Web 2.0 a personal learning journey

One of the key ingredients of O’Reilly’s definition of web 2.0 is ” Harnessing network effects to build applications that get better the more people use them“. Given small cohorts of learners how do we even begin to harness this effect.

One solution of course is to harness the wider web and knwoledge and links that exist on the Internet. Unfortunately, what about the under 18’s issue? Can we introduce these students without being somehow liable if ’something bad’ happens. I personally don’t share this rampant paranoia that exists in the media and schools about letting children have access to teh net, but it is the world we llive in.