It is important to devise meaningful learning experiences for students when crafting instruction. With the advent of Web 2.0 participatory tools, students have easy access to a myriad of collaborative tools. Collaborative learning allows for activities geared towards authentic tasks. For example, collaborative construction of knowledge can lead to deeper understanding of topics and more critical thinking.
Students can gain a lot from the variety of perspectives that comes out of group work. There are many Web 2.0 tools that can be utilized for collaboration, a few examples are Google Slides or Documents, wikis, project management software such as Basecamp or Slack, and mindmapping tools such as Bubble.us or Mind Meister.
Authentic tasks can also take the form of web-quests or simulations. Web quests can offer a learning experience that uses links to essential resources on the Web and an authentic task to motivate students’ investigation, such as open-ended question or participation in a group goal. An example of a free simulation tool is Inner Body, an Anatomy tool for basic knowledge or you can use tools that create “branched simulations” which are interactive recreations of actual situations. By interacting with them, a learner is given the opportunity to make realistic choices.
With the participatory nature of Web 2.0 tools and growth in mobile technologies, users are more able to collaborate and engage in authentic learning that brings a more applicable understanding and experience.
Web Learning 2.0 