Primal Foment

I had the good fortune a couple of weeks ago to stumble across two online communities, Classroom 2.0 and Library 2.0, where there are some really interesting conversations going on about the implications of Web technologies in education and information management.  This kind of activity feels so reminiscent to me of the best things about the Internet 1.0 era.  At the beginning of that period, a variety of broad based tools emerged, message boards, Web content, search, etc.  As those broad tools gained mass adoption, people with vertical specialization (personal finance, news, lifestyle, ...) found ways to customize those broad tools and deploy them to great effect within their verticals.  The conversations going on in these communities are the exciting tip of the Iceberg, as we find a way to do the same in the Web 2.0 for education.  For a great example of the foment, check out this terrific article by Elyssa Kroski in Choice Magazine (you will have to register to see it).  While its great for its designed purpose of helping library professionals understand the new developments on the Web, I'd recommend you give it to anyone who wants to, but does not yet, get all the fuss about Web 2.0.