What is Web 2.0?
Web 2.0 introduces tools that give the average citizen the ability to share information with the world--to communicate and collaborate with others in real time. Will Richardson's YouTube clip on the read-write web said, "The idea is that everything potentially connects. Writing is not simply publishing anymore. It is engaging in conversations about what we are writing." Web 2.0 tools like blogs, wikis, YouTube, and others allow for anyone to post messages/photos/movies/music to the world and receive immediate feedback.
Web 2.0:
- is a shift from read only to read/write capability
- is connective reading and connective writing that starts conversations
- gives anyone the ability to communicate and collaborate with the world
- connects people as well as ideas in real time
- brings concerns for privacy, ethics, copyright, and truth
How does Web 2.0 impact education generally, as well as you as a classroom teacher?
Currently, most educators see the web as a way to gain information--to do research, find images and movies, or download music--all as consumers. Web 2.0 opens up a whole new world of communication and collaboration. It allows for a move away from lessons being completed with paper and pencil to online publishing. It allows students to share their ideas and projects not only with each other, but also will the world. It allows classrooms to learn from others in real conversations in real time. However, this new shift requires the educator to begin the daunting task of teaching and monitoring privacy, ethics, and copyright in an ever-changing medium. Before teachers can utilize Web 2.0 with their students, they will need to be trained, not only in the tools, but also in the areas of privacy, ethics, and copyright.
As a classroom teacher, I see myself being challenged to move beyond using the web as a consumer. I want to use Web 2.0 to channel my students' creative desires and social networking obsessions into their learning. I need to think beyond my classroom walls and imagine how my students can connect with the world. I should provide collaborative experiences for them, not only with their classmates, but also with others from around the globe. I will need to investigate how to use Web 2.0 for myself and then with my students, and at the same time, teach them about safety, privacy, ethics, and copyright.
