Reflection on a facebook group (Web 3.0) PART II

What does the discussion board reveal?

I followed a discussion thread in defining web 3.0. Some of the users were experts in technology in general, others were specialists in web based technologies who posted meaningful comments and whose contribution enriched the members' knowledge. As in every community, there were people who posted superficial comments which indicate their shallow knowledge in the field. They were engaged in the discussion only to establish a presence.

Members' expectations of joining the groups differ. Some of them work to provide the others with their personal thoughts of web 3.0. They base their contributions on no grounds and they are writing to impress the other members and to gain a social status in this e-community. Others, are deviating from the main lines adding commentaries or new posts that are irrelevant to the main goals of establishing the group. On the other hand, it is impressive to find dedicated members who do research in order to share their findings with the others. I found such kind of members giving the weight to the group, allowing it to survive and attracting more people to join the community.

Although I ended up more bewildered than before because of the huge range of explanations due to the fact that conclusions are impossible at the moment, web 3.0 technologies are not yet released, I felt no regret of joining the group. This feeling is the result of finding some people working sincerely to define or forecast some of the features of the new technology. In addition to the definition set up by the moderate of web 3.0 as three dimensional, some claimed to hear in conferences that this generation is the "me". A member called " Manoj Joshi", for instance, explained this me as " it's no longer about going to your business networking site or our business networking site. It's about creating my own virtual experience or virtual network, built by me, for me, and that is my view of my social universe. " Some definitions made me in doubt of previous understanding of web 2.0. The member, Jean Russel, defined web 1.0 as information, web 2.0 as participation and web 3.0 as collaboration. This response contradicts the previously mentioned definition-web 3.0 is me- and my knowledge that web 2.0 also involves cooperation.

Such groups that allow much space to personal opinions make the user unable to use them as credible source of information. But, what is useful about them is that using critical thinking in selecting the most meaningful contributions and following the links if provided to check for more trusted sources of information.

My Reflection on Facebook Groups:

Reflection on Facebook Groups: Web3.0 group

Why did I select this group?

I remember that Alan was interested in some information we found about web 3.0 when we were browsing for information about web 2.0 in class. Unfortunately, that article did not say more than that its writer is in bewilderment of what Web 3.0 is going to be about. My googling for other useful articles was in vain. Thus, it was a chance for me for both fulfilling the requirement of writing my reflection about facebook and finding useful stuff about Web 3.0. I used the search box by typing the words "Web 3.0" and I found this group entitled "Web 3.0." In the following lines I will mention some the impressions and findings.

General impression

There are around 13000 members who joined this group. I don't want to mention they were exactly 12930 because the number keeps in increasing. It seems that there were so many people from different backgrounds share the same interest. In the main page, there was a section that revealed that 4 of the group administrators are from Canada and one from India. From the names of two of the Canadian- located administrators it was suggested that they are originally from the middle east or the Indian sub continent.

The group in general is open to everyone interested, but what is really thrilling is that such a group gathered people from all over the world who can interact, socialize with experts in the field. Linking the members directly to the other members' profiles indicates that the user exists within a community which with no doubt offers the potential of making friendships with them and moves back and forth to the group.

By the way Ridvan was displayed as one of the 8 members in the group in the section that displays members. It was a good chance to start with someone I already knew to make a bigger network of friends. You might ask me then have you made others friends so far? My answer is no although others look nice from their pictures. So, this is another feature that facebook offers. I have subscribed to many Yahoo and Google groups in which persons are only represented in Nicknames while facebook group is more likely to mimic actual social networks.

Two more things about the main page. First, there is information displayed in the top left corner . It is one or two words description of web 1.0, web 2.0 and web 3.0 listing them in order. Web 1.0 was described as black and white, web 2.0 as color and web 3.0 as 3d. These descriptions are quite impressive and indicate to the new user that this group is well organized, brief and well structured.

The second thing is the recent news section just below the mentioned section. Contrary to the rest of the sections, this part gives a negative impression. The most recent news is dated back to October 15, 2007 which might deceive the user that this group is dead and not updated. To eliminate my worries, I checked the discussion board and realized that the group is active.

To be continued for more specific issues….

I know what I have mentioned is general about facebook groups, but I felt there is a need to describe my impressions.

Communication Technology For Oman Schools

MUSCAT - Hundred schools in the country will be provided with modern communication technology under an agreement signed here between the Information Technology Authority (ITA) and Huawei Tech Investment Oman.

