Many teachers are already enjoying the benefits of web-based learning and teaching and taking positive steps to acquire both the digital skills to produce their own electronic resources and the skills to enable them to make effective use of web 2.0 technologies and social networking.

Web 2.0 describes a trend in the use of the internet towards creativity, information sharing and collaboration. This concept has led to the development and evolution of web-based communities and hosted services offering social networking, wikis and blogs.

Social networking offers powerful new ways to communicate and share information. Sites like MySpace, Bebo and Facebook are used regularly by millions of people, including our students! The main types of social networking services are those which connect friends, family and professional colleagues. Indeed, social networking has already become an enduring part of everyday life.