Today, it is evident that computers play an essential role in the lives of our generation. From using the Internet as an educational tool, to simply updating a status on Facebook, teens spend on average 30 hours a week on the computer. Because our generation is capable of using a computer so effortlessly, in a Web 2.0 world, we can use the Internet and computers as an educational facility. Jimmy Wales, creator and founder of Wikipedia (a free online encyclopedia that anyone can edit), believed the same thing. With over 2 million articles written in various languages on this website, learning can encourage the use of digital media. Remember the days when searching up a topic was a tedious task that could take days? Thanks to Wikipedia, within seconds, we are able to search up a topic about virtually anything. With that being said, the ultimate education experience would most definitely incorporate computers in the classroom. This brilliant man's dream does not only stop at an online encyclopedia; in his presentation, he mentioned the creation of free online textbooks. This would be a major step in our education, especially for underprivileged children who do not have the finances to purchase these textbooks. Nicholas Negroponte , founder and chairman of the One Laptop per Child non-profit organization, has dedicated his life to helping these children become educated. And what better way to do that than to expose them to the Web 2.0? In his presentation, Kevin Kelly revealed that the Web is doubling in power every two years. By giving these children a laptop, Mr. Negroponte is expanding their learning resources to a tool that will, by 2040, become more powerful than the human brain. This tool has given us the opportunity to learn and share our ideas, and in addition to Nicholas, Jimmy and Kevin, I believe we should let it.
The Web 2.0 is a very powerful tool. It consists of Net applications that allow us to file share, file receive and communicate with people all around the world. Fifty years ago, this idea would have sounded absurd. However, today, we are getting used to the idea that nothing is impossible. Sharing our ideas via Web is something our generation has become accustomed to. For example, I have personally shared my ideas and notes to my Sociology class. In our class notes folder, we can find the notes taken by all the students that will essentially aid the other students in understanding the content more in depth. However, our ideas don't need to stop at being shared with a classroom. The Web 2.0 has allowed our ideas to reach as far as those underprivileged children that have been given a laptop in third world countries. Consequently, our thoughts are not only shared with the twenty pupils in our class, but they are also shared with the people of the world. You may be wondering how exactly this will help us learn. The answer is simple: growth. Similarly to how Jimmy Wales and his volunteer team at Wikipedia share their information with the world, everyone can emulate their example and educate each other. To be more specific, because of the Web 2.0, we no longer have one teacher in a confined classroom, but 40 million of them linking their ideas to this state-of-the-art tool. A person's creativity is now able to help someone, somewhere out there. By sharing your ideas with the world, you are no longer a discovering student; you are a teacher contributing to the growth of our world. Watch this video to see the future of our digital nation.
