Assimilating the tools and their importance - Part II

As mentioned before, this entry will be a summary and my thoughts on the various tools and techniques I researched over the past few weeks. I also had the last staff meeting for this semester with my tutors. We discussed some of the techniques which I was thinking about implementing as we move towards a new, improved Math Lab! More on the responses and suggestions a bit later.

• I talked about having a web repository of basic techniques to solve problem amongst other things. One must have tool in this repository should be the Web based math solver. This looks easy to implement (some simple coding techniques and a lot of help from tutors). This will help the students get help 24/7 with their basic problems. Since the tutors know which problems are most common and also what are the best steps to solve them, we can draft the whole site according to their feedback! Is it feasible? Yes, but we do need input from tutors and students alike. Is it worth the effort? Maybe - the only downfall I see to this is that the students regarding as another website with no active feedback. Can we improve on this? Yes - maybe we can make this into a wiki style tool where anyone can edit (UF students in the classes) but it will be monitored regularly. Unless we make this a more responsive system, I don't see us implementing this in the future. We can also think about creating a math Wiki for each of the classes we tutor - edited by the students, tutors and the teachers! There is already a Math Wiki which we can use as a starting point to build our wiki on.
  
• The previous point makes it seem like the more interactive the website is the more interested students will be in it. Then can we use Java applets to help the students? Sure we can! This can be a great addition to the web repository. Even teachers can assist in designing the applets. Is it worth the effort? Yes, there aren't too many Java applets targeted for specific classes. Each class can have its own set of applets which give basic problem solving help based upon the material covered. The only problem might be the actual coding of the applets since it does take some time to create problem solving applets. But the amount of technical know how on campus is tremendous and we can probably hire some students to work on it!
  
• Since we provide TV tutoring after the Math Lab closes, we need to think about how to improve it (especially after I analyzed it's effect taking into consideration the "Media Equation). We can probably can store them as webcasts and tag them so that students who miss a particular show can view it afterwards or just review it if they feel like it.
• The last post talked about the ActiveMath - a a stable, web-based, multi-lingual, user-adaptive learning system for mathematics. This seems like a perfect example of how we can improve our individual tutoring - we can schedule one student with one tutor for the whole semester. The tutor will guide the student via creating content for him/her using appropriate exercises. Is this feasible? Maybe - depends upon how much the tutor is willing to invest into. We can probably have full time tutors who can dedicate all their efforts to more than one student at different times of the day. Is this worth the effort? I think the amount of rich content and personal space the student will get should bring great results!

As I finish up this blog, I want to mention some of the feedback I actually received at the staff meeting I talked about yesterday. I mentioned to the tutors about using an IM client, a Math Wiki, few Java Applets, ActiveMath among others. The tutors seemed to like the concept of Math Wikis and applets a whole lot better than the rest. Their complaints about IM client was that unless we include in ActiveMath, it might end up being a waste of resources and time as it takes more time to type than to talk. Some suggested adding voice chat to IM clients, which seemed like a great idea. Some tutors liked the concept of ActiveMath but said that since they have regular classes and school commitment, it would be more appropriate if the Math department hired full time faculty or TAs to do it.
Overall, I think I have learned a great deal from the comments posted by my group members - Megan Di Giovanni, Vickie Durrance, Laurie Kitchie as also other students in the class and TA

Joseph Greaser. Their comments helped me get more understanding on the posts. Hopefully everyone enjoyed reading my posts (I know I enjoyed reading everyone's posts :) ) and found some useful tools which they can use in their teaching career or day to day life! Thank you everyone!

Assimilating the tools and their importance - Part I

Since we are coming to the end of the class, I thought it would be good to review the tools and techniques I have researched over the past few weeks. The whole purpose of the blog was to move the Math Lab I manage at UF towards a more online tutoring and web resource direction since the classes seem to be headed that way too. Web 2.0 tries to make the web a more like desktop environment - more responsive, easier feedback from apps, a more social environment! This led me to think about using the new Web 2.0 foundations to guide me through this process of moving in a new direction.

• The first thing that popped into my mind was how smooth will be this move? Will the school rules and red tape affect the process? After taking to my supervisor, I found out that the University is actually helping us change by increasing our budget! Since we are a free tutoring place, our main source of income is the grants from the University. It was refreshing to see that our efforts are appreciated by teachers, students and university officials! The students can now schedule individual appointments online with tutors as per their convenience using our software (TutorTrac)! The students can also rate their sessions with the tutors and leave comments for the tutors.

