As I plow forward toward the next two years of my life, where I will be pursuing that glory known only as a Master’s Degree, I realize that I now possess several things on the net at my disposal. Josh Catone wrote several Web 2.0 apps usable for students, several of which I use:

I went to a school that utilized a Virtual Learning Environment called WebCT (since absorbed by the Blackboard company), and it really wasn’t very fun to use. Note taking meant writing on paper, study groups meant face-to-face meetings, and if you were struggling through Shakespeare, your best bet was to turn to the library, not the Internet.

Considering that my old school also had the stupidity to use WebCT, I feel Josh’s pain. Yes, it’s still here on the new internet. But several of the apps make life so much easier for other people, from Zoho Office Suite to the glorious Wikipedia. As a new grad student, all of these little toys are available for me to use. Back in the day, it was cool to have three different-colored pens on one notebook.

So with all of these cool new Web 2.0 gizmos, how come I don’t use them all? Well, for one, they can’t be used offline (With the exception of those under Google Gears, but only a few can right now,) I can’t always count on there being a WiFi/Internet access point, so that’s out of the question. Maybe if Web 2.0 went Desktop 2.0, I’d use more of them.

Still, that’s not to say how I love having everything I need at any computer with an internet connection. Google Reader saves me during the boring times, and Google Docs saves me time after time. One can only wonder what apps will appear 10 years from now.

Questions for you:

What web apps do you use on a regular basis? Would you prefer them over desktop versions? What apps are your favorites, and which do you believe are useless? Answers in the comments!