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.