Google outdone? Naver...

Interested in the Korean internet search rival Naver - I searched for relevant online articles on Google. Here is an article titled, "To outdo Google, Naver taps into Korea's collective wisdom." It is interesting to note (as describe in this article) Naver.com handles 77 percent of all web searches in Korea, while Google handles well under two percent.

As is described in this article, the success has to do with language (use of native language) and because of the, "...South Korean inclination to help one another on the Web has made Naver.com the undisputed leader of Internet search in the country."

Again, I have many more questions than answers. Are some cultures more inclined to assist strangers? And if so, are some cultures more apt to build collective wisdom and exploit it? And again, if some cultures build collective wisdom (and educate people to exploit it) will cultures that do not fall behind?

What is the world telling us?

David Warlick just directed me to a Will Richardson's post titled Open Texting and Open Phone Tests. Will's post discusses a CNN article titled, A day in the (digital) life of a South Korean boy both Will's post and the CNN article are worth reading as they point to many changes or shifts the knowledge world is facing.

Insoo (a 14-year old Korean boy) doesn't even have to take the phone out of his pocket to send an SMS. He knows how to slide it open, which buttons to push how many times to reach the "Send SMS" menu option, compose the entire text message, and hit the send button -- all without even looking at the phone.

Furthermore,

The first thing Insoo does after Hakwon (school) is, of course, turn on the PC. Insoo has a difficult math problem as homework. He posts it up on Naver Knowledge iN, a popular online Q&A service with some 70 million entries.

Within about 10 minutes of posting, someone chimes in with a good answer, and Insoo awards him with some "Knowledge Power" points -- knowledge-based economy in action among 14-year-olds.

These concepts raise many questions and highlight the significance of new media communications and changes brought about by these technologies. First, do you consider what Insoo is doing as wrong? If Insoo is tapping into his knowledge community to obtain answers is this cheating? Is Insoo learning? And, if so what is he learning? If some societies accept the power of distributed knowledge and collaborative intelligence (and begin to teach their youth to exploit it) and other societies do not, will those that do not fall behind?

Flickr Assignment

This is an interesting use of Flickr. It appears that a classroom assignment has been given to enter Flickr and add comments to the artwork being discussed. It is interesting to examine everyone's comments, some include URLs to references about the painting.

$10 million prize from Google

According to the Technology Review Google is offering $10 million in prize money to developers who create the most innovative software for its upcoming cellphone operating system. The hope is to create innovative new uses for smart phones and allow users to connect with content via the Web using their phones. Innovation in smart phones is getting very interesting and should open up many opportunities for education and training. I am currently using a iphone... I love it... but I can't wait to see what comes next.

Exercise your vocal cords...

Larry Lessig produced a nice 20 minute presentation for the TED conference that talks about the shift in our culture from consumers to remix producers. I like his ideas that we are returning to a culture where everyone can exercise their vocal cords, everyone has a voice.

Wesley Fryer's Insights: Changing Education

I enjoyed watching this video by Wesley Fryer. He has some nice insights into the shift that is taking place and what must change within education. Although he talks about the use of visuals as important to learning... his "talking head" production is less than desirable. I recommend that you download his PowerPoint presentation and follow along. His pictures of Shanghai are very interesting.

Voicethread: Improved look

Voicethread.com keeps getting better. I love its new look. Here is an example report from a second grade classroom. What a great tool.