EDUCAUSE Review Articles and Wiki

Web 2.0 is redefining what and how and with whom we learn. For example, in Wikipedia, “knowledge” is constructed by negotiating compromises among various points of view. This raises numerous questions: How do we in higher education help students understand the differences between facts, opinions, and values—and how do we help them appreciate the interrelationships that create “meaning”?

As the second decade of the public Internet reveals a desire for immediate access to greater certitude, CIOs and other campus leaders have an opportunity to rethink how questions find answers that are good enough or quick enough for the context of need.

Given the demands of teaching, service, and research, faculty are today expected to embrace learning technologies along with everything else, challenging the institution to help them make sense of what works and how to work it.

Making knowledge services work in higher education will depend on developments in technology and also on a variety of commitments—academic, institutional, commercial, and public policy—undertaken by a small cadre of innovative institutions and leaders.

Web 1.0 has demonstrated immense powers for connecting learners, teachers, and materials. How much more broadly will this connective matrix grow under the impact of the openness, ease of entry, and social nature of Web 2.0?

The needs met by "wikis"—documents posted online for open editing by all—are simply not being satisfied by present IT strategies and tools.