Mashing, Burning, Mixing and the Destructive Creativity of Web 2.0: Applications for Medical Education

We examine the recent growth of social software (Web 2.0) and its initial impact on education, and offer a review of some of the recent research conducted in the evaluation of its pedagogical applications. We highlight the propensity of students to be both creative and destructive in their use of social software, particularly with wikis, web logs (blogs) and other text based environments. Student activities within these social software environments can cause tension and conflict, and reactions vary, but outcomes have been generally positive. Some medical education examples are reviewed, providing the reader with worked examples of the use of social software in action in clinical education contexts.