What is Web 2.0, really? Quite simply, it refers to a second generation of web communities and services that encourage communication and interaction between users. The term suggests that there was a Web 1.0 but the reality is Web 2.0 is more of a shift in the way people use the web, and not an update to any technical specification. Frequently referred to as the “read/write” Web (vs. “read-only” Web 1.0), Web 2.0 has also been described as the “participatory Web” in contrast to the “information Web” of Web 1.0.

According to Terry Friedman, educator and author of Coming of Age: An Introduction to the New World Wide Web, “it is now regarded more as a participatory platform. That’s what blogs, wikis and so on are really all about: not merely another way in which ‘ordinary’ people can publish their views, but a means whereby just about anyone can contribute to an ongoing “conversation” in which knowledge is both discovered and constructed as it goes on.”

Web 2.0 technologies include weblogs or blogs, social bookmarking sites, wikis, podcasts, RSS feeds, social software, web application programming interfaces (APIs), photo sharing services, and others which have yet to appear on the horizon. The big question for educators is what technology to use and how to use it so that their students’ learning experience is enriched.

For a quick look at how Web 2.0 can change the learning experience, please take a look at the following video.