• In my previous blog entry I talked about using the concept of mutual learning; in this particular case using the concept of AnswerU to Math Lab. We can have tutors answer questions students might have after the Math Lab closes as suggested by Matt in one of the comments. The questions will be directed towards the tutors who are experts in that course and also other students in the course. This way if the tutor is not available, maybe other students can provide help! This leads to the following questions : Will this help? Sure it will! Is it feasible? Maybe - depends upon the availability of tutors. Is it worth the effort and money? Yes, if it is implemented right!
  
• I also talked about using IMs and "Electronic Ink". This looks like the best option right now since almost everyone on campus uses an IM client these days! The same questions as the previous ones appear again : Will this help? Sure it will! Is it feasible? The initial financial burden would be minimal since our lab has most of the PCs we will need. We also have tablets which the tutors can use. We can also set up webcams we own to give a more personal one on one tutoring! Is it worth the effort and money? Yes,since our initial investment will be minimal :)!
  
• Also setting up a resource rich, content manageable website will be great for the students. We can tie up with the Math Department to offer something on lines of an online web repository of information as described in this entry. But the main problem I see in this is making sure the content is updated regularly - who will do it? The Math Department will probably have its hands full since the courses are already online. Will we be able to maintain this? I think we should be! We already have a webmaster who can update the changes which the teachers or tutors or even the students suggest!
• While implementing these new techniques, I do believe that we must look into the aspect of accessible delivery of content to every student. UF does have a nice resource about accessibility which we can base our decision to implement some techniques on.

In my next blog entry I hope to summarize the rest of my thoughts on the various techniques and tools I looked at. I have my end of semester staff meeting with my tutors today in which I will be bringing up issues regarding this new look of Math Lab! I will be sure to post the reactions and suggestions, so stay tuned as we wind down to a bittersweet end of the semester!

ActiveMath - A step towards complete web delivery of Math

I was reading a paper about MathML by O. Caprotti and D. Carlisle when I came across ActiveMath mentioned as an implementation of MathML. I wondered to the website and found it to be an excellent resource for all levels of Math instruction - from basic to college level calculus and other advanced Math.
"ActiveMath is a stable, web-based, multi-lingual, user-adaptive learning system for mathematics." The system keeps track of the user actions and assesses his performance. The user can be a teacher who can create lesson plans and assemble content that will be delivered on a regular basis to the students. The content can include tutorials, actual pages from the textbook and also interactive exercises! The student also has access to useful tools like online graphing calculator, CAS (Computer Algebra System) amongst many other things! There is also an option called "Tutor Dialogue System" which lets the student create solve his difficulties by solving them step by step. The student is guided as he would be by a tutor - getting hints, evaluating the answers and giving feedback. I found this tool to be really interesting. Try it out : Login using the second option here. Click tools on the top right and then Tutor Dialogue System. Run through an example on the pop up, you will be amazed!
I feel this can be used very aptly in online tutoring. Since we have one on one tutoring for students who are below the threshold GPA and are having difficulties in the classes, we can schedule one student with one tutor for the whole semester. The tutor will guide the student via creating content for him/her using appropriate exercises. Maybe we can add a chat application to aid with the website where the tutor will login twice a week along with the tutee and evaluate the performance for the week. The options are endless!

Media Equation and the Math Lab

Everyone knows that media isn’t real; it is a useful tool to be utilized. That’s what I naturally think of when I explain how I would view interactions with media. It’s only on deeper introspection that I may decide my perceptions are not what I think they are; that is, I ‘know’ the reality of my computer being a piece of nifty wires and plastics, but I don’t realize that I treat it with the same patterns of social behavior that I do with anything else I consider intelligent (usually other people, but my cats count sometimes) and appearing to be capable of interactions.
I am in charge of the Math Lab, and I am used to watching interactions between my tutors and students every day. I don’t often consider if these students act differently when they are confronted with our ‘tv tutors’ until I reviewed the media equation. It doesn’t come to mind intuitively that these students should treat their ‘tv tutor’ differently than a real tutor. However, “people respond socially and naturally to media even though they believe it is not reasonable to do so, and even though they don’t think these responses characterize themselves” (Reeves et. al, 1996, p10-11). I have noticed that my tutors treat their ‘tv tutors’ in the same way they would react to someone in the same room. They make faces at it when they don’t understand something, or pay more attention and watch the actions and movements the figure on the screen makes as though they could see their audience. They get mad or frustrated or bored at the television even though there is no one or nothing in the room that would respond back to them in the same way (unlike a real person would).
This is only one example in my Math Lab, but there are too many examples to count (especially on a college campus, where quotes of “my computer is being stupid” are in abundance) of this media equation in action.
So how could I use this knowledge to my advantage in the Math Lab? There are a lot of different ways media design can be improved over the lengthy and sometimes dense instructions and rule-learning associated with understanding applications right now. If I made my video instructions or added new computer tutoring media that was consistent with social and physical rules (whether by personality in a program and realistic responses to more interactive video displays), the easier the technology would be to use since “people have a strong positive bias towards social relationships and predictable environments” (Reeves et. al, 1996, p10-11). The media equation is useful to keep in mind, especially in a work environment like mine where even in real life, students may need more stimulation to aid in learning and understanding.

