I have been following a number of discussions on LinkedIn and other blogs in the cyber world trying to figure out what Google Wave is and how, it can be used as a learning tool. My quest was short and unfulfilling. Of course, in the bargain I came across some really good blogs and equally excellent writers.

For your information, I got most resources from Jane’s E-Learning Pick of the Day

• Google Wave: A Complete Guide
• Google Wave Will Revolutionize Online Classroom Instruction
• Google Wave in Online Education
• Google Wave in 10 Minutes
• Diving into Google Wave – 3 things – Intro
• Google Wave Developer Preview at Google I/O 2009

Ben Par’s definition is succinct – “Google Wave is a real-time communication platform. It combines aspects of email, instant messaging, wikis, web chat, social networking, and project management to build one elegant, in-browser communication client. You can bring a group of friends or business partners together to discuss how your day has been or share files.”

So, what is in for us, learning, eLearning and corporate training professionals?

The only thing that strikes me as useful is that we can use it as a collaborative platform to develop content. It will be a good interface for SMEs, instructional designers, and content developers to jointly develop content. I suppose it will be quicker and cheaper. It looks like an advanced version of Google Docs, as far as I am concerned.

As far as revolutionizing online classroom instruction is concerned, I think not. At best, it will replace wikis, facilitate group work and help in publishing.

Maybe it is a case of sour grapes? I never got an invite!

Thank you for reading my blog.

RK Prasad

CEO