Web 2.0

I’m really enjoying taking EDTC 6340.  One of the things I have been really surprised by is the term Web 2.0.  I’ve heard the word before, in inservice and training, but I never had anyone explain what it meant.  Someone would use the term “Web 2.0” and then talk about the internet.  I grew up alongside the digitalization of the world, as it were, and never remember a time when the web wasn’t about interacting with other people. My first experience with the internet was the Sierra Network.  I remember it having games you could play with other people, email, forums, and shopping. So this idea that there is a “newer” component of the web designed to be interactive, rather than static, frankly baffles me. From my perspective, that’s what the internet has always been. 

I think my biggest challenge in implementing the use of “Web 2.0” technologies in my classroom is, and will continue to be, access through filters.  Administrations are struggling to find a balance between keeping kids safe and letting them explore.  Mine is no different.  Currently, of the tools we have used so far in this class, only padlet and wordle are not blocked at my school. And I believe if my administration knew what padlet was, it would probably be blocked. I am hoping that I can learn enough to show my administration the potential of these tools to help our students learn in new ways. But I believe it will be a challenge.