The Web 2.0 Movement Described

While there have been many seminal posts on Web 2.0 in the last several months, I strongly recommend reading “Web 2.0: A New Wave of Innovation for Teaching and Learning?” by Bryan Alexander, Director for Research at the National Institute for Technology and Liberal Education (NITLE). Thanks to Bryan for the mention of eHub at the end of the article, and thanks to Max Kiesler for sending the article my way tonight.

In his article at Educause Review, Bryan Alexander presents a thorough and comprehensive perspective on the Web 2.0 movement. His point of view is well researched, academic, and an accurate and in depth overview for those seeking to understand or articulate the current web environment. On a personal level, his post was a breath of fresh air in that it came from outside the Web 2.0 world and from my consulting past in higher education technology. Concepts in social software, open source, and online communities have a natural match in academia and education, and I look forward to seeing and taking part in making this convergence happen.

The term is audacious: Web 2.0. It assumes a certain interpretation of Web history, including enough progress in certain directions to trigger a succession. The label casts the reader back to Sir Tim Berners-Lee’s unleashing of the World Wide Web concept a little more than a decade ago, then asks: What forms of the Web have developed and become accepted enough that we can conceive of a transition to new ones?

He continues with a well articulated and researched summary of develops and trends split into three sections: Concepts, Projects and Practices, and Rising Services or Churning Wave?

Rather than paraphrase his thoughts, please read it for yourself:
Web 2.0: A New Wave of Innovation for Teaching and Learning? by Bryan Alexander

5 comments

1. Rob Gonda on March 19, 2006 at 07:26 AM:
   Thanks.
2. Ed Kohler on March 22, 2006 at 04:14 PM:
   I think the biggest change we’re seeing today is in community based content creation, which may be better defined by Read/Write web. There certainly have been some big advances in how websites are programmed and how people interact with those sites as of late.

   Personally, I have a hard time getting worked up about the terminology used to describe it and would rather focus on using the new technology to make interesting content.

3. Gavin on March 27, 2006 at 09:03 PM:
   Wow! What an amazing document. Thanks for pointing this out.

   It’s a great way easy way to explain the concepts of the web 2.0 stuff and make sure everyone takes in everything.

4. Darius on March 28, 2006 at 03:20 AM:
   Really good reading, thank a lot!!
5. BillyWarhol on April 02, 2006 at 10:00 PM:
   Thanks Emily!

   Your eHub is always chock full of great, useful, interesting & enlightening Info!!

   Cheers!!  Billy ;))