Web 2.0

Web 2.0! I first heard the phrase in our technology classroom. It is almost my first time to think and learn about Web 2.0. So, first of all, I tried to understand what Web 2.0 is exactly. According to Wikipedia,"Web 2.0 refers to a perceived second generation of web-based communities and hosted services — such as social-networking sites, wikis and folksonomies — which aim to facilitate collaboration and sharing between users." MacManus focused on social effects of Web 2.0. He is one of the persons who are strongly believe Web 2.0 is so powerful and effective. He pointed out that "it’s open (or at least it should be), it’s letting go of control over your data, it’s mixing the global with the local. Web 2.0 is about new interfaces - new ways of searching and accessing Web content." (http://blogs.zdnet.com/web2explorer/?p=5) In addition, he noted that "take a look at what the education community is doing with the Web, for example. They are not only starting to use the tools of Web 2.0 - blogs, wikis, podcasts, etc. They’re also adapting to a new generation of kids who are growing up on the Web, the so-called ‘Digital Natives’. The challenge for educators now and for the future is to learn and teach Internet literacy, converse and collaborate with their students using Web tools, and help our children make sense of the huge amounts of information and media that surround us." From several articles about Web 2.0, I noticed that there are sharply divided opinions to Web 2.0. I am still not sure which one is more persuasive in terms of educational points of view. However, one thing, now I am sure is that we need more effective technological tools to build cooperative meanings, construct meaningful learning and communicate extensive knowledge. So, I am really curious that Web 2.0 is a good alternative of WWW for teachers and students. I hope I can get an answer about the question through our class.
*Originally it was posted at the class webvista.