WEB 2.0 AND BLENDED LEARNING IN EDUCATION AND TRAINING: LEARNING BEYOND THE CLASSROOM

Technological development, the use of computers to support the most diverse activities of daily life and, ultimately, the growth and evolution of the Internet have radically altered the models of organization and functioning of societies, based on new concepts of communication, interaction, distance, space and time. The information society has placed new challenges to the teaching / learning process, modifying the construction of knowledge: the access to information has become more dynamic requiring constant updating of knowledge. This paper describes a training course held in Azores for teachers of the 1st and 2nd cycles of basic education on Web 2.0 tools. This training was held in the blended learning mode with Moodle as the platform support. The Web2.0 is a set of features that enhance opportunities for interaction, new forms of content production and, above all, information sharing and collaborative knowledge construction. The objective of this course was to familiarize teachers with the use of these tools in classroom. The adoption of blended learning format has succeeded in overcoming both the difficulties of reconciling the schedules of teachers and the geographical discontinuity in the region. The produced contents and the adopted methodologies were evaluated in order to, more effectively; apply these resources in the teaching / learning context. As a result of this evaluation, this paper presents some guidelines to improve the usability of the learning environment. It also presents a set of rules to be adopted in the design and implementation of training courses for teachers on Web2.0 and its application for teaching and learning. Web2.0 tools need to be part of the classroom's daily practices from the earliest years of schooling. It is a critical issue to prepare technological proficient teachers that provide learning opportunities which facilitates students' use of technology to construct knowledge and develop creativity. Creativity is a fundamental skill to be developed in school because it is essential for personal development and it enhances the learning process.