In our class discussion I realized that I have been using Web 2.0 technology for years without understanding what it really means. Web 2.0 is the interactive internet, it allows individuals to access sites and, rather than just see presented content, they are able to contribute, change, and create. Web 2.0 tools allow for social networking and sharing, people engaging people, without the limitations of time, distance, or limited communication. One example of this is Wikipedia, which anyone can contribute to and access, collectively building and sharing information. Other examples are more socially and artistically oriented, like flickr and facebook. Web 2.0 allows billions and billions of people to interact unencumbered – it’s amazing when you take a moment and think about it.
Web 2.0 has enormous implications for education. Teachers can add an online component to class, much like the e-learning system used by UF, that will allow students to interact with one another. Questions can be posted on forums and answered by peers or the instructor, and more than one student will benefit from the answer as would have been the case with an email. Students can also collaborate more easily on group projects through wikis, and can even work with students from other schools and countries. Teachers also are given greater creative freedom in their assignments to students, which can now be received and viewed online, as well as in their lessons which can incorporate interactive applications through educational Web 2.0 tools.
Here’s an educational Web 2.0 tool called quikmaps, it allows access to satellite imagery as well as terrain maps. You can zoom in and out, add labels, and draw routes – incredibly useful for every geography and history teacher.
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