

Sites such as WordPress allow the user to create their own free blog and post thoughts, pictures or videos they have found in a safe online community. To sign up only takes a couple of minutes, you the user is free to choose their own layout and style. You can link your blog to other programs and the other way around. The blog is essentially an online diary or journal. This can be used effectively from a teachers perspective as you could ask the students to write their personal thoughts and general thoughts about the course, subject, teaching style or find their own additions to the subject. 

Using tools such as iGoogle, Facebook and Flickr, creativity is enhanced. The user can put up their own photos in Flickr in different folders with captions and headings and also arrange them anyway they want to. IGoogle allows the user to add certain ‘tabs’ to their homepage which is suited to the users own taste and needs. The user can show their personal interests and also gain valuable information and also play online games and trivia. Flickr is a photo sharing/storing program. It allows the user to display their own photos of themselves friends, family events or places they have taken or just want to show in their online community. These are just three sites that enhance creativity in an online way.

Myspace and Facebook also allow creativity as you can change the layout and move applications around on your own personal page. What is amazing with Web 2.0 is that it is open to the public eye but at the same time is very personal and is protected by passwords and login names. Facebook and Myspace allow you to add and delete friends when you want to. By sending a ‘permission’ box for the user to accept or decline shows how these programs cater for the users needs. Facebook allows you to show where you know your friends, how you met them or you can write you own explanation of them. By adding games, networks, and certain pictures you account can show the online community a bit ‘about you’ whilst still having lots of privacy. As the trend of online learning is growing, we have to be wary of the sorts of information that is available to each student, user or common browser. The ‘pen and paper’ style of education is slowly being phase out and a new generation of highly skilled students will soon emerge. The competition between programs has already started, especially between Myspace and Facebook, and will only continue into the future. (SMH, 2007).  

Through all of these examples we can see how Web 2.0 is being used as an effective tool in communication, creativity and learning. Through this course, I personally have learnt cast amounts of information about what I can do with Web 2.0 and how I can eventually use it as a teaching aid. I found that Web 2.0 is a source which also enforces deep learning. The great thing about this type of learning is that it often is unconscious. The users do not realise that they are learning because they are having fun and enjoying what they are doing. This way there is less effort enforced on the user and less pressure. The user can learn/use the free outlets of Web 2.0 and learn at their own pace and discover new and exciting technologies. Adding videos, an mp3 player or just writing thoughts about anything you like, once a daunting task has now become a part of everyday life. I know I use them everyday! Do you!?  

Reference List 

O’Connell, Judy, Heyjude Blog, Retrieved October 2007 from, http://heyjude.wordpress.com/. 

O’Reilly Tim, What is Web 2.0, Retrieved 30^th October 2007, http://www.oreilly.com/pub/a/oreilly/tim/news/2005/09/30/what-is-web-20.html

Reuters. (2007, November 1). Spurned Google rolls out its Facebook killer. Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved November 1, 2007, from http://www.smh.com.au.  

Tech Soup, Everything you need to know about Web 2.0, Retrieved 30^th October, http://www.techsoup.org/toolkits/web2/     

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