The document discusses the role of Web 2.0 technologies in enhancing science education by focusing on the perceptions and competencies of pre-service science teachers. It highlights the need for better integration of technology in teacher education and the potential for Web 2.0 tools, such as blogs and wikis, to support scientific reasoning and critical analysis skills. Findings from a study conducted using questionnaires from pre-service teachers indicate significant gaps in training and support for effective technology use in teaching.

1. Role of web 2.0 in Science education: Perceptions and competence of
Pre-Service Science Teachers Surabhi Bhargava
Information and communication technology (ICT) is one of the most widely used tools in the
pedagogy of science. Teachers are currently working towards harnessing the powerful potential
of using ICT to support science learning as far as possible, given the very real operational
constraints.
To meet the aims for science education, the approach taken by the science curriculum for all
pupils should be eminently well suited to the supportive use of interactive digital technology. As
the school curriculum begins to forge links with the external scientific and social communities,
opportunities arise for ICT use to play a central and core role in supporting development of
scientific reasoning and critical analysis skills. Those in the process of developing new digital
tools for use in the science classroom need, therefore, to engage with the new aims of science
education and the science curriculum, and to develop resources that can be used by teachers both
in facilitating key aspects of scientific thinking and in building bridges between schools and with
the wider social and scientific communities.
The utility of the services provided by Web 2.0, though not exploited to a great extent, are very
significant in this way.
There are a number of Web-based services and applications that demonstrate the foundations of
the Web 2.0 concept, and they are already being used to a certain extent in education. These are
not really technologies as such, but services (or user processes) built using the building blocks of
the technologies and open standards that underpin the Internet and the Web. These include blogs,
wikis, and multimedia sharing services, content syndication, podcasting and content tagging
services.
(What is Web 2.0? Ideas, technologies and implications for education: Report by Paul Anderson)
The paper focuses on the perceptions of the Pre-service science teachers about the role of Web
2.0 in Science education and explores their competence in integrating it in the teaching-learning
processes.
The analysis is done on the basis of data collected through questionnaires filled by a sample
population of Pre-service teachers from various Teacher Education institutes of Delhi. The
questions were targeted to access the detailed information of the pre-service science teachers-
from their family background to the facilities and training provided to them with respect to Web
2.0 in the university. The results show that there is a need to improve the technology input in
various areas of teacher education.
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 Ms. Surabhi Bhargava is working as a Lecturer at Department of Education, Lady Irwin
College, University of Delhi.