e-Learning 3.0

I'm excited by the future. It's something I have always looked forward to! But what will e-learning look like in a few years time? When Stephen Downes laid down his manifesto for e-Learning 2.0 in 2005, he tapped into the zeitgeist of emerging social technologies and theorised a number of possibilities. Four years on technology is moving ever more rapidly, and a reappraisal of learning within digital spaces is overdue.


In conversation earlier today on Twitter with Sue Waters and Darcy Moore, we discussed what learning would look like in a Web 3.0 world, and how it might differ from current learning. This led me to revisit some thinking I have been doing recently about what for the sake of convenience I will call 'e-Learning 3.0'. I will try to encapsulate some of these thoughts here, attempt some (hopefully not too dangerous) predictions, and hopefully promote some discussion. I believe that e-Learning 3.0 will have at least four key drivers:

1. Distributed computing


2. Extended smart mobile technology


3. Collaborative intelligent filtering


4. 3D visualisation and interaction
   

Firstly, in a Web 3.0 world we will not only tap into the semantic web with all it promises, but e-Learning 3.0 will transgress the boundaries of traditional institutions, and there will be an increase in self-organised learning. Why? Because we will gain easier access to the tools and services that enable us to personalise our learning, and these will be aggregated more easily too. Additionally, with new cloud computing and increased reliability of data storage and retrieval, the mashup is a viable replacement for the portal which will lead to less reliance on centralised provision. This in turn may hasten the death of the ailing institutional VLE.

Secondly, many commentators such as Derek Baird believe that Learning 3.0 is all about mobile technologies. Mobiles will play a big part in the story of e-Learning 3.0. There will need to be ubiquitous access to tools, services and learning resources, including people - peer learning group, subject specialists and expert support. With smart phone devices and better connectivity through constantly improving line-of-sight (satellite and wireless) networking services, there is little to stop learners everywhere from accessing what they need on the move, from virtually anywhere on the planet. Digital divides of the future will not focus on 'have and have not' socio-economic divides, but will more likely be 'will and will not' psychological divides, and 'can and cannot' skills divides.

Thirdly, truly collaborative learning will be possible in all contexts. Through predictive filtering and massively multi-user participative features, e-Learning 3.0 will make collaborating across distance much easier. With the best will in the world, very little collaborative learning occurs through the use of wikis and blogs, whilst social networks generally connect people but often superficially, and can also isolate. In a recent post entitled Is Twitter the semantic web?, I speculated on Twitter's functionality and suggested that through its primitive filtering tools such as RT, DM, @ and #tagging, we are witnessing some of the early semantic features that enable users to work smarter and more collaboratively. Intelligent agents will take this a lot farther.

Finally, 3D visualisation will become more readily available. Quicker processing speeds and higher screen resolutions will provide opportunities for smoother avatar-driven 3D interaction. Multi-gesture devices which will operate in 3D space will also become more widely available, reminiscent of the opening scenes of the science fiction film Minority Report. Touch surface interfaces are already here (I have one on my laptop) and multi-touch versions too (my iPhone has one) which will ultimately signal the demise of the mouse and keyboard. See David Beers blog for more on these ideas. 3D multi-touch interfaces will make a whole range of tasks easier including file management, fine motor-skill interaction, exploration of virtual spaces and manipulation of virtual objects.

If Web 1.0 was the 'Write Web' and Web 2.0 is the 'Read/Write Web', then Web 3.0 will be the 'Read/Write/Collaborate Web'. But it will not only promote learning that is more richly collaborative, it will also enable learners to come closer to 'anytime anyplace' learning and will provide intelligent solutions to web searching, document management and organisation of content.

These are my thoughts on what I think e-Learning 3.0 will look like. Some may think I am barking up the wrong tree, and others may think I'm simply barking. Inevitably some will disagree with some of what I think, whilst others may point out some glaring omissions. Fine - this is just my first stab at this. Let's discuss and see what we can come up with to extend and/or perfect this wish list - collaboratively.





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