I've already covered part of Module 1 such as introductions in my last post. This allows me to comment on what I have just learnt in the module itself.
Recently, I have been asking myself exactly what is Web 2.0? I've heard about it but had no clue exactly what it meant.
Web 2.0 builds up on Web 1.0 where it was company run and hosted web pages that controlled the information that was available to us. Now we as individuals can customise the Internet experience. We have control over content and how it is presented to us. Applications allow us to host our own content, whether it is through blogs, media hosting websites or wikis.
Information is easily transferred and is all done in real time. I think of the social interactions that take place through social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. We can share virtually anything. We can collaborate on projects with colleagues and with students online and in real time. As I made mention in my portfolio, learning no longer needs to occur in physical settings. Think of recent world events such as the Arab Uprising across the Arab World. I think Web 2.0 is shaping current events and will continue to shape events in the future. People in the Arab World have let the rest of the world know whats going on, and in ways that conventional media cannot. In Australia, I think of the Alan Jones saga after making highly insensitive comments about the death of Julia Gillard's father. The campaign against Alan Jones has largely occurred online.
IGoogle - I think its a fun way to customise the Internet experience by providing a one stop shop for information that is of interest to me. It allows me or the student to provide one location to access information and/or sites of interest to them instead of opening new tabs or URLs. This could be good in a learning context as relevant apps suited to each subject can be included on their iGoogle web page. These can easily be added or deleted according to the learning that is taking place at that particular point in time.
