Did We Miss the Arrival of Web 3.0?

"I am he as you are he as you are me and we are all together."
From I Am the Walrus by the Beatles

Web 3.0: Live, Free, and Interactive

I'm of the growing opinion, that when the read-write web is harnessed for live broadcasts, it's symptomatic of Web 3.0. When these broadcasts are produced by amateurs, at low or no cost, and when remote participants can join in from practically anywhere on the globe, I'm convinced that the World Wide Web has made the leap!

Perhaps it all began most fervently with the recent inauguration of U.S. President Barack Obama, which was simulcast live, on television, radio, and the Internet. At the same time, witnesses to this event were sharing their experiences in text, photography, audio and video... and the traditional media was inviting our participation!

As I write this, I'm watching the live launch of a new Twitter client:Seesmic Desktop, and even though the product may fizzle, the fact that any developer can broadcast live to the Web at a moment's notice, should make us sit up and take notice.

Other well known online entities are also joining in. A few weeks ago, the TED Prize was broadcast live on a crystal clear stream, via the web.

My brother Todd, recently returned from the G20 Summit where he reported in audio, video and text, the goings on as they happened, along with 49 other global bloggers.

Educators like Alec Couros, regularly broadcast live conference and classroom presentations to UStream, and where last year, such a broadcast would have required a camera-equipped computer and a robust wifi connection; today these broadcasts can happen via a well equipped mobile phone with apps like UStream and Qik.

Another of my brothers, Tom, regularly broadcasts the work of independent musicians and is experimenting with feeding other events live from his bar, Phog Lounge, in Windsor, Ontario.

The exploding popularity of Twitter, and the judicious use of hashtags, is leading to the live broadcast of sports; the instant reporting of environmental disasters; and as-it-happens documentation of courtroom dramas.

No matter where you may be, or what you might be experiencing, the interwoven mesh of digital networks is making it possible for your time and space to be shared with a global audience... and what's more, these events invite our remote participation on back-channels!

To paraphrase Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz "Toto, I don't think we're in Web 2.0 any more!"

Photo Credit: G20 Voice; Aaron Booth

What is Blogging? Live from the G20 Summit

How did my genes come to be at the G20 Summit? Well, my twin brother, Todd Lucier is over there as one of 50 global bloggers invited by G20 Voice to cover the event. What a coup! Here Todd explains what blogging is all about, and though many of the bloggers there know this, his explanation serves to contrast the differences between traditional journalism, and online journalism.



How Todd came to be in London, and what he's discovering about social media, made a good audio story for CBC Radio: Sudbury.



Coincidentally, this explanation is exactly what was missed when I attended "The Future of News" with another brother, Tom Lucier, earlier this week in Windsor.

If you're interested in following more of what's happening at the G20 Summit, you can follow Todd's on-the-scene posts at Climate Cafe. If you tune in at the right time, you can also catch live activity via the G20 Voice webcast or via Todd's Qik site. On Twitter, you can follow @g20voice & @toddlucier among others.

Billion Channel Universe

On Saturday evening, my brother Todd happened by with his Qik equipped iPhone. Although the technology is not yet ready for release to the iTunes App Store, it is easy to see how this technology will be another educational 'game-changer'.

Think about the magnitude of this change:

"Anyone with a mobile device, will soon be able to broadcast live to the web from wherever they are! And anyone with a web-enabled device will be able to watch the feed from wherever they are!"

- provide live updates from a field trip
- simulcast from a concert
- report from a sporting event
- provide updates from the site of a news event
- share traffic and weather updates from anywhere

So as Todd and I chatted about the need for education; industry; and John Q. Public to become aware of such technologies, we couldn't help but use the tool to share our discussion... broadcast live (and recorded) from my dining room table, in Komoka, Ontario.

Out of this World!

Watching Phoenix landing near the poles of Mars via 'SpaceVidcast' is something that was possible on Sunday via the MarsPhoenix feed on Twitter and UStream.tv.

Would this learning experience have been available in classrooms... on short notice?


7 Minutes of Terror - The Phoenix Mars Lander from SpaceVidcast on Vimeo. And Clarence Fisher reminds me that the Wikipedia Entry is now up-to-date.

Photos, Twitter Feed, and a Teacher 2.0 Podcast on the event are also available.

'Erase' the Chalkboard

Like David Warlick, let's go far beyond PowerPoint in making use of the data projector:

"I’m trying something different today in my Web 2.0 workshop. I’m going PowerPoint’less. No don’t get me wrong. This is not an indictment of PowerPoint. I do not believe that PowerPoint is evil. This is something that Stephen Heppell taught me the other day, and he used it so masterfully, that I thought I’d give it a try. I’ll explain in more detail — if it works ;-)"

This leap to using the data projector for something far more dynamic than the traditional PowerPoint presentation is a jump that is foreign to too many educators. I agree that PowerPoint can be a useful learning tool if it is used well... but it usually employs a very static "look at what I have to say" learning strategy.



We can approach the goal of 'erasing the chalkboard' once teachers learn to use the projector as a teaching tool for:

a] thinking interactively with applications like 'Smart Ideas' or 'Inspiration';
b] exploring the world with web applications like Google Earth;
c] viewing today's front page news via Newseum(see what issues are important around the world);
d] experiencing artwork on a large scale from the Louvre (or other museums and galleries);
e] evesdropping on animals or visiting remote locations via live web cameras around the world;
f] participating in live (or recorded) video-conferences (Skype, UStream, Adobe Connect...);
g] collaborating with others via the read/write web (writing/blogging/wiki development)
h] engaging social learning networks via Flickr, Twitter, YouTube
i] creating/critiquing media en masse (e.g., critically assessing/editing your class newsletter/website/podcast)
j] following global news live (the Olympics; science expeditions; tragedies...)

The coloured slide strategy may be better than chalk, but it fails to harness the potential of the technology. Use the data projector for richer purposes, and we will nurture authentic interactive relationships with people and ideas from around the globe!

Kudos to David for trying a new trick... Here's hoping that other workshop presenters will encourage teachers to do the same by modeling other uses of this transformative tool. Let's be 'smart' about our 'boards': You can still use your prepared PowerPoint presentation, but don't do so at the exclusion of the world beyond your classroom.

Will Richardson in London

Had a great learning opportunity today... The workshop was hosted on ustream. If you're available, join us!