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Wikis
Wikis appeared on the web as being the first collaborative educational tools, where users could contribute and edit anyone's content. Wikis were invented and named by Ward Cunningham in 1994, and were seen as a first step towards shareable resources. -
Creation of OER
This initiative is intended to not only reduce textbook fees for students, but also for faculty to share resources, create teaching materials and contribute to educational open sources to anyone. While it is still at its infancy, it is becoming more popular in the United States, and some states such as North Carolina offer grant opportunities in order to encourage faculty to use open resources as much as possible. -
Blogs
Beside using them as journals or themed web extensions, blogs became educational tools that can provide updated posts and information for both students and faculty on selected topics. Nowadays, blogs can also be implemented in a course as an active tool for students to build a portfolio for instance. -
The Learning Management Systems
Complementing the e-learning movement in education, LMS were introduced as essential platforms where to combine and organize educational tools and materials. -
Streaming Videos
Video-sharing websites such as Youtube were founded. Using educational videos became more and more popular, as they are easy to download and share. Although higher education faculty teaching online are still in the process of implementing them into their courses, visual tools such as short video tutorials are interactive and efficient in student learning.