Interactive Web Tools


A Kaleidoscope of Internet Devices for Learning

 

Web20

The term, Web 2.0, was popularized by Tim O'Reilly in describing a turning point in the technology industry - an Internet paradigm shift, so to speak! This transition is based to some extent on the impact of the networked globalization, referred to in Thomas Friedman's The World is Flat. The Web 2.0 tools allow for a collective intelligence (for better or for worse!) in this new connectivity.

Blogs

Blogs, sometimes referred to as weblogs, are personal web pages with posts written by you - so blogs are often thought of as a journal or diary. A major difference is that one can interact and create conversations with blogs by commenting on a post. For example, on Andy Carvin's blog posting, Outsmarting Filters, you can read the posting as well as the comments from four (at the time of this writing) people. You can also comment on either the posting or other's comments - a virtual conversation, conceivably with people from all over the world!

Wikis

Just saying "wiki" makes me wonder (and smile)? So what is a wiki? Quite simply, according to Wikipedia, a wiki is “a type of website that allows users to add, remove, or otherwise edit all content, very quickly and easily” in a collaborative manner.

Social Bookmarking

You probably use Favorites or Bookmarks when you find a page on the Internet that you want to "remember". This browser feature saves the web pages that you find helpful, popular, or otherwise important. Social bookmarking is a tool that does much of the same, but it is web-based (which means you can access from any computer), uses tags or keywords (which helps in the organization) and finally, is easily shared with others having common interests.

Digital Images

Digital photography has exploded over the last decade. In fact, Yahoo News reports that Canon will stop making single lens cameras due to the popularity of the digital cameras! Sharing photographs has always been popular and you may be interested in the photo sharing and web-based photo storage and manipulation tools.

RSS Aggregators

Once you start using and reading blogs and wikis, you want to keep track of the updated postings made by others. RSS (Real Simple Syndication) or aggregators will help you do just that. RSS may well be the next "killer app for educators", a program application that "provides the capability for an average person to use technology to solve every day problems and enrich their lives. E-mail was the first killer app..." according to Mary Harrsh.

Podcasts

Online Productivity