The concept of Web 3.0 and Web 2.0 technologies and applications in educational institutes has remained noticeable and prominent in the education sector in recent years. Web 3.0 is sometimes referred to as the ‘semantic web’, ‘3D web’ or ‘spatial web’. It is about using new technology to add meaning to content and developing methods to interact with our environment. In the semantic web, content will find you. Rather than you seeking information based on, say, keywords, your activities and interests will determine how information finds you and the format you need, and display it within your preferred channel.
Figure showing theoretical vs. real web evolution: researchgate.net
Web 3.0 builds on earlier phases:
Web 1.0 can be considered as ‘read only’ – information is published to a website where users can read and search for information, but there is no opportunity to easily share or interact with it.
Web 2.0 can be thought of as ‘read and write’ – it provides social networking tools such as blogs and wikis. It focuses on its ability to bring people together, share knowledge and facilitate communication. It also facilitates collaborative learning and teamwork.
The problem with Web 1.0 and Web 2.0 is that information is chaotic and unstructured, limiting the ability to retrieve relevant and accurate information. Web 3.0 promises to solve these problems.
As Per Blake-Plock “The first is the development of a semantic web. Computers are [not good] at contextualizing. But there's no reason they couldn't be. Going forward into the semantic web, rather than searching for a word or category, we could search with a computer in a way that we would have a conversation with another human, albeit a human with the computational capacity of all of the networked computers in the world.
The second part is where semantic intelligent computing interacts with the physical world. We see that in technology today. Google Goggles allows you to scan the physical world and do instant visual analysis against everything on the web. We're talking about the future of everything from eyewear that allows for digital connection to smart clothing that tracks a patient's heart rate or blood pressure.”
So what Is Web 3.0 and how that will look like:
The following is a brief summary of some of the key developments that will change the way users find information.
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is self-learning programmes that can learn and evolve on their own, for example, track the habits of users and provide search results that suit their preferences.
Personalisation
Users will be able to enter their preferences and interests, and the computer will customise and provide information that fit these criteria – user profiles will function like a virtual avatar that represents them and their interests online.
Internet of things
The internet of things is the connection of everyday devices to the internet. For example, sensor-equipped and networked devices such as office equipment, printers and vehicles. It means that users will be able to connect to the internet and manage information from anywhere.
Virtualisation
Users can interact with their environment using virtual environments and augmented reality – search results are not restricted to text-only inputs – you can search by inputs via 3D objects or images. The physical world can be interacted with interfaces such as smart glasses and voice where the digital and physical layers are merged.
Decentralised computing
With Web 3.0, computing power is not confined to a few central servers that provide content. Instead, computing power is shared across multiple servers. An example of this is blockchain technologies where information is distributed across many devices. This means that information can be held very securely and is not dependent on a single provider.
Graph from article on what is Web 3.0 and why it matters
So how does Web 3.0 in Education Technology will look like?
Traditionally, the school stakeholders need to talk to a unified Tech companies which host the application on a server which is virtually controlled by third party to School. All the school assets are relied on one single point of contact. Legally the data belongs to School but the shareability are always confined to the feature developed on hosted application. Also, as the devices which are used by Faculty and students are not contextual in true sense the output are generalized and not user specific. This create challenges as the user specific development of students becomes a challenge. Also, the data evidences are not automated and teachers are forced to work as administrator.
These will change with the advent of Web 3.0. The Web 3.0 for Education will be coagulation of Technology + Hardware where the devices used by Faculty and Students will be smarter and powered by Artificial Intelligence and semantic architecture will be used to share the information. Every Devices which may be Mobile, Tab, Classroom Technology, ID Card, Bus, Fee Collection Pointers etc. will be acting as knoeledge nodes and will be hold token for the contribution and collaboration. The contribution to the school data may be either user created, or Machine created. This will enable the campus to decentralize the data and also ensure the data will be created as asset on the defined machines of the campuses. With the advent of 5G the data access and user specific token handshake will be a reality. Every node will then be connected to sea of Blockchain hosts that not only creates assets but also will make searches much more user specific.
With Web 3.0, the ability to find information more easily and quickly has a number of benefits:
Reduced expense as machines will be internet-connected and provide access to knowledge.
Changes in teaching – teachers will be able to develop engaging and more complex assignments that are supported by a variety of resources. Students will develop more independence that will free teachers to tutor individuals or small groups. There will be a shift from students consuming teacher-provided content to student creation of content.
Learning – students will spend less time gathering and integrating knowledge. They will be able to learn anywhere and anytime if they have access to the internet.
Knowledge construction – search engines will produce a report that draws from many sources. The report will also compare and contrast the information presented and allude to different arguments as well as alert users to related topics and resources.
Smart searches – customised search capabilities will yield only information tailored to the user, preventing frustration and saving time. Search engines will include lecture notes, resources, videos, blog articles etc.
Personal learning network maintenance – personal learning agents will search for information related to a learning goal and only report relevant information. Location-based services will send appropriate information.
Personal educational administration – use semantic web to describe courses and degrees so that it will be easy to transfer credits, and students can easily determine universities that will give them the knowledge they seek. E-learning and just-in-time learning become commonplace. People can collaborate and interact with dispersed individuals. Educational content can be used and reused with requiring permission.
Conclusion
Web 3.0 promises to allow users to find information and connect with it in more meaningful and efficient ways, but at what cost to the way students develop skills in researching and understanding information for themselves? Time will reveal but the advent of Web 3.0 is inevitable and the impact on students need deeper analysis and involvement of Larger forces like UN, Governments and other interested organizations will be needed to ascertain the future of Education.