IntroductionThe term "Web 2.0" can be applied across broad categories of emerging technology tools and design principles, social and economic shifts, business philosophies, participatory media and culture, etc.... Web 2.0 tools (blogs, wikis, podcasts, social networking and social bookmarking sites, tagging, photo- and video-sharing, RSS, etc...) are collaborative, browser-based and user-driven. They include platforms and tools for publishing, connecting, sharing, organizing and remixing.
A popular synonym for "Web 2.0" is the "Read/Write" web, which suggests that users are contributing, creating and collaborating rather than just consuming web content. "Web 1.0" or the "Read-Only" web was a place where the average user didn't publish content, because it required technical knowledge (HTML and other programming code) and money (to purchase server space and software). Web 2.0 tools allow users to easily participate and to customize their online experiences.
At its core, Web 2.0 is about powerful Web-based technologies connecting people and ideas.
So, what is Web 2.0?
Here are a few "one-sentence" definitions, and one that is slightly longer:
- "It's not a web of computers, it's a web of people." - Tim Berners-Lee, Inventor of the World Wide Web
- "Working on the Internet is the same as working on your desktop." - Sarah Bresee, Outcast
- "Web 2.0 is the two-way web where content finds you." - Ron Rasmussen, KnowNow
- "People doing things together on the web." - Mitchell Baker, Mozilla Foundation
- "Web 2.0 is all the Web sites out there that get their value from the actions of users." - George Jones, InformationWeek
- "The new WWW: Whatever. Whenever. Wherever." - Tom March, Educator, Inventor of WebQuests
- "Less than a decade ago, when we were first getting used to the idea of an Internet, people described the act of going online as venturing into some foreign realm called cyberspace. But that metaphor no longer applies. MySpace, Flickr and all the other newcomers aren't places to go, but things to do, ways to express yourself, means to connect with others and extend your own horizons. Cyberspace was somewhere else. The Web is where we live." - Steven Levy and Brad Stone, Newsweek [emphasis mine]
Discovery Exercise:
Why does Web 2.0 matter? Please watch the following videos to find out.
The web is changing...
The Machine is Us/ing Us by Michael Wesch
The world is changing...
Shift Happens/Did You Know 2.0? by Karl Fisch
Students are changing...
A Vision of K-12 Students Today
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Learning Activity:
What might Web 2.0 look like in school?
Read the article "A Day in the Life of Web 2.0" by David Warlick. Consider the ways in which Web 2.0 tools might change (or have already changed) your professional practice. How might you be able to use these new tools to to engage today's "digital learners?" Why would you want to? In Thing 3, you will be asked to complete a blog post reflecting on your initial thoughts about Web 2.0 and its role in 21st Century teaching and learning, so please write or type some notes -- OR... use Writeboard (see below).
Stretch Activity (optional)
Writeboard is a simple, collaborative word processor that works in your web browser. Using Writeboard, anyone can create a document and invite others to add to it simply by sharing the web address and password -- no registration necessary! Use Writeboard to compose a 1-2 paragraph response to the above task. Next week, you can copy and paste your Writeboard text into your blog post. (Be sure to save your Writeboard link and password so you can get back to it)! If you just want to play with a Writeboard document, visit this sample Writeboard (password = learning) and experiment with adding some text.
20 comments:
The Write Board seems like it is pretty easy. It will be interesting to compare this tool to google docs, which I know is very popular. I wonder what the difference is between them?
I found the Write Board easy to use, but forgot to manually save my work. One big difference between Google Docs and Write Board is that Google Docs automatically saves your work.
I like Write Board but I forgot about it when I did my post! Duh!! Everyone should at least check it out!!
The write board seems easy to navigate around and it could have many uses for the classroom. Saving could be a problem because it doesn't do it for you.
I like the Write Board! I can really see this being used in the classroom. Nova Southeastern uses something like this in their live chats.
I like the write board because I often make notes while I am online (even for shopping!) Usually I am gathering information and trying to organize my thoughts. I have been opening a word document and moving back and forth! This will be a bit more efficient I think.
That attempt seemed easy enough and I will be interested to see how easy it will be to get back to what I put down. Makes me wonder how many times I'll need to do it to make it mine.
I agree. It seems easy. I just need to use it to get better. I am a chicken. I saved what I wrote to a Wrd Doc before I closed the link. :)
My writeboard can be found at kps_future_tech_class-1.txt or kps_future_tech_class-1.html. I even pasted and copied the entry to my blog for Thing #2. YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW BIG A DEAL THIS IS ! In the past, I would have retyped the whole thing.
I learned that Web 2.0 is a whole new way we can create, express,and communicate with each other. I see so many new possibilities even for a Kindergarten teacher like myself. Once I learn how to do all this new stuff I am sure the possibilities will be endless. I can already see this as a new way to communicate with my students, my parents, my team, my school, my principal, and who know who else. I can't wait to learn new Web 2.0 tools.
Love the white board! I accidentally commented on my own entry...thought I was editing it! ... but that's part of the learning curve.
Love it! I can't wait to see if I can successfully get back to my note to see if I can add it to my blog. I hope it is as easy as it sounds!
I too hope I can import my whiteboard into my blog without too many problems. I enjoyed using this application but noticed that there is no spell check.
I checked out the Whiteboard before I read the article and then forgot to take notes. The article was very interesting to see how an entire campus works together to make technology work. It really has me thinking about how I can use what I already know and what I am going to learn in my 2nd grade classroom.
I used the write board to put down my thoughts and saved it to a folder just for 23 Things. I guess I will find out in Thing 3 if I did it correctly and can access it.
Dayla, the spell check happens as you type. It will underline questionable spellings in red.
Once again I am sad to find yet another wonderful technology tool that I cannot use because there is not enough access to it.
Note: It would be great if links opened in a new tab or window. Often you need to go back and forth and it is much easier if the links open a new window than to page back or copy/paste.
Thanks.
I think this would provide some great possibilities for our kids to see how others take notes. Can you allow others to edit the original?
I love the write board. I think this would be a great tool to integrate into the classroom when students are taking notes or summarizing something they read.
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