On Education 2.0
How Web 2.0 is unleashing a revolution in how we teach, learn, and interact
 At our recent Worldwide Education & Research Conference, I attempted to answer the question, "What is Education 2.0?" Or, to put it another way, what is the impact on teaching and learning of the phenomenon called Web 2.0?
It's clear that the tools and technologies that enable Web 2.0 are causing a revolution in education. As I travel to campuses around the world, I'm struck by other trends as well — such as the globalization of teaching and learning, and the emergence of the new generation of student "digital natives" on campus.
To me, Web 2.0 is not a noun; it's a verb. Web 2.0 is how we use the Web as opposed to what it is. Web 2.0 is a paradigm shift in how people interact over the Web. Web 1.0 was all about one-to-many communication. People put up Web sites for other people to view. There's really no interaction. In contrast, you could think of Web 2.0 as "the participatory Web." It emphasizes collaboration, sharing, and community. Users don't just passively read it — they contribute to it.
Education 2.0 happens when Web 2.0 technologies — blogs, podcasts, social networking, and even gaming –are used to enhance traditional approaches. For example, more than 60 universities have set up presences on Second Life (a virtual world environment), perhaps to attract some of the 4.3 million people around the world who have become "residents." I took the plunge and joined. You can see my avatar at the top of this article.
Globalization Fuels Education 2.0
Part of what's fueling Education 2.0 is globalization. More and more universities are establishing global presences, and some, like MIT with its OpenCourseWare, are making their resources available to students all over the world.
Others are establishing physical campuses beyond their home shores. Nottingham University in the U.K. has opened a branch campus in Shanghai. Rochester Institute of Technology, one of the premier engineering schools in the U.S., has opened a branch campus in Croatia. Monash University in Australia has a branch campus in Malaysia. Singapore has successfully recruited Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and University of Munich to establish branch campuses. In fact, by 2012 Singapore hopes to attract an additional 150,000 students to the city-state to receive technical degrees.
Some countries are establishing Knowledge Centers. Dubai's Knowledge Village houses branch campuses of Middlesex University, Ireland's Royal College of Surgeons Ireland, India's Mahatma Gandhi University, and the St. Petersburg State University of Engineering and Economics. Qatar's Education City includes outposts of Carnegie Mellon University, Weill Cornell Medical College, Georgetown School of Foreign Service, and Texas A&M.
Students today are anxious to broaden their education by venturing across borders. According to Newsweek, the number of students studying abroad has grown at an annual rate of 3.9 percent, from 800,000 in 1975 to 2.5 million in 2004. Foreign students earn 30 percent of doctoral degrees in the U.S. and 38 percent in the U.K.
Universities are encouraging this trend. In Europe, more than 140,000 students participate in the Erasmus program each year, taking courses for credit from 2,200 participating institutions. The Bologna Process is creating a "European higher education area" by harmonizing academic degree standards and quality assurance standards throughout Europe. There are 45 member states.
Digital Natives
Who are these globe-trotting, podcasting students? Marc Prensky from the University of North Carolina calls them "digital natives." Those of us who grew up before the technology explosion "digital immigrants." Digital immigrants are more deliberate, focused, and text-based. We might print out emails to read them, whereas a digital native will just read it on a screen.
For digital natives, everything is about speed and multitasking. Technology is second nature to them. They're very comfortable with using different media at the same time. They can study while watching TV, listening to music, and sending instant messages to their friends.
Digital natives — sometimes called "millennials" — will make up the majority of your student body and are going to be making up a big portion of the workforce over the next 10 years. They're a bigger portion of the population than even the baby boomers. And because a college degree is a requirement to get a good job today, there will more and more demand for spots in the higher education system. The good news is an increase in tuition revenue. The more challenging news: bigger demands on campus housing, class size, and IT infrastructure.
What Does This Mean for Campus IT?
How do you allow more students and researchers to cross physical and virtual borders so that they can share, participate, and collaborate? It's all about the content. Educational institutions are finding and implementing new ways to store, manage, search — and protect — massive amounts of content.
At the same time that you're trying to put more content and services on the network — and be more open — you must also protect the network from attack and manage the changing roles of your population. You don't want privileged student information getting out.
All of this could cause your datacenter to grow 10-fold. That's not an option in these eco- and budget-conscious times.
A tall order, to be sure. Fortunately, Sun has solutions. Be sure to check out the Inside Technology article in this issue for an overview of Sun's new 10 GbE Networking Technology, which delivers secure and improved application performance while lowering cost.
And tour Project Blackbox on YouTube — another exciting Sun solution (a virtualized datacenter in a shipping container) presented in a new medium. The advent of Education 2.0 means that it's a new world on campus, and Sun can help you make the most of it.
Sincerely yours,
Kim Jones
VP, Global Education, Government, and Health Sciences
Questions or comments? Please email education_news@sun.com
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