What is the 'semantic web'? and How does it differ from web 3.0?

"The Semantic Web is an evolving extension of the World Wide Web in which the semantics of information and services on the web is defined, making it possible for the web to understand and satisfy the requests of people and machines to use the web content."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semantic_Web

Created by Tim Berners-Lee, the Semantic Web is about having data as well as documents on the Web so that machines can process, transform, assemble, and even act on the data in useful ways.

When comparing it to Web 3.0 it's slightly confusing as i think they are similar. Web 3.0 is the term that is used to describe the future of the World Wide Web, what it will be like when web 2.0 is further developed basically. We currently use 2.0.

The Semantic web it seem will play the role of transforming the web, increasing Internet connection speeds and the role that further developments in computer graphics may have in the development of the World Wide Web. (As stated above )

I think the Web 3.0 and the semantic don't differ dramatically but rather the role of these two against that of web 2.0.

Is there a potential problem being stored up for people if 'education' is tailored to fit into their cultural and personal preferences?

Without a doubt Yes.

How would people have a balanced and thorough education if they simply learned about the things they wanted to?

It's important for people to learn about their own cultural background or issues, however if they were the only ones to learn it how would the rest of the world learn to understand they ways and beliefs. I think its important for everyone to learn about a variety of cultural issues and beliefs in order to be well educated and also a fairly rounded person. The more you know about and learn about the easier it will be, to make new friends, introduce yourself into new surroundings, live an everyday life.

The opportunities to learn about a specific personal preference are endless, therefore if you have a personal interest in something you can pursue it. However this should be aside from formal education.
We live in a multi-enthic society in which it is important to have some understanding into their cultural ways in order for us to progress and avoid conflicts.
The result of a 'education' is tailored to fit into their cultural and personal preferences.................

a society of very ignorant people!!

What difference to all this might the 'digital divide' make?

To socioeconomically related access issues within a society?
The obvious argument to this is that the more and more we make this digital divide, the bigger the gap we are creating between that of the young generations and the older generations. Older generations are considered digital immigrants, looking at it pessimistically their behind the times, digital challenged and slow to learn. And when making the comparsion to the youth of today world, who are digitally enhanced, fast learners and at a constant competing level, they have no chance.

"Henry Jenkins suggested that talking about digital natives and digital immigrants will widen the gap between adults (Digital Immigrants) and the youths (Digital Natives) as the adults will be seen as out of touch and the youth will be seen as masterful therefore connoting that they are more powerful. And that this it will result in the contemporary youth been seen as feral, cut off from all adult influences."

This will have a powerful impact on education systems in schools, currently schools use the basic equipment allowing all students to participate and experience wengers communities of practice. Alot of Schools currently have IT rooms in which children and students work together sharing online learning experiences. However if we are to become completely digitally enhanced surely some students who do not have the added advantages of outside the classroom help, people will get left behind.


b) To global access issues across countries and regions?
This is a matter of addressing the already increasing divide between the western world and 3rd world countries. More and more each day countries such as America are furthering their digital technologies leaving countries such as Africa and India still struggling to find the basics, such as continual source of water.
The digital divide is already huge and if it is to further, it may cause communication issues. If countries move on to a new source of communication its quite likely they may leave another behind, this may lose or hinder countries relationships.

Prensky ideas on distance learning at first sound like a great idea, but it will ultimate alienate some potential audience. Taking into account comparing some people ability to access information over others.

How might Wenger's notions on practice communities relate to Prensky's on education?

"Communities of practice are formed by people who engage in a process of collective learning in a shared domain of human endeavour"
OR
"Communities of practice are groups of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly" (Wenger circa 2007)
http://www.infed.org/biblio/communities_of_practice.htm


Wenger suggests that Communities of practise (COP's) are bound together by their shared interests and their shared learning. They are also tied together in their need of development and progression.

Prensky thought heavily on education and it was his thoughts and beliefs on how we should be looking at a way of making education so it suits Digital Natives. He spoke about how we as individuals interact with technologies & how these may aid or hinder our education. To a native (quite likely a young student) anything is possible on the inet, to an immigrant (a teacher in schools) getting to grips & the pace of looking up information for our on means maybe a little more difficult.

Both Wenger and Prensky's theories relate in such a way that perhaps by using Wenger's COP's people of simular interests can come together and those that are digital natives (In prenskys theory) could learn and extend their own capabilites but at the same time teach that of the digital immgrants. Tieing together, as Wenger once said development and progression in a shared learning enviroment.

It is important ot realise that there may be issues concerning hierarcy. Using Prenskys idea of education it is possible a system like this may work in a school. Therefore in this COP's the usual hierarchy is reversed. Where normally we see the teacher sharing their knowledge with a student, the student will now be teaching the teacher. This may have a negative effect as the students will feel they are more powerful than the teachers in terms of technology and its usage.

This brings in the notion of 'If young people are more able to digitally 'connect' how can co-operation be included into 'education'?' Unfortuanly i think it will be a matter of teachers accepting and working alongside students in order to both further themselves and of course the student. There needs to be a level of co-operation.
It also suggests that perhaps there needs to be a balance for both the students and the teachers. Bringing digital aspects into their course but also using traditional methods such as books.

