Web 2.0 - In Education?

The term "Web 2.0" generally refers to a bunch of web-based services—such as blogs (like this), social networking sites (like MySpace), wikis (like Wikipedia), social bookmarking (like del.icio.us), communication tools (like AIM and Google Chat), and other collaborative environments on the web (like Second Life) that encourge sharing.

It's a convenient term, although, really, it doesn't really represent the second generation of the Web. That honor probably goes to the Internet2 initiative - which is all about the backbone and infrastructure of how we send and receive information.

So is this collection of web-based services and tools useful in education? Yes, with the obligatory qualifications.

Web 2.0 Tools in Action...

The "i" generation moving through schools today are as connected with the Web as they are (and were) with video games, DVD, and their iPod. Students (and the rest of us) are posting to blogs (weblogs) at record numbers. The graph of growth looks like every stockbroker's dream ("up sharply and to the right") with more than 100,000 blogs created every day. (Technorati)

In the classroom, blogs are popping up to support curriculum - students writing about topics they're studying and then offering opportunity for comment from their peers around the world. Teachers are using blogs as examples of good (and not so good) writing. Administrators are blogging with information for their community. A quick search of Blogger for "education" or "school" and you might be surprised.

Photo and video sharing is also soaring like a NASA rocket. Media sharing sites like Flikr, Sharpcast, Picasa, and YouTube not only capture the media's attention, they're capturing your eyeballs at record rates. For education, these sites represent an amazing opportunity to produce and share content useful in support of teaching and learning.

Podcasting is another rapidly growing activity. A survey by eMarketer suggests that there are about 20M podcasts out there today (in 2007) with that number tripling by 2010. Education podcasts are growing, too. More teachers and students are sharing information, supporting curriculum, and reporting everything from field trip results to school lunch menus via podcasts.

Sometimes the content shared is as simple (and complex) as a list of your favorite links to other Web 2.0 services. Bookmarking sites such as Del.icio.us, blinklist, shadows and clipmarks and mashups like Bloglines bring easy access to favorite resources across the web. The cool thing about these services is that they connect and collect resource lists.

Another element of the universe known as Web 2.0 are web applications that are stored and run from the web. Think of running Microsoft Word via the web, rather than clicking an icon on your desktop. Sites like Google Docs, writely, writeboard, and rallypoint let you and your students write collaboratively; GoogleSpreadsheets gets your numbers online; to-do lists like voo2do, Ta-Da Lists are interesting, and news collaborative systems like digg, diggdot and gabbr. Even project management sites like Basecamp and CentralDesktop might be useful.

In education, the power of the applications is the same as the power of the apps for other uses. The tools offer a common platform for work (no more "I've got a Mac, you've got a PC), an easily accessible collaborative environment, and some very powerful, and mostly free, tools.

Education-focused tools are becoming more common, too. For schools, there are concept mapping apps liek gliffy and stu.dicio.us. It's only a matter of time before more education apps become available this way.

Web 2.0 represents yet another compelling reason to learn more about what's on the Internet and how to use it in schools. It's not about using these tools because they're there, of course, it's about using the tools because they expand or enhance the process of teaching and learning. As with any technology tool, it's all about the ability of the educator to embrace the technology, understand the use of the technology, and get creative about the use of these tools with students, peers and community.

In a few years we'll look back at the emergency of these tools as another significant benchmark in the growth of the Net - and, hopefully, a sea-change in how schools use technology in the classroom.