Web 2.0

There has been a lot written about "Web 2.0". It is a catchy buzzword that is an umbrella for a number of different concepts. While some have dismissed it as hype, and others claim it is just a new word for concepts that have been around for a while, the truth is that there has recently been a large shift in terms of web applications and the way people use the web.


Here is a great, comprehensive post about what Web 2.0 is.

Here is an excerpt:

But one important ingredient, perhaps the key ingredient, is that it describes the inversion of control of information, processes, and software wholesale over to the users of the Web. This is because users now generate the majority of content these days and they also provide the attention that drives almost everything online financially (particularly advertising). And all of us have a uniquely equal access to the global audience of the Web; each and every one of us now has our own world-class pulpit (in the forms of blogs, wikis, and other mechanisms) that is amazingly the equal of any other person on the Web.

This is something that educators must acknowledge and deal with. It raises a number of issues (Should a student be able to cite Wikipedia as a reference?, for example) and offers the opportunity for unprecedented communication (blogs, for example)