Web2.0 & Education

The web has revolutionize the way we communicate. Web 2.0 now is revolutionizing education.

Education is no longer being delivered just in the classroom settings. It is multi-directional where the teachers and students and the public can all communicate through the power of "Cloud Computing." Instructors and learners are no longer required to be in the same classroom, same city, or even the same country. To a certain extend, they don't even have to be on the same planet! The instruction materials are now in multi-media/digital forms: text, images, video and audio clips, flash animations, comic strips, etc. The list goes on and on.

For a very long time, distant-learning has been just emails and postings between the instructors and students. Real-time interaction is really not an easy option. Look at where we are now! Instant messengers, online chatrooms, VoIP services, and web video conferencing are addded to the plain, old text-based communications. How exciting it is for the learners!

Modern day students grew up with media. They need that type of stimulation and to sustain their interest. We must recognize the characteristics of this generation and creating a rich learning experience for our students to faciliate their learning. We can not continue to think the way we learned should continue to work for our students. I am not advocating abandoning the traditional teaching methodology. I am simply saying that technology must be considered, incorporated, and utilized by both the learners and instructors to improve the quality of our education!