As per terms of the memorandum of understanding, Huawei will contribute to the development of the educational system in the Sultanate through providing wireless LAN connectivity to 100 government schools. It will also transfer expertise to 35 Omani technicians for installation and equipment configuration.

Dr Salim Al Ruzaiqi, CEO of ITA and Leo Chen, General Manager, Huawei signed the agreement in the presence of Pan Weifang, ambassador of China to the Sultanate.

“Information Technology Authority is keen to support this mission of Huawei for the community of Oman and we are glad to act as facilitators between the government institutions and the private sector to enhance ICT facilities in the Sultanate under the ambitious eOman vision,” Ruzaiqi said.

Weifang lauded the rapid progress made by the country’s ICT sector through the efforts taken by ITA, and through this project, he added, Huawei was taking a solid step in promoting technology in Oman. “Huawei is an international company serving Oman for the last six years … We are keen to undertake this initiative and act as a catalyst in contributing to the development of the entire nation by leveraging the ICT sector,” Chen said.

Link:

http://www.khaleejtimes.com/darticlen.asp?xfile=data/middleeast/2009/February/middleeast_February37.xml&section=middleeast

Oman introduces world's first collaborative learning solution for K12 students with Microsoft's Live@edu portal

High school students in Oman are to be the first in the world to enjoy the benefits of collaborative learning following a unique initiative from Microsoft and Oman's Ministry of Education.

The two organizations came together today at the Gulf Leadership Forum in Abu Dhabi to sign an agreement that will bring advanced online services to a target of 650,000 students.

This is a turnkey project bringing technology that had only been previously offered to university students to a younger age group for the first time.

'This is a great achievement for the region and also for Microsoft. Oman's Ministry of Education is setting the standard for the world to follow, bringing advanced connectivity and collaborative learning resources to students at an early age, thereby increasing their ability to compete in the future job market. We are proud to be a partner with the Government of Oman, and we remain committed to supporting the development of human capacity in the region,' said Charbel Fakhoury - General Manager, Microsoft Gulf.

Present at the signing ceremony were Ralph Young, Vice President, Worldwide Public Sector Microsoft, Dr Salim Sultan Al Ruzaiqi, Chief Executive Officer of Oman's Information Technology Authority (ITA), Charbel Fakhoury, General Manager, Microsoft Gulf and Abdullah Lootah, Country Manager Microsoft Oman. Also present were Khalid Al Siyabi IT Director, Ministry of Education Oman who supervised the project in partnership with Microsoft.

'Our education portal will allow students, teachers and parents to gain access to all the rich resources that the education system in Oman possesses. This will help us to develop a pool of young talent that will support the continuing growth of our economy and the success of our nation for the future,' said Dr Rawiyah bint Saud Al Busaidiyah Minster for Higher Education.

The new solution will initially offer services to some 230,000 students from the first quarter of 2008. It will provide a free email service, messaging servies, 5GB of storage and up to 1 GB of password-protected online storage space, automatic e-mail reply, and IP address white listing, which keeps e-mail messages sent from university mail servers from getting caught in spam filters.

Using Microsoft's innovative solution, it allows every student in Oman to upload Microsoft Office documents and grant collaboration permission to other students and educators, allowing schools to give their students and educators a new, free option for organizing research or class assignments or working with classmates or colleagues.

'We selected Microsoft's solution because of its long term commitment to Oman, which is highlighted in many joint initiatives in capacity building we have embarked on in the past. Microsoft's solution is also easy and efficient to maintain, and brings supplementary value in terms of storage space, technical services and local support,' said Khalid Al Siyabi, IT Director, Ministry of Education Oman.

The education system of Oman, including its schools, universities and academies, uses Microsoft solutions across all areas of its operations. The new live@edu portal will be installed on the existing .Net platform. The Ministry aims to bring extend the portal to some 650,000 students in the future.

Since Microsoft Live@edu launched in March 2005, more than 400 schools from more than 30 countries have chosen the Live@edu suite.
Link :
http://www.ameinfo.com/145135.html

Hello Everyone. This is Fahad's blog.
I'd like first to introduce myself. My Name is Fahad Al Hatmi. I am from Oman which is located in the middle east. The country is bordered by the United Arab Emirates from the north, Saudi Arabia from the west and Yemen from the south.
I was born in Ibri in the interior of Oman. My areas of interest are computers and internet. Because of my fond of computers and my profession as a teacher I have selected this module to study in this semester. I believe that an educator should cope with the rapid changes in technology and upgrade his/her knowledge to be successful in his/her field.