User:JWSchmidt/Blog/4 August 2007

I'm interested in having a media-rich environment for Wikiversity.

Wikimania
During day 2 of Wikimania there was streaming video of the meeting sessions. The WikipediaWeekly team has also been doing podcasts from Taiwan. I was pleased to hear Ward Cunningham interviewed on a podcast and talking about the idea of extending online collaborations beyond the written word into collaborative creation of videos.

Collaborative creation of video
I cut out the section of the WikipediaWeekly interview with Ward Cunningham that has what he said about the idea of a transition from online wiki collaborations with a focus on creating documents like encyclopedia articles towards new possibilities such as collaborative creation of video resources. The audio clip from the interview starts with Ward talking about how wiki technology was in a "sweet spot" when created in 1995, but maybe computer technology is now at the point where wiki-like collaboration can be extended beyond just words and into video. One approach mentioned by Ward is the use of Machinima and using video game-like tools to create video.

Wikiversity: beyond words
One of my personal goals for Wikiversity has been to make it possible for Wikiversity participants to move beyond a conventional wiki with words and a few images towards an environment that supports rich multimedia learning resources. Some relevant pages are:
 * Wikiversity the Movie
 * Wikiversity Reports
 * Rich Learning Resources Platform
 * Animation with DAZ Studio
 * Wiki Campus Radio
 * Web 2.0
 * Sandbox Server

Content Creators
I hope Wikiversity can be a learning center for helping people become full participants in the Web 2.0 revolution and the Free culture movement. Wikiversity should be able to play an important role in helping people become internet content creators rather than just content consumers.

Software development

 * Wikipedia Invites Users to Take Part in Open, Collaborative Video Experiment - press release, January 17, 2008.