Web 2.0--What exactly is it?

(Sung to the music of Simon and Garfunkel's "Mrs. Robinson")

Where did you go
Web 1.0?
A nation turns its longing eyes to you,
What will we do?

What's that you say
Mr. IT guy
Web 1.0 has left and gone away
Well, boo, hoo, hoo...

What will I do?
With Web Version 2?
Oh, what will I do?


One of the primary uses for this blog is to inform. But not just inform, but to make information accessible and easy to understand. Technospeak for many of us is like Latin; it's absolutely unfathomable. And even though I am fairly technically literate (but I am by no means a "tech guy"), I find that the sheer volume of material available on the web to be overwhelming. Millions of blogs, hundreds of educational websites and web-based applications, twitter, plurk, facebook, myspace, and now the ever-growing phenomenon of the "professional learning network." It can be too much. I can remember when I started bookmarking helpful websites and informative web pages. After about two weeks, my bookmarks drop down menu started to look like the Dead Sea Scrolls. Even worse, by the end of Week 2, I couldn't remember why I had bookmarked half of the items I'd bookmarked during Week 1.

Folks, there's a lot of stuff out there.

But if this vast wealth of information and knowledge isn't trickling out of cyberspace and into our classrooms more effectively, what's the point? Despite rapid advances in hardware and software, for many teachers email is still exotic. And blogging, wikis, podcasting, social networks, things like that? Well, you may as well be speaking in Latin because that conversation is going nowhere.

So I will try and do some of the heavy lifting for you. In future posts I will try and explain, in clear, concise and simple terms, what a lot of this "stuff" is, how it works and its value in the classroom. Yes, I will still wax philosophical on policy issues (because policy and yes, politics, ultimately dictate and define the future of our schools) but when talking about technology, I will steadfastly avoid techospeak.

I will break it down.

I will, with a nod to Don Henley, get down to the heart of the matter.

So let's start.

Let's start with the phrase "Web 2.0." You hear it all the time. I hear it all the time. We tell teachers how to teach using "Web 2.0" tools. We talk about learning in the age of "Web 2.0." But what exactly is Web 2.0? Did the internet change? Do you need to run out to Best Buy and buy some new widget or gadget? Did you somehow miss something?

Nope, not really and no.

Web 2.0 does not refer to a new internet. The technology (at least relative to those of us who simply use the internet) hasn't really changed. You still type www. (fill in the blank) and viola, you go somewhere. But the big difference, in plain and simple terms, between Web 1.0 and Web 2.0 is this.....

Web 1.0.....you went there to read stuff.

Web 2.0...you go there to do stuff.

A classic "Web 1.0" activity would be going to the online version of your local newspaper to read a news story because you forgot to pick up a newspaper that morning or because you wanted to reread story that was published a few days or a few weeks ago. Going to the internet to read news, sports, weather and entertainment updates posted onto your web browser's home page are other examples. These are all fairly static activities. You read, you get what you want and you click the little red "x" to sign off.

Wikipedia is a classic example of "Web 2.0." You don't just go there to read; you can add, edit or correct information. In fact, the information you read was created and is continually updated by people just like you. Web 2.0 is an interactive web. You use it to buy stuff (eBay), advertise stuff (craigslist), hear stuff (iTunes), share stuff (blogs, podcasts, twitter, plurk ) and learn stuff (online professional networks). In the wonderful world of Web 2.0, we don't just use the web to get content, but we also create content we use. We are producers and consumers at the same time. We are prosumers in a cycle of ever-changing, ever-evolving data and information.

So teachers, when you hear the phrase "Web 2.0," don't fret. Don't feel as though you've missed the boat. You haven't. If you've ever downloaded an mp3, posted a comment on a blog, written a blog, used eBay, posted a picture on Flickr, or God-forbid, done something really high-tech like created a myspace or facebook page, you are already a part of the Web 2.0 revolution. Or as we like to say, "webolution." The only difference is that this webolution will be televised and available to every living soul on the planet with access to a computer and the internet.

That's power. And that power is yours. If you choose to seize it.

Web 2.0.

Simply stated, it's all about using the web to do stuff.

So you see, it's not so complicated. My challenge, our challenge, is to harness the extraordinary power of Web 2.0 to help our teachers better teach, reach and engage our students.

If you have ideas or examples of how you've used Web 2.0 tools to reach your students, please share them. You never know who might be reading, watching and learning.