Weller suggests that decentralisation, democratisation and bottom-up processes characterise the world of Web 2.0. Using your reading in the course thus far, provide one or two examples that would support this claim and one or two examples that would modify or counter this claim.
Weller (2009): Decentralisation: by allowing users to take, embed, remix and share content the central control is decentralised, but the content is more widely distributed
Decentralisation has value for internet consumers (like me): sharing videos online, sharing music, sharing educational content is a new form of the internet which I support and use in generous proportions.
I am member of various "shared content" communities in the broadest possible way (educational resources, video websites, mp3 torrents, streaming websites etc etc).
However, I wonder if all those websites are truly decentralised: YouTube, Wikipedia, various Citizen Journalism or Citizen Science websites all have editors who are overlooking content: Are they the authorative professors? (Weller, 2009 p. 6).
You tube uses filters for length, structure and subject matter. I don’t think this is truly a decentralisation of the internet in general or web 2.0 in particular.
If I take this into a personal point of view: I don’t have the feeling that I am participating in a editorial free community when I upload videos or other content on various web 2.0 websites or applications. There are always filters that need bypassing before uploading specific content.
The web 2.0 with its decentralisation, a model for higher education? I have my doubts. I do believe in the Students’ voice as they can reflect on certain aspects on the subject from the course. But decentralisation in higher education might lead in my opinion to chaos and anarchie. In my opinion subject authority is expected by students from their professors.
I have read different research articles the past few months in which it was very clear that students in higher education are not particularly fond of participating in online courses because of lack of face to face support, lectures, and activities. In fact, students were actually still keen of participating in traditional ways of learning. Some students even expected to be lectured by professors with authority in their subject.
I wonder if other internet users experience the internet as a whole as a form of decentralisation.