Journal #5- Collaboration in a Web 2.0 Enviroment

Bull, G (2006). Collaboration in a Web 2.0 Environment. Learning & Leading with Technology, Retrieved 04/22/2009, from http://www.iste.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=April_No_7_&Template=/MembersOnly.cfm&ContentFileID=2642

One of the primary features of a web 2.0 environment is "web syndication" in which website information is made available to multiple other sites. Rather than having to visit individual websites to obtain information, that information comes directly to the user via RSS feeds, which stands for "Really Simple Syndication", a type of XML file. This allows a user to subscribe to a number of websites with frequently updated information, such as news or blogs, and combine it into one place. In an educational setting, for example, RSS feeds can be used to help a teacher follow multiple student blog postings easily without having to visit each student's individual blog. RSS feeds can also be used to easily access news stories and topics of interest. Most major newspaper sites such as The New York Times ofter individual RSS feeds for the topics they cover, such as "Middle East" or "Sports."

Another useful collaboration tool in a web 2.0 enviroment is web-based word processors such as Writely or GoogleDocs. These tools allow multiple users to edit a single document, and as it's all web based, students can edit it from anywhere. This is extremely useful when working on group presentation, as it allows students to easily collaborate and edit without having to worry about emailing multiple versions among students.

Question #1 How are RSS feeds useful?
RSS feeds save time! Rather than having to visit multiple websites to obtain information, the information can come directly to the users. This is particularly useful when following multiple blogs, as the multiple posts are consolidated into an easy to read digest that updates as the blogs do. RSS feeds can be used to track news stories on the subjects your interested in. For example, if you were only interested in news stories pertaining to education, you could subscribe to various news sites RSS feeds and get updates whenever a related article is published, rather then having to search individual websites to see even if a educational-related news story had been published recently.

Question #2 How can collaboration tools such as GoogleDocs be useful in the classroom?
Love 'em or hate 'em, group projects are a staple of almost any classroom, be hi-tech or traditional. GoogleDocs makes it easy for students to work on assignment together, without having to worry about email and various versions of the document being passed between group memebers, as there is only one document. Students can easily provide feedback for their peers and edit as necessary. Also, as GoogleDocs is a web-based word processing program, it makes it easy for them to work on it anywhere- allowing students to start their project at school and be able to easily resume at home or the library.