User-made Web 2.0 apps as a custom-teaching tool

Got a question in to Clayton M. Christensen and Michael B. Horn, the authors of Disrupting Class: How Disruptive Innovation Will Change the Way the World Learns during their Education Week chat this morning. Horn's response is pretty forward-thinking about the future of teacher-parent-and-student created Web 2.0 apps. This would be an extension of personalized teaching (that literally could turn on a dime to meet the needs of the student) to a degree hitherto unimaginable.

Do you think Web 2.0 apps are going to become the standard both for addressing individualization in learning as well as creating authentic situations in which students with varied learning styles and motivations can collaborate on substantive projects with one another?

Michael B. Horn:

In our book we project that Web 2.0 apps will play a vital role in the actual customization of learning opportunities--and a result should be exactly what you suggest in the second half of your question. We believe that facilitated user networks will begin to arise that allow teachers, parents, and students to create applications and learning experiences to help other students (and teachers and parents!) understand concepts in a way that makes sense for them. We know that we often learn best when we have to actually teach something; these user networks will provide that opportunity. We suspect that many of these applications that take off will do so first in tutoring applications. Tutoring is a huge area of nonconsumption and one where much innovation can take place.