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1. INTRODUCTION
Web 3.0 and its reflection on e-learning are still evolving and a clear vision of “E-Learning 3.0”
is still in the future. Educators have the opportunity to influence emerging Web 3.0 technologies by helping
to define that vision. While utilizing many of these newer technologies in the classroom may seem foreign
to veteran teachers, the youth entering universities today are accustomed to creating, learning and
communicating using technology . It is not just the younger generation who has adapted to using technology
on daily basis. According to Entertainment Software Association (2010), the average game player is 34 years
old and 26% of the Americans over 50 play video games. According to Facebook’s press room statistics
(2011), people spend over 700 billion minutes a month of Facebook. Web 3.0 technologies and the advent
of the Internet have changed how we gather and share information. In respect of different versions of web,
the Wikipedia states: “Web 1.0 is Read Only, static data with simple markup for reading. Web 2.0 is
Read/Write dynamic data through web service customize websites and manage items. Web 3.0
Read/Write/Execute.”
In Web 2.0, user not only reads information from the Internet, but also provides information through
internet to share with others. Currently, there are many popular Web 2.0 interactive applications like Blog
Podcast, Mashup, Tag, RSS/Atom, Wiki, P2P, etc. Views of different pioneers on the evolution of Web 3.0
vary greatly. Some believe that emerging technologies such as Semantic Web will transform the way the
Web is used, and lead to new possibilities in artificial intelligence based applications. Other visionaries
suggest that increase in Internet connection speeds, modular web applications, or advances in computer
graphics will play the key role in the evolution of the new version of World Wide Web.

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2. CONCEPT OF WEB 3.0

The term ‘Web 3.0’ was first coined by John Markoff of the New York Times in 2006,
and first appeared significantly in early 2006 in a Blog article in early 2006 in a Blog article “Critical of
Web 2.0 and associated technologies such as Ajax” written by Jeffery Zeldman. Major IT experts and
researchers support different approaches to the future Web. There is complete agreement among the experts
about how Web 3.0 will evolve. Yu (2007) defines Web 3.0 and/or the Semantic Web as “ the next step in
Web evolution. It is about having data as well as documents on the Web so that machines can process,
transform, assemble, and even act on the data in useful ways”. (p.8). Semantic is defined as “meaning”; the
Semantic Web allows computers to understand the meaning of information as opposed to simply displaying
information. A common example used to help Semantic Web novice fully understand the capabilities of the
Semantic Web is a comparison between a traditional Search engine and semantic search engine.
Traditional search engines can be frustrating to users. Users enter keywords for the search and then must
evaluate typically sizeable results and determine which results are relevant. A semantic search engines
utilizes semantics and knowledge coded into vocabulary sets which are interpreted by “smart agents” which
then conduct intelligent searches returning pertinent information to the user.

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3. CAPABILITIES OF WEB 3.0 TECHNOLOGIES

The web has evolved from the early days of the ENQUIRE project to the transformation of
Web 3.0 . Broadly speaking, where the Web 1.0 connects real people to the World Wide Web, the Web 2.0
connects real people who use the www, the Web 3.0 will connect the virtual representatives of the real
people who use the www. So, it is believed that Web 1.0 is about providing information, Web 2.0 is about
overload of information and the Web 3.0 is about control of information . As mentioned above, Web 1.0 is
generally referred to as the “read-only Web” making content available online for viewing. Authors of the
web generally write what they want others to view and then publish it online. The reader can visit these web
sites and can contact the writer or publisher if contact information is available. There is no direct link or
communication between the two. Examples of these are static websites and webpages created HTML.
The term Web 2.0 is usually associated with the O’Reilly Media 2.0 conference , but was actually used
for the first time in early 1999. As opposed to the Web 1.0 which is referred to as the static web, Web 2.0 is
considered as the dynamic web. The users can read, write and collaborate to a certain extent. The latest
technologies used on client side or server side in Web 2.0 are Ajax (Asynchronous JavaScript), XML
(Extensible Markup language), Adobe Flash, PHP, Per, Python, Flash and so on. The technologies related
to the Web 3.0 though still in the infancy stage, are advancing quite rapidly. The Web 2.0 has given rise to
silos data being generated by social networking and there will be a need to enable the utilization of this data.
An astounding statistics by the Forrester Research (2006) shows that 97% of the users never look beyond
the top three search results when they are searching on the internet. The main features of the Web 3.0
technologies which differentiate it from its earlier generation, Web 2.0 are given as follows

 Intelligent/Semantic Web: The term semantic web refers to the W3C’s vision of Web linked data
enabling people to create data and build vocabularies. Simply put, semantic web is all about
describing things in a form that is understood by computers;

 Openness and interoperability: This refers to openness in terms of application programming

interfaces, data formats, protocol and interoperability between devices and platforms;

 Global repository of data: This is the ability of information to be accessed a cross programs and
across the web;

 3D Virtualization: Extensive use of 3D modeling and 3D spaces using service like second life
and personalized avatars connected to your devices;

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 Distributed and Cloud Computing: The delivery of computing as a service rather a product.

