What is Web 2.0?

First, the World Wide Web is the software of the Internet system. It allows computers to communicate using a special language called hypertext. It has a birthday: It was created in 1989 by an English scientist named Sir Tim Berners-Lee. If you think of the Web as a teenager, then you will understand Web 2.0!

The Childhood: Web 1.0

The web started out as a system of individual web sites where you could go and find stuff. You could download information you wanted. It became very popular and grew up very quickly.

The Teen Years: Web 2.0

Around 2001, the web changed. If you have teenage brothers or sisters, have you noticed that they are a little more disruptive around the house. The World Wide Web went through that same kind of change. Now think of your teenage brother or sister with a cell phone in their hand: What happens? Well that's what happened with Web 2.0. It is changing from isolated web sites to places where people go to exchange information and put their own information on the Web. Blogs and wikis are examples of Web 2.0.

Digital Information Timeline

1944: Computer. Harvard Mark I: The first digital computer.

1969: Internet. ARPANET : The first two computer sites are "networked. " This connection is the begenning of the Internetwork or Intnet.

1989: Web. Tim Berners-Lee invents the World Wide Web using HTML (hyper text markup language).

1993: Search Engine. The first search engine for the web is called Aliweb. Soon others such as Yahoo, altaVista, and Google follow.
1994: Wiki. WikiWikiWeb is invented by Ward Cunningham.

2004: Web 2.0. Tim O'Reilly uses the name Web 2.0 to describe the move toward open-source software, wikis, and blogs.

SAFETY, SAFETY, SAFETY

The most important thing to remember when using the World Wide Web is SAFETY. Never visit sites that your teacher has not approved and never give out personal information, such as you last name, birthday, or address without your parents' and teacher's permission. Here are some web sites about safety:
F.B.I. Safety Tips for Kids
NetSmartzKids.org
Get your web license
Internet Safety Challenge Board