Web 2.0 and Gadgets
I read the article Rav gave us the link to, "
The Impact of Emerging Technologies." It talks about Web 2.0 and lists several popular social networking sites (such as
Flickr,
Del.icio.us, and
Jumpcut--this latter one I hadn't heard of and will definitely check out). I think this new everything-on-the-web world is one we will have to explore, from the standpoint of it being our students' world, but also as potential space we can use for instruction. There is an online word processing site called Writely (
http://www.writely.com) that has recently been purchased by Google, so probably won't be free for much longer, but is an option for people who don't own MS Word. It has a document sharing feature for collaboration, as well. So people are "residing" on the web more than ever before, and there's lots to do there: downloading stuff (movies, music, games, software), uploading stuff (like your own movies or pictures to share); publishing (blogging, vlogging); interacting (instant messaging, internet telephone--e.g.
Skype, chat, friend sharing--e.g.
Myspace); shopping--e.g.
Ebay; playing games; etc. Who needs TV anymore? (Not to mention books, or even face-to-face conversation.)
But in addition to all that on Web 2.0, there are gadgets: most notably, the iPod (or other mp3 player). IPods hook people up with music, but also with podcasts that are now available from every conceivable kind of web site. Podcasting has great potential for education, as many teachers are already finding out. But, ideally, podcasting can be exploited as a medium for more than just lectures. IPods can also be used as recording devices, which potentially lends itself towards interactivity in education.
Another gadget that has taken over the world and will only continue to do so is the cell phone. Phones do everything now and will only get better and more versatile as technology progresses. Is there any potential there for connecting with our students and facilitating their collaboration with each other? Our students take photos and videos that they can send to each other and can post to the web. (As a side issue: what are the implications for privacy? but the net generation's tendency to blur the private and the public is a trend we can see.) Phones can also play mp3s (podcasts). In addition to their traditional function as a device for voice conversation, text messaging, or "texting," is becoming popular. This has possibilities for collaboration, but, of course, we don't always want students to collaborate, such as in some testing situations.
What am I forgetting/leaving out? What's coming down the pike?