As the Web 3.0 is also referred to as the Semantic Web of Data (Berners-Lee Video), there will be huge
datasets created, so the need of the time is management of ‘Big Data’ and ‘Linked data’ . The Web 3.0 will
make use of technologies such as RDF (Resource Description Framework, SPARQL (Query Language for
RDF), OWL (Ontology Web Language and SKOS (Simple Knowledge Organization System) these will help
structure information such that programs like web spiders and web-crawlers can search, discover, collect
and analyze information from the web. “If HTML and the Web made all the online documents look like one
huge book, RDF, schema and interface languages will make all the data in the world look like one huge
database”.

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4. DIFFERENCES BETWEEN WEB 2.0 AND WEB 3.0

Web 2.0 and Web 3.0 are two different stages of the evolution of the internet. Here are some key differences
between the two:

1. Decentralization: Web 2.0 is centralized, meaning that data is stored on servers owned by
centralized entities such as Google, Facebook, and Amazon. In contrast, Web 3.0 is decentralized,
with data stored on a distributed network of computers, making it more secure and resistant to
censorship.

2. Interoperability: Web 2.0 relies on APIs to allow different applications to communicate with each
other. Web 3.0, on the other hand, uses a common protocol, such as blockchain, to enable different
applications to interact with each other seamlessly.

3. Privacy: Web 2.0 relies on users trusting centralized entities to protect their data. Web 3.0, on the
other hand, gives users more control over their data and privacy, allowing them to share data on a
need-to-know basis and revoke access at any time.

4. Personalization: Web 2.0 provides some degree of personalization, such as personalized search
results or targeted ads. Web 3.0 takes personalization to the next level, with applications that can
understand user preferences and provide personalized recommendations and experiences.

5. Transparency: Web 2.0 is often criticized for its lack of transparency, with companies collecting
vast amounts of data on users without their knowledge or consent. Web 3.0, on the other hand,
provides greater transparency and accountability, with all transactions recorded on a public
blockchain ledger.

Overall, Web 3.0 represents a significant shift in the way the internet operates, with a focus on
decentralization, privacy, interoperability, personalization, and transparency.

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5. E-LEARNING TRENDS FOR WEB 3.0

Education researchers are now quite freely using the term eLearning 3.0 in various blogs
and discussion forums. Emergence of cloud computing and availability of new technologies such as
collaborative intelligent filtering, increased and reliable data storage capacity, higher screen resolutions,
multi gesture devices and 3D touch user interface is leading us into the next generation of eLearning.
Teaching effectively online is not just posting traditional classroom materials to a course management
system. The workload for online instructors is often more than expected; technology does not reduce an
instructor’s workload, it just changes the nature of the workload. The Semantic Web has the means to assist
instructors in course development, learner support, assessment, record keeping and document control task.
Brindley, Walti, and Blaschke, (2009) state “Quality learning environments include opportunities for
students to engage in interactive and collaborative activities with their peers; such environments have been
shown to contribute to better learning outcomes, including development of higher order thinking skills”.
Ounas, Davis, and Millard (2008) offer a framework for using the Semantic Web to form optimal
collaborative learning groups. Student features are modeled using ontologies, such as Friend of Friend (a
social ontology), to form reliable dynamic learner profiles. Modeled features include personal details, course
details, interests, team roles, preferences, and social connections. Daly (2009) states: “The Semantic Web
offers learners the possibility of having a wealth of related content delivered to their desktop without
explicitly identifying or requesting it”. Content stored within virtual words, such as Second Life, can be used
by instructors to enhance learning experiences and provide relevant and interesting learning interactions to
learners.
Anderson and Whitelock, (2004) define Semantic Web as “real work and study contexts”. Clark, Parsia,
and Hendler (2004) stat: “the added expressivity of the Semantic Web, coupled with search and query tools
already under development, will allow changes in non-scientific fields as well. For example a number of
historians could each annotate the same document to express differences of opinion about its comment,
creating communities of deconstruction”. Data collections (ontologies) from different fields will be linked
creating “a network effect in academic knowledge” (Clark, Parsia & Hendler).

