Monday, March 13, 2006
Google Continues to explore Web 2.0 Technology
According to News.com, Google is looking to expand their book-scanning service into a pay-to-read option that would allow users to buy the rights to read a textbook online. It's a good idea (one that others have already implemented or planned to implement), but as with any nifty new technology or concept, until there's one central location for the end-user, it's going to be ugly for a while. Given the Amazon/Random House deal, not to mention Blackboard Building Blocks that are also offer textbook access, I'm not sure Google is playing from a position of power on this one.
Thursday, March 09, 2006
Wow. Google Buys Writely.
See Claudia Carpenter's post here for more info on how things will go.
I'm both excited and nervous. Writely is a damned fine concept, and I think that having a bigger backer will allow them to grow properly (frankly, I couldn't see Writely working well as a business model without a buyout, no matter how much I love Web 2.0 stuff like this). But on the other hand, the true version-control that I'd like to see Writely develop down the road seems like it wouldn't be as high on Google's priority list as it might have been in the hands of another company. Still, I'll take an optimistic wait-and-see approach.
See Claudia Carpenter's post here for more info on how things will go.
I'm both excited and nervous. Writely is a damned fine concept, and I think that having a bigger backer will allow them to grow properly (frankly, I couldn't see Writely working well as a business model without a buyout, no matter how much I love Web 2.0 stuff like this). But on the other hand, the true version-control that I'd like to see Writely develop down the road seems like it wouldn't be as high on Google's priority list as it might have been in the hands of another company. Still, I'll take an optimistic wait-and-see approach.
Monday, March 06, 2006
Blackboard and WebCT's merger
One of the better things to come from the recent Blackboard World 2006 was a sense of the roadmap for Blackboard's acquisition of WebCT.
A big concern for me (and for many BB users, I'm sure) was whether the attempt to merge the two products would lead to a period of developmental stagnation for both products, and weakened support for BB. WebCT users, no doubt, were even more concerned that they'd see the plug pulled on the product they'd chosen.
As noted on the BB site, BB seems to have a good, forward-thinking plan. They plan, as previously stated, to continue with both products, but their goal is to expand the APIs to allow Building Blocks (the Blackboard open-standards plugin) and Powerlinks (the WebCT plugin) to eventually use the same standard, allowing simultaneous third-party development. Likewise, they intend to release new features for both platforms, eventually leading to the platforms slowly converging over a long period of time. If they can pull it off, it's a great idea. It allows users of both environments to continue to enjoy the features they like, it ensures that neither WebCT nor Blackboard users have to worry about a major change management project to shift e-learning environments, and it allows developers on either platform an opportunity to work with both products.
Obviously, it's too early to judge the results, but as far as their publicly-stated intentions go, Blackboard has gotten off to a good start here.
Friday, March 03, 2006
So, why E-Learning 2.0?
Well, there are two answers. The purpose of this blog, as I've mentioned, is to discussing e-learning issues in general. I'd have preferred some of the more obvious names, but they're all taken on Blogger (almost all by blogs that haven't been updated in years). I could have bought a new domain, of course, but that involves spending money that I don't have. So I went for the best name dealing with course management that I could get.
As for why the term E-Learning 2.0 itself matters, it's easy to be flip and note that Web 2.0 is already a frontrunner for the Web Catchphrase of the Year. E-Learning 2.0 is certainly a deliberate (and trendy) variation on that same theme. But both phrases represent, beneath the veneer of trendiness, legitimate paradigm shifts. Over the last few years, technologies and concepts like blogging, tagging, social networking, and wikis have moved from the fringes to the mainstream, and have influenced how we look at any web-based technology. We no longer expect a website to just present information or allow us to submit something via a form. Likewise, when using e-learning software, we expect more than just a static discussion board and an article repository. We expect to customize our experience with our own preferences, to interact with others in the same class, to share information we learn, to add our own knowledge to it, even.
That's what E-Learning 2.0 and Web 2.0 are about: moving beyond the point at which e-learning needs to gain acceptance, and improving on it to make it more directly relevant to today's learners and teachers.
Well, there are two answers. The purpose of this blog, as I've mentioned, is to discussing e-learning issues in general. I'd have preferred some of the more obvious names, but they're all taken on Blogger (almost all by blogs that haven't been updated in years). I could have bought a new domain, of course, but that involves spending money that I don't have. So I went for the best name dealing with course management that I could get.
As for why the term E-Learning 2.0 itself matters, it's easy to be flip and note that Web 2.0 is already a frontrunner for the Web Catchphrase of the Year. E-Learning 2.0 is certainly a deliberate (and trendy) variation on that same theme. But both phrases represent, beneath the veneer of trendiness, legitimate paradigm shifts. Over the last few years, technologies and concepts like blogging, tagging, social networking, and wikis have moved from the fringes to the mainstream, and have influenced how we look at any web-based technology. We no longer expect a website to just present information or allow us to submit something via a form. Likewise, when using e-learning software, we expect more than just a static discussion board and an article repository. We expect to customize our experience with our own preferences, to interact with others in the same class, to share information we learn, to add our own knowledge to it, even.
That's what E-Learning 2.0 and Web 2.0 are about: moving beyond the point at which e-learning needs to gain acceptance, and improving on it to make it more directly relevant to today's learners and teachers.
Welcome to the E-Learning 2.0 blog.
This blog has been created to help organize and disseminate news and opinion related to e-learning in general. Although my own professional interests will undoubtedly created biases towards Blackboard and the higher education elearning community, my interests are in e-learning in general, and I hope to cover many products (and certainly not just learning management tools), and many areas of learning.
This blog has been created to help organize and disseminate news and opinion related to e-learning in general. Although my own professional interests will undoubtedly created biases towards Blackboard and the higher education elearning community, my interests are in e-learning in general, and I hope to cover many products (and certainly not just learning management tools), and many areas of learning.
