Web 2.0 Tools--the 7 C's of Learning

Web 2.0 has been the new way of using technology in schools, but until this fall I didn't really comprehend its magnitude. I attended forums on the topic and engaged in debate on how much access students should have to the Internet. Truth be told, I hadn't really used that many Web 2.0 tools. Just yesterday I made my first podcast using GarageBand. I used a wiki for the first time for T & L in a Networked Classroom. I joined Facebook over the holidays.

For this blog entry I read/listened to viewpoints of Web 2.0 contributors such as David Warlick, Tim O'Reilly, Jennifer Kyrnin, Andy Carvin, and of course Jeff Utecht. Having taken a couple technology courses recently and listened to Kathy Schrock's keynote at the Christa McAuliffe Technology Conference this fall, I finally get it. It is as the video shows, a 3-pronged concept: 1) RIA (rich internet application, 2) SOA (service oriented architecture)--RSS, Web services, mash ups, and 3) social web. It is about using tools such as blogger, wetpaint, voicethread, jing, flickr, del.icio.us, myspace, youtube, Google maps, etc...all those cool (and oftentimes free) tools to Create, Compose, Collaborate, Communicate, and Contribute. In essence, Web 2.0's true meaning is to Connect to one another through the Internet as a sharing Community of learners. I'm lovin' it!

By the way, I have a youtube video to include but it disables my podcast. Any ideas?