Reference:
Reeves, Byron, and Clifford Nass. 1996. "Ch 1, The Media Equation," pp. 3-18 in The Media Equation. Cambridge University Press. Retrieved on April 15, 2007 from

MathWorld - A Math Wiki!

I recently saw this Math Wiki posted in one of the comments section of Digg (which itself is a Web 2.0 website where people share news stories and comment on the stories with an innovative ratings section). I have referred to some articles in this site before in some of my classes but never bothered to check the actual website (thanks to Google cache - never have to actually go to the website!). The website is a wiki dedicated to only Math! There are all kinds of entries from basic math to topology and advanced calculus! I find this breadth of knowledge really intriguing! I have been reading a lot about wikis through my group members' excellent posts and seeing an actual math wiki in place (not the math entires in wikipedia, but an actual math wiki) has been a real eye opener! One might comment that Wikipedia has all the similar entries but I would like to stress the importance of having a Math Wiki managed by the people who made Mathematica. This wiki is well indexed and has animated gifs as well as applets to help in learning (maybe they can collaborate with the people who created the applets I talked about in the last blog entry!)
I see this as a great resource when people come into the Math Lab to get tutored. Since the Calculus textbook at UF costs around $120 or so, it is hard for us to keep more than 2 books on reserve so students/tutors sometimes do not have textbooks to refer to. Now we do have internet access and quite a few laptops to check out to students or tutors. Students can then refer to MathWorld while they work on their homeworks if the tutors are busy helping out other students. Tutors themselves can refer to MathWorld to give examples and show animated gifs or applets to help students understand the material better!

Java Applets for Math

I was searching for some information on Java applets for my class project when I came across this website which has Java applets for Math! The use of applets helps create more lively and entertaining presentations. Students tend to stay more interested with hands on math than stuff taught directly out of the book. Students can go home and learn or revise their fundamentals before they dive into their homework. Even though the site does not offer too many applets, the quality of the applets make me believe that this will be a great tool for all kinds and levels of math ed. I liked the "Pattern Blocks : Learning fractions with shapes" applet. And above all, the best part of applets is that they can be run on any platform which has Java Virtual Machine installed! I think our Math Lab can create similar applets especially with Calculus I topics like Integration and Limits since there is a lot of visualization to be done for these topics. This might even be a great tool for Calculus 3 where they use lots of MatLab/Maple visualizations!

Elgg Presentations - An ePortfolio tool

So as promised, this entry will give some insight into Elgg Presentations. For starters, watch the Google Video posted below about Elgg Presentations (originally in the Elgg blog entry from one of the developers). It gives a short description on how to use Elgg Presentations. To say that I was impressed with the ease of use and the power of the tool would be an understatement. As you can see from the video, the whole process of creating an ePortfolio is intuitive and interesting.
Since Elgg packs all the necessary Web 2.0 tools like blogging and secure file repository, it is really easy to set up links to blog entries and files in the ePortfolio - all your information is in one place!! Plus the ability to import your information from anywhere on the web is a big plus for people who dont want to start a new blog or re-create the whole information again on the Elgg platform. Protecting personal information and identity on the web is of foremost concern to teachers and students. The ability to restrict access to content in Elgg Presentations is another aspect of well thought out design. The ability for others to add comments to each entry makes a great way to get feedback. Going back to the uses of this tool in the Math Lab, I think we can even keep a tab on the whole process of our shift to online tutoring in addition to the uses mentioned in the previous blog entry. We can keep a track of any meetings, any blogs we decide to make or links we want to share.
This Elgg Presentation stands as a great example on the various possibilities for this tool

