Abstract:

Nowadays, Web 2.0 and Social Networking is one of the most relevant aspects of our technology-led life. Web 2.0 has been a major step from 1.0, crucially changing world’s attitude towards the Internet. It became more widespread due to offering inter user communication and diversity of information. Through its phenomenon to form communities united by common interests in the online space, Social Networking clearly stands out from a profusion of the latest-generation network services. Social Networking is invoked as educational tools encouraging students to gather in one medium and improve while learning from each other. Furthermore, Social Networking has broken the walls down, therefore, distance is no longer significant for communication, teaching, and learning. The constant Social Networking development in up-to-date knowledge society poses new challenges and opens up new opportunities. Social Networking enables students to become pro-active collaborators, create knowledge, and change their social status. It expands opportunities of attractive learning with interactive tools. Social Networking oversteps the clear boundaries between a professional and social space established by conventional learning, and forces to look into teaching and learning processes from another perspective. Due to technological development, social networks became to acquire a mobile form which changed from static and accessible only through the Internet available on computer, and even gained an opportunity to use certain services offline. Web 2.0 and Social Networking improve communication, create society and collaboration, and elaborate educational spaces. This Article presents a theoretical analysis of scientific sources, analyses the aspects and opportunities of Web 2.0 and Social Networking in education. It provides a research whether the students of higher education institutions use social networking sites for educational purposes. The main objective of this Article is to provide theoretical aspects and opportunities of Web 2.0 and Social Networking in education, which might be used in order to ensure a continuous teaching and learning process.

Keywords:

Web 2.0, Social Network, Collaboration Learning, Education.