Web 2.0 Technologies
On this page you can read about:
1) A description of Web 2.0 technologies
2) Implications for schools
3) The technology skills required to participate
4) Examples of Web 2.0 technology.
5) Bringing Web 2.0 technologies together
6) Virtual Learning Platforms (VLEs)
Please note that examples of Web 2.0 technologies given on this web page are not necessarily recommendations for their use in schools. Nor are they recommended as safe for children to use. For information on internet safety click here.
A description of Web 2.0 technologies
Traditionally (!) schools use the internet for research and retrieval of information. This information is cut and pasted onto school based installed software, e.g. using word processing, publishing, or presentation packages bought as software and installed on the school's server. Web 2.0 is terminology used to indicate a shift in internet use so that learners can now put information on to the internet as well as retrieve, often using learning tools available on the internet, that is, learners can now word process and publish directly via the internet removing the need to use software installed on the server. No more Microsoft Office?
Web 2.0 technologies provide learners with opportunities to upload their work to the internet; find an audience for their work; share their work with others; work collaboratively; provide information to others (no longer just the recipients of learning); access a wide variety of learning tools; join web based learning communities; share in current events; create their own news; keep portfolios of achievements etc. The web has moved from information provision to platform participation.
Implications for schools
The successful learners of the future are the ones who not only have the understanding, skills and knowledge of Web 2.0 technologies, but also have the use of these technologies embedded into their school curriculum on a daily use basis.
The opportunity is there for schools to move away from teacher based learning to collaborative learning where pupils learn from each other and from others worldwide. Through the internet the opportunity is there for the classroom to become global, no longer confined by its four walls and rows of desks. This is not about replacing the teacher. It is about the teacher accessing learners to learning in different ways.
The technology skills required to participate
To participate in the Web 2.0 revolution learners need a much wider set of technology skills than simple computer access to the internet and word processing software. Learners need to be able to use digital cameras, video cameras, blue screen technology; scanners, computers, laptops, hand helds, mobile phones, microphones, GPS devices. Learners need to manipulate photographs, edit film, create sound bites, create and edit text, desk top publish and synthesis information onto a variety of internet and software platforms. Increasingly through the internet learners are provided a whole range of tools to assist their learning.
Examples of Web 2.0 technology
There are an increasing number of ways in which individuals can work online. Sometimes the activity is a combination of online and offline, that is you can download and then upload later. Other times you log online, work online and save online.
Creating your own web pages. Instead of word processing and DTP using installed computer software you can not only word process on line, you can save your work as linked webpages and share your work with others. For example using the educational website j2e (www.j2e.com) you can not only word process with photographs, you can include animations, video and sound. The CLC is in the process of engaging the services of www.honeycombtools.com for its summer transition project for Year 6 pupils to have their own website on which all their memories of primary school and transition information will be recorded.
Blogs. A blog is a single webpage of information including text, pictures and often podcasts (recorded soundbites), video clips and a comments section for the reader to make a comment. Blogs can be used to make comment on the news, to contribute information on a topic, or to post personal information about yourself. Companies specialise in providing templates for individuals to create their own blogs. A sophisticated example of blogging is www.myspace.com where millions of subscribers post information and network each other across a wide variety of interest groups.
Wikis. A wiki is website software that allows users to create, edit and link webpages together. An example of a wiki is Wikipedia, an online encyclopaedia made by anyone who wants to sign up and contribute. The link to the main page is http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page There are many other websites offering secure areas for groups of people to contribute on any topic of interest. The implication for school learners is considerable. For example, a class of pupils could have their own wiki for their physics curriculum with the learners contributing what they know about the subject. In other words the learners take on the 'mantle of expert'. Other learners can improve or edit work. The teacher can be a contributor also! An example of online technology available to the public is http://www.wikispaces.com/ . This website accesses contributors to create simple web pages that groups, friends and families can edit together.
