Why are Web 2.0 technologies a great complement to LMS online courses? Because tools like social media and video sharing sites allow for innovative ways for students to collaborate; because that’s where students are already spending their time; and because using Web 2.0 tools in the classroom is simply unavoidable. (And why is it inevitable? Because it’s smart.)

According to Nielsen’s user habits survey, social networking websites are more popular than email. In the UK, one in six minutes of the average Internet user is spent on a social site, according to the report.

If social media is such a fundamental part of most people’s online experience, why shouldn’t it be a part of our 21st century education?

YouTube is a site students can visit to see skateboarders doing tricks or punk bands performing live, but why shouldn’t they be allowed to create their own learning content using these same beloved sites?

YouTube is one aspect of the Web 2.0 educational revolution. But while YouTube has great potential, is it appropriate in a classroom setting?

Although YouTube claims to have a zero-tolerance policy on videos that glorify violence and makes serious efforts to remove them, it also admits that there’s really no way to filter these videos or prevent them from being uploaded. Ultimately, YouTube relies on its viewers to flag questionable material.

For educators who are wary of incorporating Web 2.0 technologies like YouTube into their learning systems, there is TeacherTube.

With TeacherTube, students can upload, tag and share videos; basically everything that is available on YouTube. Users can also browse videos uploaded by members and find, join or create video groups to connect with other educators.

Students themselves can greatly enjoy and benefit from the experience of creating a video project.

Studies find that when students are allowed to take knowledge and create something with it, their understanding of the information is much deeper than if they simply absorbed the material.

An LMS is a tool that offers great potential for student projects, such as video creation. Many LMS have easy-to-use video creation tools that can be used to create and distribute learning content in the form of videos.

Today, camera equipment is less expensive and more accessible. Using an LMS, students can create and upload their own videos to share their interpretation and creative expression of the learning content.