Lee, M. J. W. & McLoughlin, C. (Eds.). (2011). Web 2.0 based elearning: applying social informatics for tertiary teaching. Hershey, PA: Information Science Reference.

Use of Web 2.0* tools in contemporary tertiary education is debatable. While technology advocates (e.g. Marc Prensky) recommend blanket adoption; researchers (see Kennedy et al. 2010) are concerned about the adaptability of social technologies in educational contexts. This book, through various authors, and their respective contexts, provides an informed and balanced view with sections dedicated to theory, practice and future directions of the educational application of Web 2.0 tools.

The first section covers emerging paradigms and innovative theories in web-based tertiary teaching since Web 2.0 tools and practices are challenging and redefining scholarship and pedagogy. The idea is that the emergence of new tools by itself will not revolutionise education but its affordances provide the opportunity to: a) create new models for education for the knowledge society and, b) innovate tertiary teaching and learning.

Affordances of Web 2.0 tools are well illustrated through case studies and exemplars of evidence-based practices in section two. As a practitioner, this section was most useful for me. The authors refrain from pushing the technology agenda but address the important decision making questions like what to use, how and when. Pedagogical relevance is emphasised with reference to learners’ digital literacies and personal knowledge management skills and teachers’ capabilities and capacities.The final section addresses the challenges in educational applications of Web 2.0 due to the theoretical gap in literature and concludes with two approaches to harnessing the power of Web 2.0 in education:
1. Applying social web practices to facilitate greater dialogue and sharing of learning and teaching ideas.
2. Using metaphors as a mechanism for understanding educational application of Web 2.0 technologies.
Overall, this book is a great reference for anyone contemplating the use of Web 2.0 tools in education hence a valuable addition to the reading list.

*A second generation, more personalised, communicative form of the World Wide Web that emphasizes active participation, connectivity, collaboration, and sharing of knowledge and ideas among users. Also referred to as the “read/write Web” (Price, 2006; Richardson, 2006).