Is Web 2.0 Good For Students In Learning?

Teacher-centered learning is the main learning model used in schools. Teacher-centered learning focus on the teacher transmitting knowledge to students, according to Ng (2017,8). However, the learning model is changing. As technology advances, the learning models are very diverse and digitized nowadays. Using Web 2.0 in learning is one of the methods. According to Ng (2017,18), Web 2.0 refers to websites that provide a means for users to share personal information, such as social networking websites. Those synchronous tools, blogs and wikis are included in Web 2.0 tools. There are different impacts of using Web 2.0 to learn. So, the topic of this essay is “Is Web 2.0 good for students in learning?”. Let’s talk about the negative impacts first.
Many Web 2.0 tools allow anonymous posting of messages without identifying the publishers. As long as someone has the internet-enabled devices, he can edit and change the messages in the website. Wikipedia is one of the tools that no need to confirm the identities of the contributors. Moran (2011) mentions that Irish student Shane Fitzgerald posted a fake quotation on the Wikipedia article about deceased French composer Maurice Jarre in March 2009. However, several major newspapers used the fake quotation as a reliable source and published this article in the obituaries. This case proves that some information in Web 2.0 is questionable. If students mistakenly believe in the false information, it will affect their learning.

Another disadvantage is that students use the tools inappropriately. When students using social networking tools, they may focus on entertainment rather than learning. There are many lures while students click on social networking and social media sharing. They concentrate on playing Facebook games and watching YouTube videos for entertainment. They may neglect to use the tools to learn. Also, some students may post antipathetic and inappropriate content, and even evolve into cyberbullying. These improper uses with Web 2.0 tools can bring bad influence in
The online learning community has created a collaborative environment in which students can benefit from learning by discussing actively. Harasim, Hiltz, Teles and Turoff (1995, cited in Homola and Kubincová 2009, 742) supports that formulating ideas into words, and receiving opinion from peers leads to the social construction of knowledge and shapes the students’ way of thinking and their views. Students edit the contents in Wikipedia and share the resources with Google Drive can help the information exchange. While students provide the opinions via the tools, they can also reflect on the work done by the others are correct or not. Building an online learning community through Web 2.0 is a good way for students to learn different