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Weighing In
Democratization vs. the Lowest Common Denominator
1/16/2008
But any human aggregating system without "checks and balances" (cf "Internet Bubble") will pendulum us toward excess. Higher education provides values tested over a millennium. It began in orality before the printing press, swung toward print and literacy after print objects became inexpensive and widely available, and now is swinging back toward a new kind of hybrid orality. Probably no one can stop the swing, but we can all be aware of what's going on. To gain this awareness, we must understand Web 2.0. Go to Reddit, go to Second Life, go to del-icio-us, to Facebook, and so on.
Many uses of Web 2.0 have already become indispensable for learners across the world with access to the Internet. We in higher education just need to pay attention and discover ways to best use the infinite horsepower of Web 2.0 for learning.
So, with Web 2.0 it's best to tread cautiously, but do tread. See the contours of the world we live in.
Trent Batson, Ph.D. has served as an English professor, director of academic computing, and has been an IT leader since the mid-1980s. He is currently a Communication Strategist in the Office of Educational Innovation and Technology at MIT. batsontr@mit.edu
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