The potential of Web 2.0 resources for EFL learners

As I mentioned in previous posts, using The Net is part (and probably an unavoidable one) in our everyday lives. We not only rely on it to communicate with friends, families, co-workers and sometimes complete strangers, but we also use it as an extension of our minds. Consequently, we have learnt to use computers and technologies according to our needs and necessities. As new ways of communicating and learning change, the way we use internet changes, too.  And this is the reason we have coined the term Web 2.0, to refer to the second generation of the World Wide Web, which includes new features and functionality that was not available in the past with Web 1.0. Both terms represent an evolutionary stage in the Internet’s life. 

Just a few years ago, our role as internet users was limited to receive and absorb information created by someone else, namely an expert. The content generation in the Web 1.0 era was limited and concentrated in a few hands. Web pages were static and related to business rather than community. What’s more, the way we used Web 1.0 was typically very linear, and the possibility of changing the content or adapting it was not an option. 

However, with Web 2.0 we don’t just use the internet we interact with it and control it. Nowadays, anyone and everyone is creating their own web pages whenever and wherever they want.  As the internet has expanded, it evolved into a much more social, producing "online communities" and making it even easier to share information on the Web. Web 2.0 has helped create diversity in content and also made content publishing a very easy affair. Therefore, websites have become much more dynamic and interconnected.

Differences between Web 1.0 and Web 2.0

The following sites are Web 2.0 valuable and useful resources to use in the EFL classroom:

• Blogs (such as the one I’m using right now) allow students to post thoughts and reflections about their life and on-going progression in the acquisition of the foreign language. The fact that the entire world can see students' works serves as an authentic purpose for carrying it out. Among its many benefits, blogs are not only easy to use, but also can be customized to make them more suitable according its owner needs. This gives our students the chance to explore their own identity and likes.

• Wikis enable our students from around the world to add and update online content. The learner becomes part of a global knowledge source and shares his or her own experience to it. In my opinion, Wikies are excellent resources to foster students’ awareness not to trust every piece of information they read since everyone can upload different truths. This also gives teachers the possibility to teach about legitimate sources of information and citing references.

• Social networking, that is to say, sites such as Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter allow students to build and customize their own profile and communicate with friends. What’s more, teachers can use these resources inside the classroom to promote  authentic “chat rooms" which not only work on speed, but are also totally free. 

• Voki serve teachers and students for generating personalized speaking avatars. Here I present you with my Voki avatar.

• Wordle is toy for generating “word clouds” from text that you provide. The word clouds can be of different fonts, layouts and colour settings. I created my own word cloud as an example of how to use Wordle. The words I selected are related to the concept of Web 2.0