Thing #5

 

 

Web 2.0 is not about version numbers or betas is the website I most identified with and was able to understand at a basic level.

     Tim O'Reilly summed it up:
"Web 2.0 is the era when people have come to realize that it's not the software that enables the web that matters so much as the services that are delivered over the web. [...] The net has replaced the PC as the platform that matters, just as the PC replaced the mainframe and minicomputer."
So much is being built on top of this Web platform nowadays: new media such as blogging and podcasting, old media is moving to the Web, music (e.g. Webjay, iTunes), education, shopping (e.g. Amazon, eBay), marketing, banking, law, government - you name it, it's being built out on the Web.
I think Tom Foremski captured this point in his recent post, when he said:
"The new dotcoms are not technology companies, necessarily, but they are all "technology enabled" companies."
And that's what Web 2.0 means to me - everyday, non-technical people using Web technologies to enhance their own lives and businesses. The Web is an infrastructure, a foundation. What we create and build on the Web is what Web 2.0 is all about.

 

What does "School 2.0" mean to you?

   New collaborative computer technologies, in particular the read/write web, distance learning programs, free and open source software, and videoconferencing.

What does it mean for schools of the future?

   

   A move from an industrial to information economy, and a change in skills that are valuable to employers.

   A culture that is rapidly becoming more transparent and collaborative because of the new technologies, allowing a more open discussion about many aspects of our society, including (and especially) education.