1.++How+are+Web+2.0+tools+being+used?

//Web 2.0 is a two way visual medium based on contribution, creation and collaboration-often requiring access to the Web and Browser. Blogs, wikis, podcasting, video/photo sharing, social networking and any of the hundreds or thousands of software services preceded by the words "social" or "collaborative" are changing it was created (Hargadon).//

Web Applications Online environments that serve a specific purpose and allow users to interact with each other



Moodle is an Open Source Course Management System (**CMS**), also known as a Learning Management System (**LMS**) or a Virtual Learning Environment (**VLE**). It has become very popular among educators around the world as a tool for creating online dynamic web sites for their students. To work it needs to be installed on a web server somewhere, either on one of your own computers or one at a web hosting company (moodle.org).

As an open source system, Moodle itself is free. All that is needed to use it is a computer, operating system (including Linux) and internet connection. There are also sites already set up on the Internet where you can pay to use other people's facilities.

Moodle provides a secured (each user has their own ID and password), structured, web based learning environment. Instructors can create separate areas for each course or section and restrict access to course participants.

The main page layout itself is customizable to allow the teacher to divide the site in a number of ways (e.g. by topic, by week, etc).

Text (both HTML and plain text), graphics, and video feeds (e.g. YouTube) can be added to make the course look appealing to its audience. Links to external web pages as well as local files can be made available to the students on the main course page.

Moodle also allows the instructor to add "Blocks" of information on the main page (as outlined in the picture at left). This allows the teacher to add areas for notification, news, RSS feeds and Blogs to the course.

Within the Moodle environment, the instructor has a number of Web 2.0 activities that can be defined. These activities can be on an individual or group basis.
 * 1) Assignments can be defined for students with the related file(s) being uploaded to the instructor for grading.
 * 2) Discussion can take place in real time (chat) or in a traditional discussion group format (forum).
 * 3) Lessons can be defined whereby the student completes their work in a step-by-step fashion.
 * 4) Quizzes/tests can be created by the teacher and executed by the students for review/evaluation purposes. Multiple choice, true/false and matching questions can be automatically graded while narratives require teacher review.
 * 5) Students can be surveyed.
 * 6) Class, group, and individual Wikis can be set up.

In addition, since Moodle is open source, many people are building additional add-ins (facilities that can be added) to Moodle. If it can be imagined, if could conceivably be added.

For more information about Moodle, you can go to the main Moodle development web site.

Social Media User generated content. Users can be unlimited and unrestricted in generating/editing content (ex. Wikipedia) or have restrictions placed on them by the administrator of the site (ex. This Wikispace)

= = A Wiki is an online environment where information can be added or edited by either the general public or a selected number of users. The idea originated from [|Wikipedia] which is a free online encyclopedia where anyone is free to add or create entries.

Wikis are commonly being used in education by teachers to share course content and information with their students. Students can interact with each other, as well as with the teacher, by asking questions and posting content. This results in an enhanced level of learning that is no longer limited to the classroom. This page itself is a testament to this fact as we are using it to share our information with the world. In high school education the teacher's primary purpose is typically to share information rather than have students create content.

__ Video __ Online television and video sharing (ex. YouTube) YouTube is an online website that allows users to post videos that they create. Once a user has created an account they are free to start posting their videos. Users can also create a channel so to speak in that they post all their videos in one place and other users can subscribe to their channel and be notified when new content is posted. Realizing the potential of this technology, a spinoff of YouTube solely intended for education purposes was created called TeacherTube.

Social Networking Websites that focus on connecting people with each other (ex. Facebook) = = = = Facebook is social network. It allows individuals to post and share personal content with their "friends". Its original users were post-secondary students. Individuals registered in connection to a post-secondary institution and added contacts from all over the world. It eventually became popular with many other groups and today virtually all high school students in Ontario have a Facebook accounts. It has changed the very nature of teenage social interaction. Students have an online presence that must be monitored and maintain daily.