Saturday, October 4, 2014

What is Web 2.0? Initial Questions

Professional Information Inquiry 

My initial interest in Web 2.0 came with one of my grad school classes that mentioned it. Needless to say, I did not give it much thought after the course until I began teaching this year. My 11th and 12th grade students were introducing me to various forms of Web 2.0 programs they use to present. I saw so much potential in this, but I wondered if this is something that has caught on in schools. In my current teaching position, most of my teachers hardly use their SMARTboards let alone branch out into programs like Prezi, Popplet, and Projeqt. I wondered if this was due to where I am teaching and the population or is it common with other populations. My initial questions are going to lead on a search from massive ideas to, hopefully, a very specific application that I can share with my colleagues. Feel free to add other questions you might have.

Asking Initial Questions: 

  •  What exactly is Web 2.0? 
  •  How has it been utilized in classrooms? 
  •  How popular is it in the United States vs. other countries? 
  •  What does the future look like for Web 2.0? 
  •  How does it compare with Web 3.0? 
  •  What are it's limiting factors?

Accessing - relevant information

I began with videos as I am a very visual learner. Here are some of the ones I have found.

Analyzing - the acquired information

 My initial thought of Web 2.0 was certain programs that allowed the user to work online and produce a product. I has the idea that it only really functioned with certain things. However, after my initial research, Web 1.0 was just people gaining information from the internet. The whole idea of Web 2.0 is people working together sharing information, ideas, products, videos, etc. So this covers more than just certain programs. It also includes social media which I didn't know. Then I began to explore Web 3.0 which is a personalized internet where things cater to the individual. Websites such as Amazon make suggestions based on your shopping habits or people who are buying similar things to you.

Applying - connect the information to a task

In the search for the use of Web 2.0 I have discovered that it is being used for more than just the limitations I put on it. However, I need to discover still if Web 2.0 and 3.0 are having different influences in the US than other countries, especially in the middle east. I have tried to use different forms of social media in my school setting and have push back due to religious issues with programs such as Instagram and taking pictures of females. Yet, these types of sites are used by the same students who are being forbidden to use them at all at school. So, where is the happy medium or is there one, especially in terms of social media sites?


Assessing - the end result and the process

With this new information I am going to need to change my entire enquiry view of Web 2.0 to move into how it is going to relate to Web 3.0. I still want to know how it is being used in the classroom and find out more about how it being adapted to education. However, my exploration is going to need to go much deeper.

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