Wiki Task- Web 2.0 by Yarlin Vargas

What is Web 2.0?

Web 2.0 is a term that was introduced in 2004 and refers to the second generation of the World Wide Web. The term "2.0" comes from the software industry, where new versions of software programs are labeled with an incremental version number. Like software, the new generation of the Web includes new features and functionality that was not available in the past. However, Web 2.0 does not refer to a specific version of the Web, but rather a series of technological improvements.

Web 2.0 is "a Web technology that aims to enhance creativity, information sharing and collaboration among users”. The keywords in this definition of creativity, information sharing, and collaboration represent how they can be used in education, in this case, English language teaching.

How can it be used for language learning purposes?

Materials used in traditional classrooms are mostly static text-based materials. These include main course books, workbooks, lecture notes, and handouts. All these materials are to a great extent static in essence and language teachers have the responsibility of bringing interactivity and dynamism into their teaching environments. However, the use of Web 2.0 tools can add interactivity to language teaching and learning environments and materials used in these environments. There have been many studies conducted to explore the use of Web 2.0 tools in language teaching settings. The number of these studies are continuously increasing since educators and scholars have been seeking to investigate different aspects of Web 2.0 tools. However, there is a need for experimental studies to investigate the use of Web 2.0 tools in language teaching in terms of many aspects. When considered the variety of Web 2.0 tools, the use of these tools mostly depends on the teachers’ enthusiasm in integrating technology into their lessons. We believe that, if used appropriately, these tools will have a positive effect on the teaching and learning process. On the Internet, language teachers can find a great many Web 2.0 tools that can be used in language teaching. These tools as aforementioned can bring dynamism and interactivity to the language teaching and learning environments. If Web 2.0 tools used properly by the teacher in line with the objectives of the language lesson, after careful planning, it may support the language learning process of the students. The following list includes some of the Web 2.0 tools that can be used in language teaching for various purposes. The tools introduced briefly in this list are based on practical experiments and experience. However, any possible readers of this paper can visit the web page developed about the tools introduced in this paper for practical ideas about using these tools in language learning.

Differences between web 1.0 and 2.0

Web 1.0 –

Web 1.0 refers to the first stage of the World Wide Web evolution. Earlier, there were only a few content creators in Web 1.0 with the huge majority of users who are consumers of content. Personal web pages were common, consisting mainly of static pages hosted on ISP-run web servers, or free web hosting services.

In Web 1.0 advertisements on websites while surfing the internet are banned. Also, in Web 1.0, Ofoto is an online digital photography website, on which users could store, share, view and print digital pictures. Web 1.0 is a content delivery network (CDN) which enables to showcase the piece of information on the websites. It can be used as personal websites. It costs the user as per pages viewed. It has directories that enable a user to retrieve a particular piece of information.

Web 2.0 –

Web 2.0 refers to a worldwide website that highlights user-generated content, usability, and interoperability for end users. Web 2.0 is also called the participative social web. It does not refer to a modification to any technical specification, but to modify in the way Web pages are designed and used. The transition is beneficial but it does not seem that when the changes have occurred. Interaction and collaboration with each other are allowed by Web 2.0 in a social media dialogue as the creator of user-generated content in a virtual community. Web 1.0 is an enhanced version of Web 2.0.

The web browser technologies are used in Web 2.0 development and it includes AJAX and JavaScript frameworks. Recently, AJAX and JavaScript frameworks have become a very popular means of creating web 2.0 sites.