Sharing Tools of Web 2.0

In my experience, many veteran teachers are still coming to grips with Web 1.0 and do not have much of a clue about what Web 2.0 has to offer for them in the classroom or the implications for the future of education. They have probably heard of blogging, but have not written one nor read many. They have probably heard of wikis but their experience with one, if any, is limited to wikipedia. The concepts and implications of social software are just not within their consciousness. So, how do we bridge that gap so that our students benefit from Web 2.0 and gain the experience they need to fully participate in the global economy of the 21st century?

Bryan Alexander's 2006 article in EDUCAUSE review titled "Web 2.0: A New Wave of Innovation for Teaching and Learning?" is a good place to start. It defines what Web 2.0 is, gives some of its history, and provides some ideas for how social software can be used in education. While it mostly focuses on higher education and business, the applications for K-12 education can be easily seen as well. The collaboration and sharing of knowledge is foremost a part of Web 2.0, but many veteran teachers find that disconcerting, to say the least, as it means they must give up some control in the classroom. As Alexander points out though, this is not a bad thing. Students learn from each other and the professor. His example is with social bookmarking, tagging. Students tag items they find useful for their own research, but also learn things they might have missed by reviewing their classmates and their professor's tags. This is just one small example of how social software can be easily integrated into a teacher's regular routine.