Open Source Software. This software is available free on the internet. It is in the public domain, a technical term that denotes software that if often refined and worked on collaboratively to improve it, but also freely available to download by anyone who wants to use it. For example, Office Suite applications (word processing, desktop publishing) are available free from www.openoffice.org , who also actively encourage collabortively development of their products, see http://contributing.openoffice.org/index.html An example of a free word processor can be found at http://www.abisource.com/ And here is a website link that lists free Web browsing, video players, video podcasting, instant messaging, email, RSS, peer to peer file sharing, video playback, DVD ripping, Word Processing / Office Suites, sound recording, graphics photo editing and many more! Click on http://www.opensourcewindows.org/
Widgets. Widgets are applications available, mostly free, on the internet. They can be inserted into a website, or to be used as a stand alone application on your computer. There are hundreds of widgets available to download. For example the top widgets advertised at http://www.apple.com/downloads/dashboard/ are Orange RSS Reader (video player), Word of the Day (dictionary), Starry Night (night sky), Tasty Planner (food) etc.
Online calendars. Not only can you keep track of your calendar events you can also share the calendar with other users. Examples of online calendars are www.calendar.google.com, www.WebOffice.com. An example of a calendar website that offers more than calendar sharing is www.airset.com. This provides an online communication and information sharing system to its members - a calendar, shared contact list that any member can update and contribute to, lists of tasks and project mangement , information blogs, and website links of relevance to members. Airset can be used for family and friends, for school groups, for individual use, or for businesses.
Buying and selling online. eBay (www.ebay.co.uk ) is an online market for the buying and selling of goods. The Web 2.0 feature of this website is the user can put items for sale onto the website as well as purchase items from it. In other words, the site is user interactive. The www.amazon.co.uk site started off selling books, but now sells a wide range of products. Is has developed into a Web 2.0 technology by providing the user the opportunity to post goods for sale as well as purchase goods. With the new 14-19 Diploma increased emphasis on business enterprise, it is feasible that use of these sites by secondary school learners is now a curriculum option.
Posting and sharing information. Flickr (www.flckr.com) is a photographic community where individuals can post photographs and share these with others. Over 1000 photographs are posted worldwide. There are group and privacy control options. Flickr is not aimed at the educational market. The unique Web 2.0 feature of this site is its content soley created by its website users. A site that works similarly to Flickr is www.YouTube.com , a video sharing website with its Web 2.00 upload, view and share video clips user feature.
Podcasting. Example of a podcast. The content maker speaks into a microphone to record information onto a computer file. Next the file is posted onto a website for others to access. Alternatively, companies provide podcasting facilities for you to record direct onto their servers. Your podcast is held online and you can make links from it to your website, for example, for others to access. When you view a podcast (or video, for that matter) from another site, the podcast is 'streamed' to you. This streaming is what is known as a 'live feed', usually in a format called RSS and often referred to as an RSS feed. The podcast is not saved to your computer unless you take action to save the file and are not prevented from doing so by the provider. Podcasts are often audio files, or can be a video/audio file, for example, a 'talking head' video clip. An example of an educational company that provides a podcasting service is Softease at www.podiumpodcasting.com . Softease has also put together a number of website links providing a wealth of information on the subject. These websites can be accessed through the link http://www.podiumpodcasting.com/blog/?page_id=90 .
Bringing Web 2.0 technologies together
Mash up. Mash up is a term used where a number of different online utilities are linked directly into one website so that the website author does not have to write the html for these utilities from scratch. For example Newbridge Primary School (http://www.newbridge.bathnes.sch.uk/ ) website is a mash-up of content pulled from Google Calendar (calendar entries), Flickr (images), Blogger (blogs for newsletters and one to each class), Del.icio.us (managing links to other websites) and Google Maps (maps). Details of how this was done can be found here http://efoundations.typepad.com/efoundations/2006/11/building_a_web_.html .
Virtual Learning Platforms (VLEs)
A VLE is an application that provides online communication between teachers, learners and their parents. Learners who log on can access curriculum information, homework tasks, school calendar and their own portfolio, among other features. Central Government is providing funding so that every school will have its own VLE via its Local Authority. On the face of it the VLE concept offers opportunity to combine many Web 2.00 technology features. However, while most current VLEs are driven from the perspective of the educational curriculum, Web 2.00 technologies are aimed at the interest of individuals.