Integrating Web 2.0 Technologies into the College Classroom Using Xtranormal

Abstract

The term Web 2.0 was introduced in 2004 and is used to describe a series of collaborative technologies that enable any user to create his or her own content. These technologies require minimal Web design or HTML skills and include blogs, wikis, RSS (really simple syndication) feeds; podcasts and vodcasts, social networking sites, user-added reviews and ratings, tagging and folksonomonies. Educators must incorporate these technologies into the classroom to teach students about intellectual property, privacy, social skills, evaluation and the role of new tools for academic purposes. Xtranormal, a cloud-based service used to create short animated movies, is one tool that can be used to address all of those topics in an entertaining and appealing format. Educators have used Xtranormal to create videos for lectures and as a tool for students to use to make videos themselves. Examples focus specifically on librarians using Xtranormal for information literacy instruction.