My Favorite Web 2.0 Tools

My understanding of Web 2.0 is as a paradigm shift because using it...

• Moves us from a single person working on a single computer to a collaboration of people working on one system
• Allows us to shift from working one by one to all working simultaneously
• Bridges the distance between us through its connectivity

I chose to explore Delicious as my Personal Productivity tool and found it to be fantastic and extremely easy to use (and FREE).  Delicious revolutionizes the idea of a bookmark by...

• Allowing users to collect all bookmarks in one place
• Letting users tag bookmarks with as many words as wanted/needed (for easy recall later)
• Giving users the opportunity to keep some bookmarks private while sharing others with the public or with individuals
• Providing access to the largest group of bookmarks in the world

As for its use in teaching/learning, Delicious allows users to create huge groupings of resource materials in one area that is accessible from any computer, anywhere.  Teachers can facilitate their students by sharing their bookmarks with their students, while Delicious bubbles up additional bookmarks with related topics.  The convenience of a single location may be trumped by quick access to other sources.

I also chose to explore TokBox as my Screen Recorder tool and can see how useful it can be, especially for a large group.  (The more complex Video Meeting & Video Conference components are pay services, but the Video Chat service is free.)  While most video chatting services work with individuals, TokBox works by...

• Allowing up to 20 people to chat at one time
• Providing the opportunity to upload contacts from Yahoo, Facebook, emails, etc.)
• Working with Facebook & Twitter so that the user only has to issue one or two invitations
• Allowing users to search & share YouTube videos while chatting
• Enabling users to text chat (on the screen) at the same time as the video chatting

As for its use in teaching/learning, TokBox allows classes/meetings/projects to take place, even if all participants are in separate places (like a beach in Fiji).  It also allows a much larger group of people to interact at one time.  A teacher could chat with a student (or students could chat with each other) at any time to help with project, or a teacher could chat with a parent who cannot make it to meetings during school time.

The more we learn about these opportunities, the more potential I see for a classroom to be great on so many levels.