Web 2.0: A New Wave of Innovation for Teaching and Learning

I never really heard anything about Web 2.0 prior to beginning this semester. I had no idea what it was nor what it involved. However, after reading this article by Bryan Alexander I realize that I have been using a variety of aspects that would fall under the Web 2.0 category. There are not many people who are not somehow active on social networking sites these days. All of these social networking are part of the Web 2.0 world that is made up of social software that allows for an inter-connectivity with people that have not been possible in the past. With the growing of these social software such as blogs, wikis, podcasts, videoblogs, and social networking sites, there is an increase in the ability to work collaboratively with people from near and far. This quality can be applied both in and out of classrooms.

 Alexander lays out a number of different ways that Web 2.0 has developed and can be incorporated into the classroom. There are some great applications for the use of the different develops that have come to being under the Web 2.0 classification. There are a number of different way that social media like Facebook or blogs can be used to help create an interactive platform that can be used both in an out of the classroom for students and teachers to share ideas and resources. With the inter-connectivity that Web 2.0 has created it is also cool how we can share ideas with students and classrooms around the world that would otherwise be completely out of our reach. These tools have created yet another way that we can learn and grow from each other!