Web 2.0 for Education

A couple of interesting articles were posted on [Read/WriteWeb](http://www.readwriteweb.com) on Friday. In the first, Richard MacManus [discusses ](http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/e-learning_20_all_you_need_to_know.php)the support platforms (including [Elgg](http://elgg.org/) which we use at my [institution](http://oremi.swan.ac.uk)). In the second Josh Catone [discusses](http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/web_20_backpack_web_apps_for_students.php) the range of Web2.0 tools that are available to students as a sort of portable, always connected “backpack”. Although the first article provides a useful overview of some of the key ideas and platforms being used in “e-learning 2.0″, in many ways the second is more interesting; it provides links to web2.0 applications that may be useful to colleagues at the chalk face as well as students. In an impressive survey, Josh covers office replacements, note taking, mind mapping, bookmarking, collaboration, calendars, calculators, and bibliography tools. All free, and all on the web. I’ll be checking out some of these for sure.