Head of the Class with Web 2.0 (Part 2)

Faster bandwidth, W3C compliant browsers, a renewed interest in client side java-script, and advancements in Flash programming has led to a resurgence in Web application development. Contrary to popular belief, creating a web application takes great skill, patience, and resources.

The Web is finally taking shape into a truly useful tool for education.

Is Education Ready for Web 2.0?

Most educational institutions are in need of expensive infrastructure upgrades, being built before ethernet even had Cat 5/5E wiring specs, and running a network is very expensive. Budgets are required for high speed connectivity, routers, switches, wireless, servers, backup systems, software licenses, and client computer replacements. There are hidden costs such as training, support, upgrades, insurance, energy bills, virus protection, subscriptions and more.

Without exception, money is tight in school districts everywhere and this is where Web 2.0 may offer the most promise.

The Promise

There's lots of debate going on as to whether there really is anything new or different about Web 2.0. From a technical perspective, there really isn't anything new or magical about the code, but when you experience Web software as a service, it is remarkable how different it feels.

By removing software from the client and local servers, you begin to see the value associated with Web 2.0. Programs that once required a local client install, special registration files, mapped drives to a server share, and connectivity to isolated databases all becomes obsolete.

The promise of Web 2.0 is its potential. The potential for software requiring less support, better usability, easier maintance, and savings in the way networks are maintained and/or deployed.

Web 2.0 promises all this and more.

Drawing and Diagrams

Gliffy: Create many types of diagrams such as Flowcharts, UI wireframes, Floor plans, Network diagrams, UML diagrams, or any other simple drawing or diagram.

SketchUp: Developed for the conceptual stages of design, Google SketchUp is a powerful yet easy-to-learn 3D software tool that combines a simple, yet robust tool-set with an intelligent drawing system that streamlines and simplifies 3D design.

Calendars

30 Boxes: 30 Boxes is an online calendar that features RSS subscription to automatically populate the calendar.

Google Calendar: Users can create multiple calendars; view by day, week, or month; share their calendars with the web or a select few; subscribe to other shared calendars; andmore.

CalendarHub: CalendarHub offers a great service for personal and group use offering a simple drag and drop interface, calendar subscribing, reminder notification, and more.

HipCal: An online calendar and to do list, alerts, group calendars, and address book. It even has the ability to publish your calendar via iCal. HipCal is a winner in the Web 2.0 awards.

Kiko: A great, dead simple calendar you can use right in your web browser. Kiko allows drag & drop, provides reminders via e-mail, generates RSS feeds, and has iCal and vCard importing. An API is provided for integration into your own web-site.

EasyEikaiwa: Everything you need to manage your schedule, lessons, emails, meetings, classes online right now.

Research Tools

Wikipedia: Wikipedia is written collaboratively by volunteers from all around the world. With rare exceptions, its articles can be edited by anyone with access to the Internet, simply by clicking the edit this page link. It has possibly grown to be todays largest reference site and encyclopedia on the Internet, though not the most accurate.

Answers: Answers.com offers free access to millions of topics from the world's leading publishers. Think of Answers.com as a one place stop when gathering material for a research paper.

Ottobib: Ottobib is a simple bibliography tool that allows users to enter multiple ISBN numbers at a time and retrieve the bibliographies in APA, MLA, AMA, or Chicago/Turabian format.

Storage and File Sharing

BoxCloud: BoxCloud is used by designers, 3D artists, illustrators, photographers, music producers, printers, and any other professional who needs an easy way to share large files with clients and colleagues. It is also pretty handy for sharing files with other students, teachers, and groups. You decide what to share simply by dragging files from your desktop over your buddy list.

DropSend: DropSend offers 250 MB of space freely and allows uploading large files (up to 1 GB) for others to download that you invite. It is a great way to share files without choking e-mail attachments. Downloading the free desktop tool allows you to send or backup entire folders directly from your desktop.

Strongspace: A secure place to gather, store, back-up and share any type of file with your co-workers, friends and family. You can upload, download and manage your files over SFTP (Secure FTP) or with any modern web browser.