What is Google Wave, and how might scientists use it?

It is a communication tool that is essentially e-mail crossed with an instant messenger. You can think of each ‘wave’ or e-mail thread as a flexible document, which allows collaborators to chat and edit the same version in real time. You can also easily drop rich media such as sound files, charts and videos into the document. So Google Wave could be used for collaborative authoring, to speed up writing papers and grant applications, for example.

I simply cannot wait until my 8th graders get a hold of Google Wave.

Student behavior on the blog vs our Facebook page has been fascinating to observe so far.

I see Wave as a middle ground that they will be much more comfortable with in terms of interaction.

To paraphrase Dylan, “The Paradigms are a shiftin’…”