Is your Dad, Mum, elder sibling, boy/girlfriend part of your CofP?
I suppose nearly everyone is part of a COP. My brother is quite simular to myself. He attends Manchester University, and does a joint honours course. Therefore he moves between to sets of COP's in order to help him learn. In return he helps me when it comes to University subjects, he's either been there done that or getting ready to do it. Therefore its helpful, that on this particular area of our lives we are able to work together are learn new things.

Describe the experience of a fictional technophile student in 2020.

Jimmy, with a huge grin on his face, walks down from the Engine Shed stage. As he does so he trips over a Yellow cable running across the floor, as he stumbles his glasses fall from his face!!

"Dam Coaxial cable, the tubular insulating layer will now be ruined"

Jimmy is a technophile, and has just won the award for

"The Distinguished artist award for lifetime achievement in digital art. "

He's only 19!

Jimmy spends his day to day life, creating graphics and potential logos and themes for University.

Recently Jimmy decided to redecorate his room, he's rather proud of this , as student courts have traditionally been known as abit of a dive.

Jimmy strolls home through the courts after his night at the awards. Approaching his bedroom door, Jimmy shuffles in his pockets for "The remote".................. Jimmy's new invention.

Hitting his secret code ............. 0000.............. and enter. A series of automatic unlocking can be heard through the door.

As he enters his room, his new digital friend.. Susan ... repeats her daily line..... "Welcome Home Jimmy"

Of course his new system of automatic lights have all ready turned on, and he's pleased to see 'Roberta' ... his cleaning robot has folded and put his clothes away.

Tired from the night events, Jimmy gets undressed and gets into bed.

"Good night Jimmy" a voice echos

"Thanks susan", Jimmy replies and dozzes off to sleep.

Describe the daily frustrations of a fictional neo-luddite at university now in the UK.

"WAKE UP, WAKE UP, WAKE UP" bethany's mum calls from the kitchen... "Your 15 minutes late"
"Dam it" said beth. She didnt know how to set her alarm clock! It was leaving day, Beth was leaving for University. Her flight for East Midlands left in less than an hour, but it was ok, beth felt cool, prepared and ready for this big adventure. There was only one thing that was niggling away in the back of her mind...... She'd never flown on her own before.


DISH.... DASH ... "oh excuse me......... please move.... uhhh wheres check in for East Midlands, anyone... "
"Grrrr humph, get outta my way love, read the screen!!!" said a heavily bearded man.

Beth reached her departure gate, and shifted threw her bag for her flight tickets. She hands them to the the smiling lady behind the desk. Slowly her smile disappears and she says, "Am sorry dear, you were suppose to check in online with these tickets"
Beth signs ands says, "But I don't know how" the lady unsympathetically says "Well it'll cost £5 each way to book in here."

Once in East Midlands airport, beth spends an hour waiting on bus, she could have spent ten minutes if she'd looked up the times on the internet before she left!
The rest of her journey wasnt much better!

Beth arrives at on Lincoln Campus, surrounded by hundreds of freshers, carrying bags and suitcases she stands clueless in the middle of the car park. Lincoln University's website provides all the information of where and when beth had to be at her accomodation, but she'd missed out on that because she was too busy writing a letter to her aunt margret.

A fresh faced student approaches beth, " hi, are you ok there?"
"Am looking for my accomodation" says Beth with a hopeful look that some one might actually know what she's suppose to be doing.

The young girl, named Jenny, looks up beths details and takes her to her new room, " There you go, sort your things out, and heres a few leaflets. "Heres one on the Uni, however this one (she hands a yellow form to beth) is important, it gives you all the information and log in details of how to set up your internet, and also i need you to email me over your inventory after you've checked out your room" And then she left!

"Oh shit" thought Beth!! There was internet cables, TV cables, sockets in the wall with round holes and square holes, all this information on sheet saying something about:
"www." and windows set up, transfer your settings, use the numbers 78384738 and XYZ"

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Theres a knock on the door, it's jenny.. " Oh and you'll find your Uni Timetable on student portal"


" The student what??

I need mum, beth thought! And headed out to look for a pay phone. No she didnt have a moblie.

Beth missed lectures, lost out on nights out, became out of touch with her family and ended up a social outcast.

A person known to you, who most threatens the notion of native/immigrant in digital culture.

Ok i think its fair to say that my friend Sarah, previously mentioned, fits into this notion of threatening native/immigrant in digital culture.
Sarah's age, 19, suggests that she should be a digital native as like myself she as grown up surrounded by new digital technologies. She has also been very privledged to have been giving the opportunity to experience all these new technologies. From internet, mobile phones, playstations,digital cameras, nintendo DS's, the first MP3 players, the first Ipods to the latest developed Ipods and recently recieved the Wii and Wii Fit.

It sounds like she should be very digitally advanced but she just not. She has basic skills of the internet and uses the social networking page, bebo (only as a worry she'll be left out). Whilst encouraging her to visit me in Lincoln, I have had to go online to book flights has she seems stuck to what to do.
Digital cameras great for taking photos, but uploading on to the computer??? And whilst she loves music, Itunes isn't in her vocabulary. Therefore her Ipod is only updated when i visit home.

The point of this is to understand that just because she has grown up in an age dominated by new media doesnt mean she is naturally a digital native. Something that is assumed by theorist Prensky has he bases his definitions on age groups and generations in society.