Tim Berners-Lee original vision of the World Wide Web was to be "a collaborative medium, a place where we all meet and read and write." The initial step in the achievement of this vision came in 1993, when the first Web browser (Mosaic) was developed. Initially, the use of WWW browsers facilitated the ease of reading text and viewing graphical information on a global scale, but the writing aspect of Berners-Lee goal was harder to realize. Producing Web pages required specific knowledge of the HTML code that made up a Web page, along with access to specific technical expertise of the various protocols necessary to get materials actually posted on the Web.
In recent years, however, a variety of new tools have arisen that now make Internet publishing readily accessible to anyone. These new tools make it easy for individuals to share information, whether it be their own opinions, creative writing, responding to others' commentary, or simply what they know. This creative expression includes not just text-based content, but also photos and other graphical material, audio broadcasts (podcasting), and video. Add to this mix tools that enhance and facilitate collaboration among many contributors, as well as tools help one to sort and gather relevant information out of the vast new repository of material that is being generated from the new interactive Internet, and you have the genesis of the World Wide forum where we truly "meet and read and write."
A brief overview of these new means of communication on the World Wide Web are listed below:
- Weblogs (blogs): Easily created, easily updateable websites that allow an author or authors to instantly publish to the Internet, and can be interactive, facilitating a conversation among many.
- Wikis: A collaborative webspace where anyone can add or edit content.
- Rich Site Summary (RSS): A means of subscribing to "feeds" of content that allows the content to come to the reader instead of the reader searching for and retrieving the content on his own.
- Aggregators: An application that gathers and organizes the content generated by the RSS feed.
- Social Bookmarking: Sites that allow the reader to save and archive Internet webpages, in effect creating a "personal Internet" to keep resources pertinent to ones needs or interests.
- Online Photo Galleries: A way to share visual material in a similar fashion to the sharing of textual content.
- Audio and Video-casting: Production of audio and video materials are now easily produced (and viewed) with modern desktop computer systems, and the rise of high bandwidth Internet transmission, are opening new means of communication to everyday users.
Adapted from Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms by Will Richardson
Group Wikis and Blogs
Getting status...
The Groups wiki, blog, calendar, and mailing list archive make it easy for teams to create and distribute information through their own shared websites. Distribute files, publish podcasts, and share calendars right from your web browser, naturally, using formatting and commands you already know.
Publish your own blog, with drag-and-drop ease, using the built-in professional templates. Keep your colleagues up-to-date with projects, the files you’re working on, and pictures or podcasts. Your searchable blog is the perfect place to store information for your team, or just for your own reference.