Unit 1: A New Way

What is in This Unit?
And introduction to Web 2.0 using a brace of excellent videos.

Objective
By the end of this unit, a learner should:
Have a general understanding of what Web 2.0 is and what it means for how we live our lives.

Since about mid-2005, there has been a shift in how we use the internet for...well, pretty much everything really. The two videos below give some idea of the dramatic nature of this shift and what this shift potentially means for information literacy.

Tasks
Watch these videos and, in a blog, write a response to one or both. You may like to use the following questions as provocations for your posting:

• Do you think we really are using the internet in a different way?
• How do these videos relate to your experience of using technology?
• Why do you think there has been a sudden rise in popularity of social media?
• When was the first time you heard the phrase "Web 2.0" and how have you since related to the term?
• Do you feel the phrase is a good one? What might be a better term?