I found several of the Web 2.0 tools that we used this
semester to be quite useful. Two
of the tools I found to be most useful were the blog and the bookmarking site
(Delicious).
This
chapter highlights the blog as a Web 2.0 tool. The author states that, “Web 2.0 applications usually contain tools to support
versioning and regression to earlier versions.” (page 300). Blogs are a great example of this. With a blog, you can add text, videos,
etc. and it is organized for you by dates. It easy to go back to a particular date to find a similar posts
or topics. It is also easy to see
improvements and advancements over time.
For example, I enjoyed using a blog to post assignments for this class,
not only because it kept them organized, but also because I could go back to a
particular assignment to see what I originally thought. Perhaps I didn’t care for a tool before
or didn’t really know how to use it, but later on in the semester I felt more
comfortable with it. It is nice to
see how my perspective changed over the course of the semester on certain
topics. I also enjoy being able to
refer back to other assignments (posts) while doing a new assignment.
This can be translated into
everyday life as well. For
example, I follow my cousin’s blog.
She had a son who was born prematurely and it is nice to see all of her
updates on him. It is nice to go
back to the day he was born and see all of the progress he has made. This is particularly nice for me, as I
live twelve hours away and do not see them often. She (my cousin) even refers back to other posts to show how
much he has progressed.
This chapter also highlights the
bookmarking site (Delicious). Like
Pinterest, this tool is a great way to keep track of ideas. Instead of having hundreds of
bookmarked websites (as I did before I knew about Delicious), I have one
website that holds all of my favorite websites. The other feature I love about this tool is the fact that
you can share ideas with or find ideas from others. The author states that, “Web 2.0 tools utilize individual
group contributions to create value.” (page 300). Let’s face it, if these bookmarking websites did not allow
for sharing, it would be rather boring and not nearly as valuable. Pinterest is another version of this
and I can spend hours browsing and pinning ideas. However, if the ability to share was not there, I would not
spend nearly as much time on that website. The Delicious website is a great way to bookmark websites
and ideas. It keeps them organized
and easy to find. It also allows
for sharing and tagging of ideas, which makes all the more valuable.
I really enjoyed learning about and
using all of the Web 2.0 tools this semester. While some of them were easier to use than others and I got
more frustrated with some than others, it was still nice to have the
opportunity to use them.
