The Academic Computing Center Presents Seminar on Web 2.0 Technology

Speakers at Web 2.0 seminar

The Academic Computing Center (ACC) at AUB held a two-day seminar introducing some of the integrative and pedagogical uses of Web 2.0 applications. Web 2.0 is the second generation of the Web, which gives internet users the advantages of creativity, collaboration, and sharing throughout their on-line endeavors. The seminar was held over March 12 and 13 in the Bathish Auditorium and attracted a large audience of both students and faculty.

Web 2.0 technologies are considered web platforms based on the sharing of information, videos, pictures, audio recordings, and so on, where users can pool together their resources, edit pages, and share the new information with the on-line community. Examples of some of the Web 2.0 technologies and applications covered in the seminar included Wikis, RSS technologies, tools for social bookmarking (such as Del.icio.us), and YouTube for on-line video streaming. The seminar was coordinated by Roseangela Silva of the ACC and, for the first time, was presented entirely by members of the ACC.

The first presentation, delivered by Rana Haddad, introduced the concept of a Wiki and some of its central uses. A Wiki is an on-line technology that allows its users to view information and edit the page directly on the Web. This technology can be especially useful in an educational setting, where the students can collaborate and contribute to the information that is presented to the class, originally a teacher-specific domain.

Haddad explained that the importance of such Web 2.0 technologies lies in its defining features of contribution and sharing. It promotes the evaluation and critique of information and it empowers users by giving them the freedom to share their knowledge.

Hossein Hamam then presented YouTube, another Web 2.0 technology that can serve as an educational tool. YouTube is a free on-line video streaming service that attracts over 65,000 new videos uploaded per day. Such a vast user-friendly storage space of videos provides students with infinite resources for learning not restricted to written information. YouTube also provides channels where relevant videos are organized and accessed. February 4, 2008 marked the launch of the AUB channel on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/AUBatLebanon.

The third presenter, Sara Moussawi, introduced an on-line social bookmarking utility known as Del.icio.us, which allows its users to store and organize links to their preferred websites, as well as to share those bookmarks with others. This creates a network of users who can share their bookmarks and also view the bookmarks of others.

Finally, Rabih Mahmassani and Rayan Fayed introduced additional Web 2.0 technologies, including RSS news feeds, which brings news according to preferences, and Google Notebook, which allows one to store and organize information that one comes across on the internet. This application is especially useful for researchers in saving information from existing literature in an orderly and accessible way.