3.+How+do+the+technology+skills+possessed+by+the+students+and-or+by+the+teacher+impact+the+effectiveness+of+Web+2.0+tools+in+the+course?

Teachers who incorporate Web 2.0 tools where appropriate can increase their effectiveness by providing greater learning opportunities to students. Generally students are proficient with the majority of Web 2.0 tools through prior experience or simply because the tools are intuitive to this generation that has grown up with online access.

Teachers 
 * When teachers have knowledge of Web 2.0 tools that can be utilized in their courses, their willingness, and ability to implement these technologies will be greater. Teachers must be confident that particular Web 2.0 tool will support students in meeting curriculum expectations. This technology helps keep students engaged and also provides them exposure to the technology itself. These technology skills are quite valuable themselves in today's job market. **

Teachers with Web 2.0 training and experience: Teachers lacking the training or ability to use Web 2.0 tools: **
 * ** Can use their personal interest and knowledge of the tools to better integrate Web 2.0 into curriculum throughout their courses **
 * ** Can impact a wider audience, no longer limited to their own classroom **
 * ** Engage more students through the use of technology they are familiar with **
 * ** Are able to support student understanding and learning through the technological features provided so that additional learning of course content can occur **
 * ** Introduce students to new programs and practical, real-life applications of them **
 * ** May be apprehensive about using tools resulting in students missing the opportunity to learn in that way **
 * ** Fall behind the current trend of society, especially students **
 * ** May not be able to engage students as strongly **
 * ** May transfer their lack of confidence onto students who then may feel less confident when using these tools themselves **

Students  When students have the opportunity to use the skills they possess in the classroom they are more motivated and engaged in their learning. Because students spend the majority of their free time using a variety of interactive technologies, incorporating that into their school life can greatly impact their ability to play an active role in their education. Teachers can create projects and assignments that appeal to a student's interests. The students may understand instructions better as they have strong technological literacy skills.

The reality is that in almost all classes, there will be at least one student that has more experience with a specific piece of technology than the teacher. Students are a great source of knowledge and expertise. Having students demonstrate their knowledge to their peers is a great learning opportunity for everyone involved. It also provides teachers an opportunity to demonstrate life-long learning.

Student impact on the effectiveness of Web 2.0 tools:
 * Students may already know particular programs/software and when a teacher uses it they are able to access material quickly
 * Web 2.0 tools seem more natural for students then pencil and paper tasks/note taking/overheads (typical school things)
 * Feel like teacher 'gets' them and teaches in a way that makes sense, not boring or outdated