What is the Future of Web 2.0?

In the immediate future, as the tools of Web 2.0 catch on and research proves just how valuable they are as teaching and learning tools, their use will increase.

But I see a battle forming. At the school where UCET (Utah Coalition for Educational Technology) housed their recent conference, there were signs on the walls and rumors in the halls that there was a war waging against these technological elements in the classroom.

What possible reason would a teacher or administrator have against these valuable learning tools?

I suppose if you were grounded in the 'old ways' you would see them as distractions, getting in the way of learning, instead of being used for learning.

I suppose if you kept wanting students to conform to the past instead of allowing them to keep their feet in the present, you would force them to see technology as a play thing to be left at home and not integrateable into their educational selves.

I suppose if you were numb or angry at technology for its years of immaturity and lack of intuitiveness, you would not be likely to try again, just one more time.

And I suppose there are those who see anything so likeable by the students (iPods, blogs, computer games) must have a down side and CANNOT be valuable as a learning tool.

There are many reasons why some prefer to ignore what is happening in the technological world. But if you ever dreamed of what a revolution in education would actually look like - hold on to your seats - because you are in the midst of one right now.

A question being asked repeatedly by teachers is "If I offer my lectures and lessons online, why would the student come to class?" Exactly. Why would anyone come to class? I think this is more about the threatening nature of 'teaching as we once knew it' evolving into 'teaching as we have never known it.' And it is evolving into teaching that really teaches.

It is going to happen, whether you buy into it or not. Teaching is changing and the tools of Web 2.0 are just one small piece of that change.

From USA Today, Apple's Joswiak says: "I'd be lying to you if I said we had all this blueprinted. Time and time again, we've learned if you give students and teachers the right tools, they're going to figure out ways to exceed your expectations.

Think about the terms that O'Reilly used on a "meme map" about Web 2.0: Hackability, perpetual beta, the long tail, an attitude not a technology; data as the Intel inside; the right to remix; some rights reserved; emergent user behavior not predetermined; rich user experience; trust your users; small pieces loosely joined; granular accessibility of content; play; and software that gets better as people use it.