No one has ever downloaded a new version of the internet have they? The answer should be quite obviously no. The term simply gives name to the idea that the internet has changed quite a bit from the 1990's. During this time web pages were primarily passive in that users solely had the ability to view content and not interact with it. This changed around the beginning of the 21st century. Both Adobe and Java are the primary developers of the technology that was required to make the internet a two way street. This allowed the level of social interaction that we have from the internet today. It is impossible to measure the effects this has had on us but one could confidently say that this allowed our society to reshape the way we educate, interact and view ourselves.
Layout of a class focused on online interaction
The effects these changes have had on education may in fact have happened so quickly that we are unable to determine the side effects and socially change accordingly. Lack of interest and focus in more traditional classroom settings have been blamed on this development, although it is hard to establish a direct link. Although curriculum's may need serious overhaul with an increased online classroom presence it can easily be argued that the positives out way the benefits. The additional more timely feedback students can receive is invaluable. In addition students that were limited to social interaction based on geographical location no longer have that restraint. Research and interaction on an international level are areas that many schools, particularly those of higher education are incorporating into their programs.
Illustration of the concepts included within the term "Web 2.0"
The level of social interaction that takes place has caused the creation of a cyber persona for most people who have access. This typically takes form in Facebook accounts or other social networking sites. Once again this is something that we many not have fully adjusted to socially as many controversies have been talked about in the media, particularly those involving cyber bullying.
Online social interaction is something that we have become used to yet don't quite fully understand. Regardless, this new form of engagement in the form of blogs, posts, uploaded photos and videos and of course Tweets redefines community and our entire form of expression.
Over the next few years we will be treated to the steady perfection of augmented reality. The idea of AR is to take a computer generated "layer" of information and place it over a live view of ones surroundings.
Several AR applications already exist for smart phones although they are still imperfect. They have many features and can be used for a variety of different searches. LAYAR is one of the most popular and is available for both Apple and Android operating systems. It has a selection of "layers" that allow users to do location based searches for almost anything. One of the most useful I have found is the apartments for rent search although it is best used within a large city.
Google is said to be working on their own version of AR which will incorporate the already released Google Goggles app. The technology they are developing will be able to recognize specific objects or locations just using equipment that is already in all smartphones. The app can already be used to identify bar codes, artwork, landmarks, labels, and of course wine labels. One of the uses that Google has said it is planning is plant leaf recognition software for.... plant people I guess. Regardless the concept is pretty cool and we will see it be perfected in the next few years.
Personally I see one of the more successful applications for AR is its use with instruction. Today if someone wants to know how to build, fix, or do pretty much anything chances are there is a video of exactly how to do it on You Tube. In the not too distant future most of us may be turning to AR for this particular issue. Below I have included several videos that are great examples of exactly what I am talking about.
How to assemble IKEA furniture.
Although I feel like BMW mechanics should already know how to take apart one of their own cars, this video is one of the best illustrations.
Matt Mills of Aurasma, demonstrates their version of AR and its uses.
The term "social bookmarking," isn't the proper term to describe randomly clicking through the internet with the intent of wasting time. This of course is my personal opinion which may have something to do with my choice for favorite "social bookmarking" site. The big three sites that are involved in this category are of course Digg.com, Stumbleupon.com and reddit.com.
No one ever became anything special by making something that is supposed to be simple more complicated. That being said, both digg.com and reddit.com over complicate the process of me having tons of irrelevant information thrown at me based on my interests. Stumbleupon.com has the perfect platform to deliver this in the most user friendly way. You literally select your interests from a huge selection of topics that include everything from Artificial Intelligence to Zoology and literally everything in between. Following these five minutes of your time, the only additional effort you need to put into your newly found pass time is clicking the STUMBLE! button (below).
Personally, the layout of reddit looks like it got lost in the 90's and the process of finding something interesting makes you feel like your actually there. Although digg.com has a much more updated layout you still have to do some digging (HA) before finding articles on specific topics as the site is not that organized. In fact it kind of looks like the internet threw up on a page. Despite Reddit's large dedicated following I would still recommend Stumbleupon to anyone who wants to kill an hour or two before work or class.
