The proliferation of Web 2.0 applications and their growth are defined more by communication patterns than adherence to taxonomies and architectures, and this is evident in the growth of social networking sites (SNS) including Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn and many others. These sites, while popular from socializing standpoint, also provide an excellent point of reference regarding how powerful online collaborative platforms can be as potential learning tools, and this is one of the dominant trends in the use of technology for teaching and learning today.
Figure 1 is the map O'Reilly and Battelle created showing how both market and user dynamics are defining social networking (O'Reilly, 2005. et.al.), and there is ample theoretical and empirical evidence of how Web 2.0 technologies can be highly effective in meeting the unmet needs of students and teachers alike (Zhang, Olfman, Ractham, 2007). The use of Web 2.0 technologies as a more collaborative platform than has been possible in the past using static HTML-based websites to automate the critical processes educators need online to foster collaboration and learning has been evidenced by recent empirical research into how groups learn together (Eijkman, 2008).
Figure 1: A Graphical Definition of Web 2.0
Table 1: Overview of Web 2.0 Applications provides insights into the extent of collaborative application development. Taken together, this collection of applications and collaborative workspaces form a strong foundation for outcome-based learning as well (Haung, Behara, 2007).
TABLE 1:
Overview of Web 2.0 Applications
Applications
Descriptions
Blogs
Online diary or journal entry on the Internet, which primarily supports text, photo (photoblog), video (vlog), and audio (podcast) formats
Google, AOL, and Yahoo offer free blogging platforms
Mashup
Web service that gathers related content from more than one source
IBM's mashup applications enable project managers to match team resources with a map to identify the geographical locations of the resources
Peer-to-Peer Networking technique for effectively sharing music, audio, and text files
Napster and Gnutella are popular peer-to-peer networks
Real Simple Syndication (RSS)
Feed-based technology that, with the aid of an RSS reader, enables users to subscribe to newly released content such as text, Web pages,...
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