WIKINDX Resources
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Report/Documentation:
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BibTeX citation key: anderson.734
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Anderson Paul (2007). What is Web 2.0? Ideas, technologies and implications for education. Bristol : Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC).
Added by: Laure Endrizzi 2008-01-29 05:44:21 Last edited by: Laure Endrizzi 2008-02-09 22:41:33
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Abstract
Within 15 years the Web has grown from a group work tool for scientists at CERN into a global
information space with more than a billion users. Currently, it is both returning to its roots as a
read/write tool and also entering a new, more social and participatory phase. These trends have led to a
feeling that the Web is entering a ‘second phase’—a new, ‘improved’ Web version 2.0. But how
justified is this perception?
This TechWatch report was commissioned to investigate the substance behind the hyperbole
surrounding ‘Web 2.0’ and to report on the implications this may have for the UK Higher and Further
Education sector, with a special focus on collection and preservation activities within libraries. The
report argues that by separating out the discussion of Web technologies (ongoing Web development
overseen by the W3C), from the more recent applications and services (social software), and attempts
to understand the manifestations and adoption of these services (the ‘big ideas’), decision makers will
find it easier to understand and act on the strategic implications of ‘Web 2.0’. Indeed, analysing the
composition and interplay of these strands provides a useful framework for understanding its
significance.
The report establishes that Web 2.0 is more than a set of ‘cool’ and new technologies and services,
important though some of these are. It has, at its heart, a set of at least six powerful ideas that are
changing the way some people interact. Secondly, it is also important to acknowledge that these ideas
are not necessarily the preserve of ‘Web 2.0’, but are, in fact, direct or indirect reflections of the power
of the network: the strange effects and topologies at the micro and macro level that a billion Internet
users produce. This might well be why Sir Tim Berners-Lee, the creator of the World Wide Web,
maintains that Web 2.0 is really just an extension of the original ideals of the Web that does not
warrant a special moniker. However, business concerns are increasingly shaping the way in which we
are being led to think and potentially act on the Web and this has implications for the control of public
and private data. Indeed, Tim O’Reilly’s original attempt to articulate the key ideas behind Web 2.0
was focused on a desire to be able to benchmark and therefore identify a set of new, innovative
companies that were potentially ripe for investment. The UK HE sector should debate whether this is a
long-term issue and maybe delineating Web from Web 2.0 will help us to do that.
As with other aspects of university life the library has not escaped considerable discussion about the
potential change afforded by the introduction of Web 2.0 and social media. One of the key objectives
of the report is to examine some of the work in this area and to tease out some of the key elements of
ongoing discussions. For example, the report argues that there needs to be a distinction between
concerns around quality of service and ‘user-centred change’ and the services and applications that are
being driven by Web 2.0 ideas. This is particularly important for library collection and preservation
activities and some of the key questions for libraries are: is the content produced by Web 2.0 services
sufficiently or fundamentally different to that of previous Web content and, in particular, do its
characteristics make it harder to collect and preserve? Are there areas where further work is needed by
researchers and library specialists? The report examines these questions in the light of the six big ideas
as well as the key Web services and applications, in order to review the potential impact of Web 2.0
on library services and preservation activities.
Added by: Laure Endrizzi
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Further information may be found at:
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Notes
Bibliographie de 8 pages
Added by: Laure Endrizzi
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Quotes
p.53 Extrait de la conclusion :
"The changes that are taking place are likely, I think, to provide three significant challenges for education: Firstly, the crowd, and its power, will become more important as the Web facilitates new communities and groups. A corollary to this is that online identity and privacy will become a source of tension. Secondly, the growth in user or self-generated content, the rise of the amateur and a culture of DIY will challenge conventional thinking on who exactly does things, who has knowledge, what it means to have élites, status and hierarchy. These challenges may not be as profound as some of the more ardent proponents of Web 2.0 indicate, but there will be serious challenges none the less (ask any academic for his/her views on Wikipedia as a research tool). And finally, there are profound intellectual property debates ahead as individuals, the public realm and corporations clash over ownership of the huge amounts of data that Web 2.0 is generating and the new ways of aggregating and processing it."
Added by: Laure Endrizzi
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