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three viewpoints - that of the average American of 1998, that of the average American of 1898, and that of an American historian who studies the 1898 period.

This study analyzed current uses of emerging Web 2.0 technologies in higher education with the intent to better understand which tools teachers are using in the classroom. A total of 189 faculty in higher education from three western US universities were invited to participate, with 54 completing the survey. The survey included open-ended questions as well to offer an alternative analysis approach. In this study, the respondents claimed that the intrinsic factors of a lack of time and training were the main barriers to use, and reported positive views of Web 2.0 use in class, with 75% saying that these tools would benefit students and 83% saying they would benefit teacher-student interactions. In contrast to these results only 44% of the respondents used at least 4 of the 13 listed Web 2.0 tools with students. The reported uses did not match with the reported benefits, and this would support the results that extrinsic factors (time, training, support), instead of intrinsic factors (beliefs, motivation, confidence) are the main barriers to faculty in this study using more Web 2.0 in education. The top five Web 2.0 tools used, in order of preference, follow: (a) video sharing with tools like YouTube; (b) instant messaging; (c) blogs; (d) social communities, such as Facebook; and (e) podcasts or video casts. This data was originally submitted to the Abraham S. Fischler School of Education in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Education.

The mission of this blog is to serve as a voice of a constant researcher in the field of educational and assistive technologies so that the best products, strategies and services may be located easily, in hopes that they will then be delivered, taught and used to better the lives of people with disabilities.

Web 2.0 is the current state of online technology as it compares to the early days of the Web, characterized by greater user interactivity and collaboration, more pervasive network connectivity and enhanced communication channels. 

Web 2.0 describes World Wide Web sites that emphasize user-generated content, usability, and interoperability. The term was popularized by Tim O'Reilly and Dale Dougherty at the O'Reilly Media Web 2.0 Conference in late 2004, though it was first coined by Darcy DiNucci in 1999.[1][2][3][4] Although Web 2.0 suggests a new version of the World Wide Web, it does not refer to an update to any technical specification, but rather to cumulative changes in the way Web pages are made and used. A Web 2.0 site may allow users to interact and collaborate with each other in a social media dialogue as creators of user-generated content in a virtual community, in contrast to Web sites where people are limited to the passive viewing of content. Examples of Web 2.0 include social networking sites, blogs, wikis, folksonomies, video sharing sites, hosted services, Web applications, and mashups.[5] Whether Web 2.0 is substantively different from prior Web technologies has been challenged by World Wide Web inventor Sir Tim Berners-Lee, who describes the term as jargon.[6] His original vision of the Web was "a collaborative medium, a place where we [could] all meet and read and write".[7][8] On the other hand, the term Semantic Web (sometimes referred to as Web 3.0)[citation needed] was coined by Tim Berners-Lee for a web of data that can be processed by machines.[9]

This report presents findings from a two-year investigation of the ways in which Web 2.0 tools and social networking technologies are being used to support teaching and learning in classrooms across the United States. With funding from Intel®, the Education Development Center's Center for Children and Technology (EDC/CCT) interviewed or visited over 30 educators in 22 different schools throughout the country as they employed these tools in their classrooms in innovative ways. We also spoke with and observed a number of students in these schools. Currently, there is much discussion and excitement about Web 2.0 in education, but we still know very little about how these tools actually work in the classroom. Therefore, the goal of this research was simply to interview and observe educators and students who are experimenting with these tools in the classroom to see what uses are emerging and to explore the learning affordances of blogs, wikis, and other Web 2.0 tools.

“Learning Disabilities” is an “umbrella” term describing a number of other, more specific learning disabilities, such as dyslexia and dysgraphia. Find the signs and symptoms of each, plus strategies to help

Teacher educators are constantly revisiting and revising their teacher education programs. Historically, research, educational policy, and accreditation requirements have been the impetus for renewal in teacher education. For the past 20 years, technology innovation has played an increasingly significant role in rethinking teacher education. This paper discusses recent changes in a social studies teacher education program and the role Web 2.0 tools played in helping to rethink pedagogy.

The question persists, Is Web 2.0 going to lead to School 2.0? Is it truly transformative, or just more geek lust and magic tricks for consultants to perform on stage for the applause?"

how they are encumbered by lack of time, high accountability, bloated curriculum, aging computers, and insufficient access to technology. I hear story after story of how teachers can barely keep up with teaching as usual, let alone look for new and innovative ways to prepare students for the future.

That is a question that should be directed to national and district leadership; those who establish the overarching focus educators must follow in their classrooms. If standardized testing, assessment, and a broad curriculum is the main focus of education leadership, it doesnt matter whether or not Web 2.0 has the potential to better prepare students for the 21st century workplace. Until technology is viewed as a mindtool that fosters critical thinking and the implementation of curriculum, it will be seen as being in competition with a districts primary focus, instead of supporting it.

Uses of Social Bookmarking in School Library Media Centers Here are some ways school library media specialists are using social bookmarks: List web resources by class. Students go to the the bookmarking URL and click on the tag for their classCreate pages of links students need for creating a particular projectTeach about social bookmarking to students and teachersHelp students manage resources for projects and papersHelp teachers organize resources for units, projects and topicsOrganize favorites in different waysAccess bookmarks from home, school, classrooms, or anywhereLinking from library media center webpage to links for different disciplines, classes, teachers, projects, etc.Create RSS feeds of different tags for the school library media center webpage to keep it currentGuide students to most-relevant websites for assignmentsSharing great sites and articles with other library media specialistsSharing sites with teachers by tagging them with their names and/or subjectsStore and organize bookmarksCreate pathfindersCollect and share lesson plan ideasCollect and share new curriculum related websites when the curriculum is changingProvide quick bookmarks for specific teachers for specific research projectsCreate a page of research/report help sitesCreate bibliographies for student researchCheck out sites recommended by others with similar interestsContact others who have similar interests to collaborate on ideas, projects, papers, publications, presentationsAnnotate websites for students and teachersExport bookmarks for handouts or websites for students and teachers

One of the most popular posts on Edudemic in 2010 was The 35 Best Web 2.0 Classroom Tools Chosen By You and I felt it might be time for an update to that list for 2011. In order to put together a list of the best Web 2.0 classroom tools, I polled my Twitter followers, Facebook fans (are they still called fans? Likes?) and ran a contest to try and get as many submissions as possible.