Web+2.0

“Web 2.0 is when a website’s material is supplied by its visitors.”
-David Pogue, //The New York Times//

Pogue’s definition is accurate and succinct.

While the internet is still a fantastic source for all types of information, many sites and applications now provide the capability for integrating and synthesizing data, information, and media into new forms of information and expression. With what is referred to as “Web 1.0,” you can view data and/or media and can interact with a web site. With Web 2.0, you can create data and media and can interact with the world or a specific population.

A good example of using a Web 2.0 Tool for global creation is [|Wikipedia]. It is a wiki encyclopedia created from entries submitted by anyone who desires to do so. The result is a source of information, some of it rather obscure but meaningful if you need it, created by those who know something about the subject. Is it reliable? For the most part, yes, it is. You have no doubt heard horror stories about companies who have slanted history in their favor and entries that have sullied reputations. Such things have happened; however, entries are now vetted and such occurrences have diminished significantly.

A moral of the Wikipedia story is that a wiki manager is responsible for the wiki’s content just as a journalism teacher is responsible for the school newspaper’s content. Just as with any other tool, Web 2.0 can be used for everyone’s benefit or for furthering a self-serving agenda. It is important that we and our students are knowledgeable so that responsible decisions can be made.

Web 1.0 compared with Web 2.0
There is no educational “silver bullet.” In the following comparison, neither technology application is “better” than the other. Both can be pedagogically effective; consequently, the following are descriptive statements, not judgments.

When first utilizing technology in the classroom, most teachers typically rely on Web 1.0. Power Points; on-line or off-line worksheets, study guides, problems; interactive calculators; streaming video; word processing; etc. are used to enhance teaching. Software and websites are used as “read only” or with limited interaction in order to facilitate student learning. Student engagement typically increases as lecture is complimented or supplanted by video and web information. Practice and even assessment are accomplished by using a computer. Student work tends to be individual.

With more technological experience and knowledge, teachers tend to seek educational experiences for their students that require collaboration among students and synthesis of information which result in the creation of original artifacts. Web 2.0 is well suited for the project-based learning and authentic assessment consistent with skill development for the 21st Century (see 21st Century Standards page). Web sites are “read/write” (Moodle, wiki spaces, Google docs) and are developed collaboratively. The content of the sites reflect shared student research in various genre and media. Ultimately an artifact (pamphlet, multi-media presentation, remixed video, original video, etc.) is developed and published (to the class or, better still, to the internet) so that feedback can be supplied and further collaboration can occur. Granted, because of time constraints such a project could not be a daily occurrence, but one or two such projects in the course of a year may not seem unrealistic.