What the Principal Needs to Know About Web 2.0 by Rita Lewis Smith October 19, 2010

What is Web 2.0? Web 2.0 is the name given for the second version of the World Wide Web—the new and improved user generated version The Web’s first use was predominantly for information, group work for scientists, as well as a read/write tool

This new phase is both social and participatory It is a read/write tool

Key Service Applications Blogs Wikis Multimedia sharing services Content syndication Podcasting and Content tagging services

The principal needs to know the meaning of these terms and how the applications can be used within the school setting

Blogs Refer to a simple webpage consisting of brief paragraphs of opinion, information, personal diary entries, or links, called posts, arranged chronologically with the most recent first, in the style of an online journal. Most blogs also allow visitors to add a comment below a blog entry.

Wikis A webpage or set of webpages that can be easily edited by anyone who is allowed access. It is collaborative tool that facilitates the production of a group work. Commonly has history function Users can edit and/or delete work

Wikipedia is a popular example of a wiki

Tagging and social bookmarking A tag is a keyword that is added to a digital object (e.g. a website, picture or video clip) to describe it, but not as part of a formal classification system.

Multimedia Sharing One of the biggest growth areas has been amongst services that facilitate the storage and sharing of multimedia content. Well known examples include YouTube (video) Flickr (photographs) and Odeo (podcasts).

Audio blogging and Podcasting Podcasts are audio recordings, usually in MP3 format, of talks, interviews and lectures, which can be played either on a desktop computer or on a wide range of handheld MP3 devices.

Content Syndication Refers to a method by which writings find their way around the Internet. Specifically, one article that a person writes could appear, with the writer's permission, on many websites.writer

...continued RSS (Really Simple Syndication) is a common form of content syndication. RSS is a "feed," which is a constant source of articles from all over the Net, which are "fed" to websites that subscribe to the feedfed

…continued Examples include articles; political and cultural commentaries; reviews of TV, music, books, and other forms of media; travel pieces; sports scores and stories; stock quotes and analysis; and even full-length songs or movies.

The principal needs to know… How students are currently using Blogs Wikis Social networking Multimedia Sharing, etc. Whether Good or Bad

The Principal needs to know the potential for Web 2.0… Virtual learning environments Assessments and grading As an instructional tool Library and information services

Web 2.0 Changing education, one click at a time

Sources JISC Technology and Standards Watch, Feb. 2007, Paul Anderson Wisegeek.com