Blogs

Google Wave is a web-based application that represents a rethinking of electronic communication. Users create online spaces called “waves,” which include multiple discrete messages and components that constitute a running, conversational document. Users access waves through the web, resulting in a model of communication in which rather than sending separate copies of multiple messages to different people, the content resides in a single space. Wave offers a compelling platform for personal learning environments because it provides a single location for collecting information from diverse sources while accommodating a variety of formats, and it makes interactive coursework a possibility for nontechnical students.

Universities have served important functions in society for more than a thousand years. They have done so in part by creating places that promote reflection, discussion, discovery and learning. For many people, the university-as-place is central to the purposes of the university. The university is also an idea and, increasingly, ideas—in the Internet—have enormous power to stimulate learning and discovery. Indeed, what many now describe as “Web 2.0” is a view that the web is evolving into a social environment that has the potential to extend the influence and reach of institutions and individuals.

In the latest issue of EDUCAUSE Quarterly, large and small campuses report on their green IT initiatives, from awards won to measuring progress to best practices across campus affecting desktop systems to the data center. EDUCAUSE Quarterly is also available via RSS feed. Click the orange RSS graphic on the EDUCAUSE Quarterly home page to access the XML required to subscribe.