I guess I would define myself as not very computer or internet smart. I look at a couple specific sites a day and I understand how to use the tools on those websites, but that is about as far as it goes. I just simply use what I need to use and then leave the computer. Because of this, Tim O’Reilly’s article was a bit difficult for me to follow. Honestly, I didn’t even know that there was a web 1.0 and a web 2.0. I found myself completely lost in parts of the article because of the terminology, but I’m pretty sure I understand the key point: Web 2.0 is interactive, whereas web 1.0 was made more for viewing purposes. This makes pretty good sense. Web 1.0  was not user-interactive. To get people to use something you have to involve them or make them feel important in some way. User-feedback is good, as well. Web 2.0 involves these concepts of user input and feedback which allows for success.

Alexander and Levine’s article also discusses web 2.0, and, again, I’m lost with some of it because of terminology, but it was easier to follow than the first article. One idea gave me inspiration. Taking a video trailer and changing it sounds REALLY COOL! I don’t know how much software expertise it requires but hopefully someday soon I’ll be able to do it.  The 50+ tools section is where I got very interested. All these tools are FREE. Free things are good. I am extremely excited to start playing with these tools. Give me a day or two and you will see my wonderful creation with FREE tools!! I can certainly see, with the tools and projects described in the article, why web 2.0 is a great academic resource. Students will learn some very beneficial skills necessary for operating these tools (which definitely helps in the technological world we have today). At the same time, they can learn self expression in a variety of ways. Self expression is art and art is beautiful. While reading the article, I was reminded of some frustration I have with social media. I’m the type of person that likes everything to be nice and neat and I want to be able to know where everything is that I’m looking for. I also like to know when something I’m reading or looking at is the truth or not. I find with social media, that things are…. well, all over the place. But I guess that’s what you should expect when many people can have access to something. Even thought social media is frustrating to me, it is, at the same time, an art. Once you learn how to navigate through it, you can really find a piece by someone else that you completely relate to, that really touches your heart, or just makes you laugh (its good to have a laugh sometimes).

I found the Creative Commons article very interesting and I agree that this type of copyright opens up a whole new world to education. It seems very convenient. Creative Commons eliminate certain time consuming tasks. The introduction to the article talks about the teacher that spent weeks tracking down people and getting permission for their content. With creative commons, all the teacher’s valuable time can be spent doing other things for class.