Teachnology+Tips+7

By now you've probably heard about Web 2.0 (make sure you use its CORRECT name "Web Two Point Zero"!)

But what is it? How does it work? Is it about teaching? And what was wrong with Web 1.0?

I'll try to be brief: Web 2.0 is also called the "Read-Write Web". That's because the Web is no longer JUST a static, one-way storehouse of information, but an interactive, TWO-WAY medium.

You might have noticed that some news websites have changed a bit recently. Have a look at the [|Herald Sun] site and you'll find a couple of new things: (1) At the end of most articles, there's a "Have Your Say" section, where ANYONE can comment on the story. I'n not saying this is necessarily a GOOD thing - but it's very Web 2.0. Instead of just reading news stories, you can now comment on them. And comment on other people's comments - if you want to.

(2) There is also a little box at the end of each article: "[|Share this Article]" - if you want to share the article with friends or even keep a copy for later, you don't have to do the Copy & Paste thing any more, or even email it to yourself. It's far simpler to BOOKMARK the article on your Social Bookmarking Page! What's that? It's a website where you can keep all of your bookmarks in one place, so they are accessible whenever you have Internet access. Herald Sun readers can use similar sites ([|Digg], [|NewsVine] and [|Del.icio.us]) which not only store all those bookmarks, but can catalog, annotate and share them as well. If this sounds interesting, find out more by clicking on the names.

Web 2.0 Tools include lots of other things that can be very useful for teachers:

media type="custom" key="287933" media type="custom" key="287939" media type="custom" key="287941" media type="custom" key="287947" (e.g. media type="custom" key="287949" & media type="custom" key="287953" media type="custom" key="287955") media type="custom" key="287975" (RSS) media type="custom" key="287981" media type="custom" key="287985" media type="custom" key="287987"

You've probably heard of some of these already, and I know a few staff are already using them in class. The ABC News [|Tag Cloud] shows how some of these tools can be put to great use.

The complete series of Teachnology Tips can be read on this Wiki - see the links on the side panel to the left - and because it's a Web 2.0 resource, you can add comments to the Discussion area - if you want to!

Here's another WIki you might find useful: http://vels.wikispaces.com/ (A Wiki about using ICT and VELS)

Finally, please watch the AFFLUENZA video. You will probably be disturbed by it, and might want to show it to your home room or RE class.

Please drop me a line if you'd like to know more about Web 2.0!

Russell Woodford

rwood@shc.melb.catholic.edu.a