Often times, at the beginning of a semester, I find myself have to have the Wikipedia talk. The Wikipedia talk consists of me telling students why Wikipedia is not an accurate place to get information for a project. Perhaps a good starting point for a quick reference, but certainly not scholarly. Students have a hard time understanding that because the information can be altered by anyone, it is not the most reliable. This leads me to my research on Web 2.0 and my reflections on its connection to our class blog.

Susan Church, in her book From Literature Circles to Blogs, she defines Web 2.0 as follows:

In education and more generally, Web 2.0 refers to new ways in which learning is occurring using digital services and functions. It is now possible for a diverse range of individuals and groups to post information and opinions, to receive feedback, and to respond to each other online....Digital networks facilitate the wide distribution of information and expertise, allowing users to create as well as access knowledge and to form interactive online communities. (pg 21). Students are now learning to negotiate these interactive digital communities. “’Literacy 2.0’ is the term used to describe how ‘people are appropriating digital applications, networks, and services; and they are developing ways of reading, writing, viewing, listening and recording the embody this 2.0 ethos’” (Knobel and Wilber, 2009, p. 21).

Learning and writing in a Web 2.0 world demands media literacy. Students are now participants and collaborators in their digital literacy experience. This is evident in their participation with the Bulldog Blog. They are not simply reading. Students have collaborative control over what becomes of the blog. They control the content. Yet, for the purpose of class discussion, they fit their contributions within parameters set by me.