Wow! Is this Web 3.0?

Today I want to touch on the topic of the World Wide Web and its connection with learning a foreign language. As readers of my blog, this information should be useful to you, because even now, reading my article, you are users of this global network.

Therefore, I present to your attention my mini-study on this topic, in which I'll tell you about the history, "evolution", components and why we need such a thing as the World Wide Web in general.

Web 1.0

- the first stage of the World Wide Web evolution (1991 - 2004)

Four Design Essentials of a Web 1.0 Site Include:

1. Static pages.
2. Content is served from the server's file system.
3. Pages built using Server Side Includes or Common Gateway Interface (CGI).
4. Frames and Tables are used to position and align the elements on a page.

Earlier, there were only a few content creators in Web 1.0 with a huge majority of users who are consumers of content. Personal web pages were common, consisting mainly of static pages hosted on ISP-run web servers, or free web hosting services.

In Web 1.0 advertisements on websites while surfing the internet are banned.

Web 2.0

- refers to worldwide websites which highlight user-generated content, usability, and interoperability for end users.

- also called the participative social web.

- an enhanced version of Web 1.0.

- 2004 - ...

Five Major Features of Web 2.0:

1. Free sorting of information, permits users to retrieve and classify the information collectively.
2. Dynamic content that is responsive to user input.
3. Information flows between the site owner and site users using evaluation & online commenting.
4. Developed APIs to allow self-usage, such as by a software application.

Web access leads to concerns different, from the traditional Internet user base to a wider variety of users.

Usage of Web 2.0:

• Podcasting
• Blogging
• Tagging
• Curating with RSS
• Social bookmarking
• Social networking
• Social media
• Web content voting

Web 3.0

- refers to the evolution of web utilization and interaction.

- a term that is used to describe many evolutions of web usage and interaction among several paths.

Main features That can Help us Define Web 3.0:

1. Semantic Web

The succeeding evolution of the Web involves the Semantic Web. The semantic web improves web technologies in demand to create, share and connect content through search and analysis based on the capability to comprehend the meaning of words, rather than on keywords or numbers.

2. Artificial Intelligence

Combining this capability with natural language processing, in Web 3.0, computers can distinguish information like humans to provide faster and more relevant results. They become more intelligent to fulfill the requirements of users.

3. 3D Graphics

The three-dimensional design is being used widely in websites and services in Web 3.0. Museum guides, computer games, e-commerce, geospatial contexts, etc. are all examples that use 3D graphics.

4. Connectivity

With Web 3.0, information is more connected thanks to semantic metadata. As a result, the user experience evolves to another level of connectivity that leverages all the available information.

5. Ubiquity

Content is accessible by multiple applications, every device is connected to the web, and the services can be used everywhere.

Language Teaching Gains Second Life:

Virtual Worlds Offer New Methods to Teach Languages

3D virtual worlds like Second Life are now being used by language teachers to provide simulation of real life environments and allow students to discover more creative and more realistic ways to improve their language skills.

Language teaching in 3D virtual worlds is still at its early stages of development, yet it is generating interest from students, teachers and education consultants. Second Life with over 7 million registered users and $1.7m of business done daily is rapidly becoming a parallel world for socializing, trading and, learning. The 3D online world is free to access and allows its virtual residents (or avatars) to build their own creations, allowing for an imaginative virtual world.

Second Life is especially suited to younger learners of foreign languages because they already see the internet as a natural place to learn and play.

In the end, it should be noted that each stage of the evolution of Web 1.0, Web 2.0 and Web 3.0 was significant and unique in its own way, and was widely used in its time and revolutionized the Internet world.