RSCs – Stimulating and Supporting Innovation in Learning
RSCs – Stimulating and Supporting Innovation in Learning
What is Web 2.0?Web 2.0 is a phrase used the describe the so called "second generation" of web pages, ones with which the users can interact.
The idea goes that Web 1.0 pages, the original web pages, were static and one dimensional. They could be read, but there was no way the reader could interact with the page, or change or control the content.
Web 2.0 is different. Web 2.0 pages might allow the user to post, upload videos or even re-write the page. Web 2.0 information is organised based on "tags", meaning that one piece of information can be cataloged simultaneously in various places. Purists take this to a new level, arguing that a true Web 2.0 page would allow collaboration, by making all its data available so that it can be merged with other web pages (mashups), through something called an API.
The purest example of Web 2.0 in action is, arguably, Wikipedia, an online encyclopedia that anyone can change or edit. The most well documented element of Web 2.0 is blogging (keeping an online diary or log) and Social Networking (sometimes called 'Member Communities'). More recently, microblogs such as Twitter have become synonomous with Web 2.0. Delicious, as a social bookmarking site, is also a good example.
A comprehensive list of Web 2.0 tools and applications can be found at http://www.go2web20.net/
Web 2.0 has numerous uses in education. At its heart, Web 2.0 is essentially about online communities collaborating to share, develop and create knowledge, a process close to the heart of modern teaching and learning practice.
On a more practical level, Web 2.0 is a mass-participation tool (79% of UK people with an internet connection have a Facebook profile, NIELSON, 2009) which allows educators to interact in a new and, often, more efficent way with their learners.
There are a variety of issues surrounding the use of Web 2.0. These include:
The benefits of using Web 2.0 can outweigh the risks. Our case studies highlight the potential of using Web 2.0 with learners. To help you make decisions, JISC Legal has produced a Web 2.0 Legal Toolkit to address legal issues surrounding Web 2.0.
If you require any further advice on using Web 2.0 in education, please contact us at support@rsc-yh.ac.uk.
