Check out Google Wave !
The Web 2.0 tool that I found is Google Wave. Google Wave is a great collaboration tool. I plan on using it as a tool for my AR project. My plan is to teach English to those students that are newcomers to our school district. My hope is to help to be able to reach more students, and help them with the feeling of isolation that they maybe feeling. I want to let them know that there are other students in our district feeling the same way. I will be running small groups of second language learners at two school sites. I need a tool that is not only interactive and collaborative, but instant. What I like about Google Wave, and is different from other Web 2.0 tools, is that it allows everyone to see what is being written in real time. Anyone can edit a page and can discuss right there on the page as well. You do not need to wait for someone to click the "send" button. This feature is very much like Google Docs except Google Wave allows you to see who is adding information via an image or an avatar. You can post public or private messages, replay previous waves, and create and manage groups. It is an excellent tool to be able to facilitate learning at a distance. (On a sad note, I have heard that Google Wave may go by the wayside, and I am trying to verify this. Hopefully Google and others will realize what a great tool this is and keep it around. I do have a backup tool though- Eluminate.com!)
I am starting to really like Google docs too. Our school started "Dare to learn" which is a version of Google Docs. It is not free, the cost depends on how many e-mail addresses you buy. Our district used it as a test last year and we are now ready to go district wide. Each student will get an e-mail and each teacher will get a site to use. I am excited about it and am anxious to see how well it works.
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