Web 2.0 – The democratisation of the world of learning
In the space of only ten years the internet has completely changed the world of work. With the introduction of Web 2.0 this trend will continue to progress, and the information superhighway will become further deregulated, leading to the democratisation of the internet.
Western countries are seeing a shift from industry to a knowledge-based economy. With the belief that better training leads to better productivity, more and more money is being invested in training and research. Access to the internet is now recognised as being an essential part of corporate and social integration. Web 2.0 technicians could create a significant business revolution in the market for knowledge-intensive products and services.
The meaning of Web 2.0
The comparatively easy manageability of the World Wide Web has led to the internet being developed into a mass phenomenon. The term “Web 2.0” incorporates applications which, through technical concepts, facilitate the active participation of users. This has led to significant changes in the way the internet is used. The amount of content available and the potential business partners, collaborations and contacts are endless. Web 2.0 can therefore be seen as a metaphor for the public sharing of information on the internet (Social Software) and the consequent further development of the Web.
The potential of Web 2.0
Web 2.0 opens up countless possibilities for interaction. Linked internet diaries (blogs), collaborative websites (wikis), new forms of product recommendations (through user reviews), new forms of exploitation of knowledge by collaboratively creating and managing tags to annotate and categorise content (folksonomies), as well as the ability to share and comment on content (for example videos, photos, podcasts), have all become more and more popular and accepted. Furthermore, new cultural practices have arisen, for example in terms of communication, a lot has been learnt from analysing user data, and this will change teaching and learning methods. This is especially relevant to informal learning, which is already gaining more prestige and popularity in the work environment.
Challenge: “digital division”
With Web 2.0 it is no longer about simple consumption, but the active creation of content, communication and social interaction in communities. This leads to participation-based use of the internet that implies a certain autonomy and co-determination on the part of the user. This therefore requires enhanced educational policies and combined efforts for the provision of essential skills for people to be able to use the innovative design possibilities of Web 2.0. Nowadays, the much talked about “digital division” is less of a division in terms of access to technology than a new form of a divide in terms of knowledge and training which, given the increasing importance of the internet, needs to be confronted. The ability to have access to the whole world, as well as the possibility for companies and institutions to use the internet to their competitive advantage, requires close integration and interaction in terms of staff development and training, knowledge acquisition and work processes.