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6. CHARACTERISTICS OF WEB 3.0

As given below, four characteristics can be summarized:

o Personalization
Web 3.0 era is personalization; personal and/or individual preferences would be considered during different
activities such as information processing, search, formation of personalized portal on the web.

Semantic Web would be the core technology for personalization in Web 3.0.

o Intelligence
Experts believe that one of the most promising features of Web 3.0 will be web with intelligence, i.e., an
intelligent web.Applications will work intelligently with the use of Human-Computer interaction
intelligence. Different Artificial Intelligence (AI) based tools and techniques such as, rough sets, fuzzy sets,
neural networks, machine learning …etc. will be incorporated with the applications to work intelligently.
This means, an application based on Web 3.0 can directly do intelligent analysis, and then optimal output
would be possible, even without much intervention of the user. Documents in different languages can be
intelligently translated into other languages in Web 3.0 era. Web 3.0 should enable us to work through
natural language. Therefore, users can use their native language for communication with the others round
the world.

o Virtualization
Web 3.0 would be a web with high speed internet bandwidths and High end 3D Graphics, which can better
be utilized for virtualization. The trend for the future web refers to the certain of virtual 3D environments.
An example of the most popular 3-D web application of Web 3.0 is Second Life.

o Interoperability

In the context of Web 3.0, the terms Interoperability collaboration and reusability are basically interrelated.
Interoperability implies reuse, which is again a form of collaboration. Web 3.0 will provide a communicative
medium for knowledge and information exchange. When a person or a software program produces
information on the web and this information is used by another, then the creation of new form of information
or knowledge takes place. Web 3.0 applications would be easy to customize and they can independently
work on different kinds of devices. An application based on Web 3.0 would be able to run on many types of
Computers, Microwave devices, Hand-held devices, Mobiles, TVs, and many others. Pervasive Web is the
term used to describe this phenomenon where web is operable to a wide range of electronic devices.

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7. ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF WEB 3.0

Web 3.0, also known as the Semantic Web, is the next generation of the internet that aims to make data more
interconnected and accessible to machines. Here are some advantages and disadvantages of Web 3.0:

ADVANTAGES:
1. Better Accessibility: Web 3.0 will make information more accessible by making it more
interconnected, which means it will be easier for machines to understand and use.

2. Improved Search: Web 3.0 will enable more accurate and relevant search results due to better
understanding of the context of data.

3. More Intelligent Applications: Web 3.0 will allow for the creation of more intelligent applications
that can make decisions based on data.

4. Improved Security: Web 3.0 will provide better security through decentralized systems and
encryption technologies.

DISADVANTAGES:
1. Complex Implementation: The implementation of Web 3.0 requires significant technical
knowledge, and the creation of new standards and protocols.

2. Compatibility Issues: Existing systems may not be compatible with Web 3.0, which may require
significant upgrades or replacements.

3. Privacy Concerns: The interconnectedness of data in Web 3.0 may raise concerns about privacy and
data ownership.

4. Potential for Misuse: Web 3.0 may provide new opportunities for malicious actors to exploit and
misuse data.

Overall, while Web 3.0 offers many potential advantages, its implementation will require significant
technical and societal changes, and it may also raise concerns about privacy, security, and data ownership.

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8. CONCLUSION

Web 3.0 is more than a set of useful and new technologies and services. Web 3.0 technologies offer
an array of services to make a true e-Learning environment. Because of its very nature Web 3.0 services
will be having a positive impact on teaching and learning. This research paper posits that, just like its
predecessor, Web 3.0 technologies, once stable and well developed will further transform the e-Learning
discipline. However, it does not seem that there is a need to call for new learning theory as the theory of
connectivism should be adequate. However, with the advent of any technology and its adoption, Web 3.0
reflections on the future of e-Learning will come with a plethora of technological, social, legal and ethical
challenges. Web 3.0 technologies offer benefits of Intelligent Agent based search engines, Virtual
environments like Avatar and Semantic Digital Libraries etc.
On the other hand, there is great potential for the Semantic Web to impact learning processes. Daly
(2009) stats, “The prospect of applying sematic concepts to learning administration as well as direct
pedagogy could offer benefits to the institution and the learner,” . Smart agents can only perform their
tasks if the information on the Web has semantic meaning. Human motivation for tagging knowledge and
security concerns about accessibility of information are obstacles to Web 3.0 that will need to be resolved.

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9. REFERENCES

 www.google.com

 www.wikipedia.com

 www.studymafia.org

 www.youtube.com

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10. APPENDIX

A. SCREENSHOTS

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