EPortfolio tools

After the tremendous response I got for the last blog entry from the creators of Elgg and an information professional from an university where Elgg was implemented (see the comments for the previous blog entry), I decided to look more into the features of Elgg. One of the creators of Elgg pointed my attention to their new ePortfolio tool - Elgg Presentations.
I was quite interested in knowing what ePortfolio was, so I found some information about it on Wikipedia (see how all the Web 2.0 tools are becoming a common part of our lives? Pretty neat!). According to the Wikipedia entry

"An electronic portfolio, also known as an e-portfolio, or digital portfolio, is a collection of electronic evidence (artifacts, including inputted text, electronic files such as Word and PDF files, images, multimedia, blog entries and Web links etc.) assembled and managed by a user, usually online."

Students can use ePortfolios to publish their accomplishments, teachers can use ePortfolios to evaluate the students in their class as well as provide inputs and feedback. ePortfolios allow students to plan, document, assess, and improve upon their learning by significantly changing the manner in which their education is understood and managed.
I believe we can use this even in the Math Lab. We can have tutors assigned to specific student throughout the whole semester. The student will keep a track of his/her progress by updating their ePortfolio. The tutor can then provide inputs to the student, change the learning style to help the student achieve their desired goals. The students can also share their study sheets amongst others and also plan meetings and study groups with tutors via the tool.
Since I didn't talk too much about the Elgg Presentation tools in this entry, my next entry will include more information about Elgg Presentations. So stay tuned!

Elgg - social networking and more!

I came across this article describing a social networking website for education! "Described by its founders as a 'learning landscape', Elgg provides each user with their own weblog, file repository (with podcasting capabilities), an online profile and an RSS reader." It lets the users choose what tools they want to use and what content they want to share and with whom. It has all the necessary Web 2.0 tools all within - Blogging, file repository, podcast support, social networking just to name a few. It's a great source for a shared learning experience which can be restricted within a university. I found this quite interesting. The example of University of Brighton using Elgg provided some insights on how I can use this for the Math Lab. We could have students sign up for accounts and share their problems regarding a subject. We can have tutors who can monitor the specific topics. Sometimes the best answers to questions might even come from the other students, which will help answer the questions quicker! The students can also share their study sheets or download tutor prepared study sheets and reviews from the file repository. Supplemental Instructors can maintain blogs which give more information about what is being taught in class.
Link to Elgg : Elgg

Web based Math problem solver

I bet everyone here has at some point or the other referred to the web to get more information on some kind of homework or project - from getting more references, to getting tips on solving problems. I was looking at web delivery of math since that has been the focus of my blog entries this week (except the podcasting one :-P). I came across this website which has abundant types of math problems and their solutions. The best part about the site was that it wont solve complex calculus problems but sometimes when a student is stuck on basics, this site will be a blessing in disguise. Once you select the kind of problem you want more information about (I chose integration calculus) and input some sample data, it gives you detailed step by step solution while explaining even the simplest steps - it's like having an online tutor!
I thought that having a similar site with some sample problems which relate to the math subjects taught at UF will be a good solid step in progressing towards online tutoring. This will help the students get help 24/7 with their basic problems. Since the tutors know which problems are most common and also what are the best steps to solve them, we can draft the whole site according to their feedback!

Web delivery of Math content to visually impaired

I came across numerous articles and programs about using Web to delivery Math content. But this article about using techniques to aid in web based math learning for visually impaired caught my attention. Design Science's MathPlayer™ enables Microsoft Internet Explorer to display mathematical notation in web pages for general public. The 2.0 version of the MathPlayer enables text-to-speech function of IE 6.0, is compatible with screen reader software and has better formatting.
This is an important aspect that we a the Math lab or for that any member of the teaching community need to look at before shifting to newer technologies. We should make sure the latest technology has enough support to guarantee the same level instruction quality to all the students. I think that's what the makers of MathPlayer realized after the first release which they included in the second release. I would from now on keep this article in mind before switching over to a Web based methodology without prior research into it!

