Last week one of our colleagues, Mary M., shared with us the one millionth word (Web 2.0) that made the official English language list on June 10, 2009.  Web 2.0 encompasses a number of resources sure to grab your attention as well as time while you're out there surfing on the net. Fear not, just because it may take up your time doesn't necessarily mean you'll waste time, in fact, Web 2.0 tools can save you time. One great example is the use of social bookmarking sites. These sites allow you to store your bookmarks online and tag them for easy reference in the future. Storing your bookmarks online allows you to access your sites from any computer, not just the computer where the sites were created. In addition, many social bookmarking sites allow you to share resources so friends and colleagues can collaborate, do research and share relevant resources with you.

Take a look at this list.  It's crazy.....all these Web 2.0 tools and every single one of them are free! Special thanks to Barry Dahl for sharing this information on his site, Free Web based Tools.

Global Language Monitor, a language tracking site defined "Web 2.0" as "a technical term meaning the next generation of World Wide Web products and services."

So what is the next generation or next wave of World Wide Web products and services?

Some favorites that are certain to not only entertain you but also serve as productive tools in the workplace and classroom setting are listed below.

Xtimeline - Xtimeline is a free web-based timeline, easy to create and share timelines that includes data, pictures and even video. This resource would be an excellent tool to use in any Social Studies or History class.

Voki - Create your very own speaking and animated avatar using Voki, a free Web 2.0 tool. Everyone wants to be unique and Voki allows you to do just that by personalizing your avatar to use in blogs, profiles, and even in email messages.

Bubbl.us - Bubbl.is is a free online tool that allows you to create colorful mind maps, collaborate with friends, embed mind maps into your blog or website, save your mind map as an image and email and print your mind maps to share with others.  I can easily see this Web 2.0 tool being utilized in an English class during the brainstorming stage of the writing process.

Ask500 - Polls are generated 24/7 about things you wouldn't even imagine people asking. Just a word of caution about this tool, as an educator you definitely want to preview the site prior to students accessing this URL. Perhaps create a list of questions to ask and submit online while students are in your company.  This way you have the ability to monitor the site while students are answering the polls you've generated.

Toondoo - Create your own cartoons to share with friends, family, classmates, and even teachers as part of an assignment. Toondoo gives you the capability to publish, share and even discuss your cartoon contents with others. As they say on Toondoo, "it's a wacky way to get creative with comics." It's a simple tool and all you have to do is click, drag or drop to get started.

Glogster -  Go ahead.....I dare you.....Discover the world of glogging and create your own glog. Glogster gives you the capability of creating posters about people, poetry, letters, music, love, friendship, family, school, art, scrapbooks, movies,....you name it, you can create it right here at Glogster.com. This would be an awesome Web 2.0 tool to use when creating classroom projects that require dimension and originality. I can easily see this tool being utilized in all subject areas.

These are just a few of the millions of Web 2.0 resources available online.  To see a more detailed list of Web 2.0 tools check out this site.

What Web 2.0 tools are your favorites? Do you visit or use any that are not noted above?  Share your favorites and how you are utilizing them in the classroom or in your personal life.