Thing #20 (Week 9)

"Web 2.0...The Machine is Us/ing us"


I watched several of the suggested videos from Classroom 2.0. This one, "Web 2.0...The Machine is Us/ing us," was my absolute favorite! It gives a great explanation/demo of Web 2.0. It's almost a little Web2.0 in a nutshell. A bit like the "fairly use tale" about copyright, it uses the subject to tell about itself. From html to xml, blogs and web searches, to handwritten and typed text, the information is written and presented in context. This video would be a great introduction for someone who was unfamiliar with Web 2.0. It briefly shows some of the many applications while explaining the history, purpose, and potential. I especially liked the ending, and how the creators remind us how this new technology requires us to rethink our ideas of concepts like copyright, authorship, and even our relationships.

Some of the other videos were just plain fun. I loved the library dominoes (but could not imagine having to re-shelve all those books!) and the introduction to the book (makes me feel a little bit better about when I have had to call the tech help desk in the past!).

The ability to share videos gives even more potential for sharing information and ideas. One of the award-winning websites mentioned in Classroom 2.0 is "I'm Cooked," where amateur foodies can share their own food-network-style cooking videos. I haven't explored many more of the library or education based videos other than those suggested in this week's tasks, but I'm sure I would find a wealth of fun and informative videos out there. I'll put that on the back burner for now, since I know I could easily get lost (and lose track of time) exploring some of what's out there.