Podcasting

Since I was in a comic mood today, I decided to hunt for some funny videos about podcasting. I told you guys I would be posting something about podcasting in the future blogs, well instead of something boring I'm posting an interesting take on podcasting for viewers above the age of 12 : Podcasting - Ninja Style!
Enjoy!! :-)

Web Based Math Ed

I was browsing through the web to find more about the recent advancements in teaching technologies and math when I came across this website Web-Based Mathematics Education. I have been looking for ways to create a web based tutoring service for the Math Lab. I found this whole concept a bit interesting. The basic idea behind the WME is that it provides each school with a website that is content manageable. This is different than what WebCT offers to UF students. The content is adapted to suit the school and the course needs by experts. Then the teachers who teach the class select and modify the modules which will be used on the website. The site can have varied levels of user accounts each with different privileges. The fact that WME can be used independently or within a general e-education infrastructure makes it even more adaptable and a viable option. The option of MathChat encourages student participation in topic discussions and simulates classroom teacher-student interactions. Another option included is MathBoard which encourages student-student interactions and generally facilitates communication among all in the class.
I also found this example of MathEdit built within the WME architecture. The ease of use and the compatibility with most browsers makes this a great candidate for online delivery of math!

Web 2.0 and Mathematics!

Yes, we are finally getting there.. the whole concept of Web 2.0 being applied to Mathematics and e-learning. I was looking for how Web 2.0 has affected mathematics and tutoring in general when I came across this article (you may need to sign up to view the whole article, sorry :-( )
Web 2.0 and Math by Birgit Loch and Christine McDonald. The article talks about how we teachers or tutors can use "Electronic Ink" function with the freely available MSN Messenger. This client offers the function once Windows Journal Viewer is installed. The teachers and students can participate in synchronous chat and can type or use their mouse/stylus to write mathematical formulae. I found this an interesting point : "While some functions of this client are available in the current version of the Blackboard course management system, this study may be useful for institutions that do not employ the system or for instructors who otherwise need a convenient, practical methodology because of the constraints they face in their own online learning environments."
Since our lab does not have enough resources to implement WebCT or Blackboard, using tutors sign onto PC's on MSN while they tutor students online was a great idea. The initial financial burden would be minimal since our lab has most of the PCs we will need. The article goes on to describe the studies they conducted and the positive results they got back.

Web 2.0 and mutual learning

I came across this website called AnswerU while surfing for some answers to my class assignment. The basic idea behind the website is simple - when someone posts a question to be answered, the question is not sent to the whole mailing list or user list. Instead it is sent to students whose profile matches the profile of the person who asked the question (e.g the campus, the location, the major, etc). This way the questions get answered more quickly and the answers are more relative. This got me thinking on how much useful this might be in a college level tutoring setting. Our Math Lab can have tutors fill out a list of subjects they are most comfortable with. Then students whose questions match the profile of tutors will get their questions forwarded to a particular set of tutors. Then anyone in that pool can answer the question. This will save time and create a more friendly and responsive online learning environment.
This technique can also be applied to schools where peers can help each other in assignments or topics covered in class while the teachers can monitor the postings. The teachers can rank the responses and so can the other peers.
AnswerU

Some weekend fun with Web 2.0!

Since I have been talking about the basics of Web 2.0 and such in the past few posts, I decided to show some good examples of Web 2.0. This site http://www.dapper.net/ shows some examples of good uses of data and information for normal as well as advanced users. As per the FAQ on the website : "Dapper is a service that allows you to extract and use information from any website on the Internet. For those familiar with web services, you can think of Dapper as an API maker. For the rest of you, Dapper allows you to build web applications and mashups using data from any website without any programming." This is just a great way to get someone started on some cool ideas about Web 2.0!! The most interesting example I thought that was realtive to this week's posts was this application called Blotter: http://www.dapper.net/dapplications/Blotter
Blotter automatically tracks any blog after the first time it is requested using the Dapper web service as the base. It keeps a track of various statistics like rank of the blog according to Technorati as well as number of links to the blog. Even though it is a simple application, it serves the purpose of showing how things are shaping up for the future of Web 2.0. Just try it out! I am in this post :-)

They have conferences/summits about Web 2.0!!!

I was amazed to find that they have conferences about Web 2.0 on a huge scale every year (and growing in strength) while I was researching more about Web 2.0! I will be talking a bit about the summit they had last year from November 7-9. 2006 in San Francisco, CA. More information about the conference can be found here : http://www.web2con.com/pub/w/49/overview.html
Also there is a new conference this year from 17-19 October,2007 in San Francisco, CA. More information about that conference can be found here : http://www.web2summit.com/
As per the summary by Richard MacManus, this last conference was a whole lot different than the previous one - with more people from media and business world attending than the normal developers/code junkies/geeks like me :-) (http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/web_20_summit_wrap-up.php) .
This fact alone lets us know how quickly this whole Web 2.0 term has caught the attention of normal people who use the Internet more than the developers - a clear indication of the change in outlook towards the web has grabbed attention at the grass root level! New companies and industries have jumped on board or are interested in doing so. Field of education is no stranger to this either! There were talks by speakers highlighting how important the young generation's thoughts are to the solid development of Internet in the future and also how video and audio will be a big part of our life on the web. We already have started video streaming of classes on the web (UF's EDGE - Electronic Delivery of Graduate Education), online content delivery (COE's online course offerings), etc in field of education. I therefore feel that Web 2.0 is and will be a thing to watch out for if we plan on keeping the new young generation enthusiastic about learning! The online course offerings and video streaming mentioned before are a great step towards this goal!

