One of the most noticeable developments in modern information and communication technology is "Web 2.0", in which social software is used to facilitate collaboration and sharing between Internet users. This computer-mediated communication, found in sites such as MySpace and YouTube, is used everyday by millions of people. Using appropriate web-based tools and web hosts, users can write, record and share their ideas, upload photographs for others to see, make Internet TV, or upload and share videos.

Stewart Marshall

So how can an educational organisation such as The University of the West Indies Open Campus use Web 2.0?
Perhaps the most important aspect of Web 2.0 is the control it gives to any user to publish whatever they want to the web. Internet users are no longer passive recipients of information placed there by organisations and institutions. Instead, they are active contributors or publishers. In education we want students to be active contributors to their learning, so this aspect of Web 2.0 is particularly useful for distance learning when it is conducted online.
Another important aspect of Web 2.0 for distance learning is its potential to facilitate social interaction and build a sense of community amongst the users. Students can share their ideas, hopes and frustrations or just vent their feelings about any particular topic in a “virtual community of learners” in the same way they would do on campus.
There is a wide range of Web 2.0 tools that can be used in distance learning, including:
• Blogs - journals or newsletters in which users frequently post informal thoughts, comments, and philosophies reflecting their views.
• Chats – places on the Internet where two or more people with similar interests meet and communicate together by typing instant messages.
• Discussion boards or forums - online discussion groups, where participants with common interests exchange open messages.
• E-mail - electronic mail system that can be used to send text and attachments.
• Instant messages - programs that instantly send messages from one computer to another.
• Podcasts - a method of publishing mostly audio and video files to the Internet, allowing users to subscribe to receive new files.
• Social bookmarking - a system that enables users to store links to web pages and the resulting lists can be made accessible to other users of that bookmarking system.
• Social networking sites - where users can maintain links with their social networks and perhaps link to new people on the same site.
• Wikis - software that allows users to freely create and edit Web page content and hyperlinks using a web browser. The most famous wiki is wikipedia.
In Caribbean countries, as elsewhere, ICT can play a significant role in equalising opportunities for marginalised groups and communities. Web 2.0 provides tools that education institutions can use to assist in this process. The UWI Open Campus continually explores ways in which they can be used to improve its distance education programmes.

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