This month's Wired magazine has an article on an software application that has the potential to revolutionize the way media is presented on the web.

proce55ing.net is:

a context for exploring the emerging conceptual space enabled by electronic media. It is an environment for learning the fundamentals of computer programming within the context of the electronic arts and it is an electronic sketchbook for developing ideas.

I've been in to look at some of the examples that have been posted and am excited by the prospects this open-source software application presents. There's absolutely no question in my mind that open-source is indeed the way to go when it comes to on-line development.

Regular readers of this blog will know that I'm very keen on the notion of open source development and truly believe that the "open" part of the equation is exactly what makes it so powerful from the point of view of the social constructivist.

I find that I keep coming back to the notion of the "social" as it relates to the learning and teaching I do. It's stating the obvious to say that we don't learn in a vacuum. I'd suggest that all learning is necessarily "social" in nature. I'd also suggest that "open" systems -- be they for developing software applications or curricula -- are inherently both social and constructivist in nature.