Web 2.0… and Beyond

TIE 542 has been undoubtedly the most challenging, constructivist, intricate, and demanding course I have ever taken at National-Louis. (I began in April of 2006) Every time I master one area, there is another colossal challenge around the corner with my name on it. These are not words of complaint; they are words of thanks.

When I looked at the blog topic for this week, I thought, here we go again, another issue that I know virtually nothing about. I waited, and my classmates have posted the definition for me, which gave me a starting point. Specifically- http://kherzog.blogspot.com/2009/07/evaluating-intriguing-educational-web.html Thank you Kristen. I will not bore my readers by defining Web 2.0; instead I will take you on a journey of past, present, and future. (Does anyone else see a ghost?)

In the beginning, we had the Internet, or Web 1.0. (This is the World Wide Web) As a society, we are never happy with the status quo. We want larger and enhanced applications. We want to transform our world, in order to superior to our neighbors. So, our technology designers came up with Web 2.0 to try to make us happy. The problem is that most people cannot define what Web 2.0 is! Ask around, do a survey of the people around you. I’ll be waiting right here.

Did you learn what I did? The average person cannot give you a definition. Some may say it's about social networking, (like Facebook or MySpace) blogs, or wikis. The more intelligent person might even have heard Tim O'Reilly definition. However, these above mentioned things are NOT Web 2.0. They are tools utilized within Web 2.0.

In my research, I learned that there are six elements to Web 2.0. (See Sean Carton http://www.clickz.com/3625146) Sean explains that “Web 2.0 is about data abstraction.” All of the tools listed above (blogs, wikis, etc) are possible because people have figured out how to take and use the free information from ‘containers’ within these sites.

“Web 2.0 takes broadband and Moore's Law for granted. Sites like YouTube and Google Docs & Spreadsheets wouldn't be possible in a non-broadband world populated by powerful computers. All Web 2.0's multimedia features, especially video, start with the assumption bandwidth is basically free and readily accessible.”

“Web 2.0 is about connections. It allows connections between people, sites, the Web, mobile worlds, and consumers to exist. (See data abstraction above.)

The Web 2.0 revolution puts people first. All the tagging, social content, social networking, blogging, and virtual communities’ people point to as examples of Web 2.0 come out of this. It's perhaps the most widely recognized aspect of what's changing. But putting people first is more than just connecting them or allowing them to post content. It also understands that people use the Web. The needs of the user (not the programmer, marketing director, or information architect) come first. THIS IS NEW TO MANY!

Finally, Web 2.0 is about allowing people to manipulate data, not just retrieve data. The AJAX revolution isn't that it lets you make interfaces that look like real desktop applications in a browser. It's that it does away with the old Web 1.0 model of request page/get page/view page technology all of us were used to. Contrast the old MapQuest "point and zoom and pan with buttons" interface with the revolutionary interface Google Maps deploys. All of a sudden, we're actually in there with the data, moving it around, playing with it, and interacting with it in real time.”

Web 2.0 allows people to do tasks online that they could not have done any other way. It is that simple.

Now, as lifelong professional learners, we need to take the next step and beginning using the applications afforded us through this medium in our classrooms. Why? There is a simple answer to this; Web 3.0 is just around the corner…Click here
http://www.pbs.org/teachers/learning.now/2006/10/cyberone_the_future_of_educati.html
For more information.