Some In-depth introduction and background

So, as per the comments I have decided to narrow down my blog to the applications of Web 2.0 to education with a special emphasis on online tutoring and higher math-ed. Before I go deep into the intricate details about that, I thought it would be better to give a brief overview of what Web 2.0 is all about. I will be focusing on the basics and some few applications of Web 2.o during this week. Starting from next week, I will be exploring the more specialized applications to education, so hang on tight :-)
Coming back to the whole purpose of this week : what exactly is Web 2.0 and how did it start?
As per the O'Reilly website (www.oreillynet.com) : "The concept of "Web 2.0" began with a conference brainstorming session between O'Reilly and MediaLive International." The fall out of the dot-com bubble resulted in a new perspective towards the web and it's applications - make the web be more service oriented as well make it more user friendly, intuitive and more of a social phenomenon. In other terms make the web more like a desktop application - faster, easier on the eyes and more user friendly. As per the referenced article, some of the initial examples of the first brainstorming session were as follows : Double Click vs. Google Ad sense, OFoto vs. Flickr, Britannica Online vs. Wikipedia.
Let's analyse a few comparisons here and see how this all ties into the whole web 2.0 paradigm. Google Ad Sense works with the consumers in mind - in the end it's those consumers who buy the products. You might have seen an example of this when you serach for anything on google.com. The ads (on the right hand corner with a light blue background) are related to the phrase/word you just searched for. Say you search for "Honda Civic Air Filter" (my filter is getting old and I need to change it :-) ), the ads you notice on the side will be related to the search phrase like links to Honda civic parts store, air filter stores or even some repair garages. As opposed to that DoubleClick just used static ads - they didn't change with what the user was looking for. This shift made the search and ads a bit more intuitive. Making use of customer's searches to display results which might generate more interest in services you are selling or advertising. Google Ad Sense has generated billions of dollars in income since its inception which is a true Web 2.0 success story.
Similar success story is the concept behind Wikipedia - harnessing collective intelligence which is more understandable than concrete explanations in books. All of us have used wikipedia or at least heard about it some point or the other. It is an online community where users can create, edit and search for everything from definitions, concepts or even processes and algorithms. The content is managed by users and is free for anyone to update. But then there is always the question of authenticity - who monitors all the content. There is some monitoring by site administrators but the huge user base also helps keep the content accurate and up to date. The explanations are more easy to understand since they are written by fellow web users. The amount of information shared in this way is huge and is much easier to understand than Britannica Online.
As per the few examples, the question about the basis of Web 2.0 is becoming more clear. It's not just a set of rules, rather a set of universally accepted guidelines which make the web a more social and user friendly place. Companies have had great success as well as huge failures trying to adopt to these guidelines. In the next few postings, I will try to give more detailed examples of this new paradigm shift and gear them towards online education and its applications.

Link to the O'Riley article : http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/oreilly/tim/news/2005/09/30/what-is-web-20.html

Intorduction

Most of you must have come across this term (if not yet, you will soon enough!) - "Web 2.0". I have been quite interested in this topic ever since I read about it online. Though at first I thought it was just something related to a new coding practice but I was proved wrong. The more I read about it, the true power of this paradigm shift became apparent. It has applications not just in field of computer science, it stretches across to education, finance and even affects social aspect.
As explained on Wikipedia - "Web 2.0, a phrase coined by O'Reilly Media in 2004, refers to a perceived second-generation of Web-based services—such as social networking sites, wikis, communication tools, and folksonomies—that emphasize online collaboration and sharing among users."
I hope to explore more about this new paradigm and try to uncover the "magic" behind this. I believe my exploration will help me use the knowledge I gain to move the Math Lab I manage into a new direction (since most math classes on UF campus are going online and are using more technology than before).

Please refer to the following wikipedia article to get a much thorough insight into the world of Web 2.0.