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Education and learning was meant for the boring classrooms with sleepy students who barely heard anything the professor had to say. The professors on the other hand, however much they tried, were after all boring.

Like life is changing every moment, so is the education sphere. With the advent of Web 2.0 technology, education has gone a notch higher and e-learning is taking the nation by storm. Today the Web 2.0 has made serious changes in the learning sphere and is making in-roads into being a valuable tool for higher education community and the teacher’s aide.

But it’s not the teachers only who are making use of these tools. It is also the students who are making use of these advanced web tools. But the most unexpected thing was that the teachers and other staff members too, have taken to use the Web 2.0 tools. There are many options available with the Web 2.0. you have tons of things to choose from like the electronic portfolios like wikipedia which is a  free online encyclopedia, you have do-it-yourself-podcasts and other online collaboration tools available now. Well, these are the few web tools being used by the teaching staff members to be connected with their students in and outside class.

These web tools are not only transforming the face of teaching and learning but are responsible for creating personalized learning environments. These environments have four key features like:
Firstly, communication and collaboration, then formal and informal learning options. They offer flexible roles and structures to students and teachers both. Therefore, it is easier to grasp from these. There are many other electronic portfolios and organizers too, to choose from.

Blogs are also popular with students. Professors can post blogs based on their subject and further research connected with it. also with this tool, students are encouraged to post new things which truly original and therefore, enhances their learning and report writing skills.

These features are free and are accessible from anywhere as long as you have a computer and Internet connection. They play a key role in creating powerful e-learning and personalized e-learning environments. It has helped students are loners to come out and express their views and talents through blogs and pod cats. Also through forum discussions, it has enabled social networking amongst the students and teachers. Now if a professor wants the students to learn something extra for the subject, he can do it online by just posting a message on some social networking site or a common forum. Students who are interested can read the research. It has been seen that by doing so, most of the students come prepared for discussions to be held in class the next day.

Also forums help students to solve each other’s problems. If you have a query and post it on line, any colleague who knows the answers to it, can be of help to you. Hence, this has brought the student community and the teachers closer. So go ahead and explore more Web 2.0 learning tools.

You can be blogging about your day to day life or anything you want. Some colleges and universities upload introductory videos of their teaching faculty on the website before the new term can begin., this helps students to know what their professor looks like, what he/she wants in their class and what is to be expected from the course. This helps a great deal. It is like an ice breaker for the students.

So there are so many positive things which can be done using the Web 2.0 tools. But the World Wide Web has much more offer and therefore, the students require the guidance from teachers to seek the right things.