a new breed of Web-based applications created by mixing at least two different services from disparate, and even competing, Web sites.

Mash up comes from the hip-hop music practice of mixing two or more songs together then with the same premise expanded to include video, pictures and web applications.

Want a better explanation of what a Mash up application is click here for a quick video explanation.

example of a Yahoo pipes application:  http://pipes.yahoo.com/pipes/

reference site: http://www.communitywalk.com/

My map example from Communitywalk.com.  http://www.communitywalk.com/charlottetown/pe/map_270704/map/270704

Although I have have enjoyed learning how areas of content can be farmed from different sources on the net and displayed in a single area using RSS feeds and copied web address these are jsut a couple of examples.  Mash ups offer a new and exciting way of combining more than one web application and/or content to form  something new.  Please refer to to links above for more specific examples. 

The possibilities are quite extraordinary from combining maps with content to combining feeds of information from sources in exciting and new way such as RSS feeds, image galleries and video hosting sites .  Hopefully soon users will be able to get there "applications' strictly on line and house all there content there accessing it,  manipulating it from anywhere. 

For my students, not only could they have access to traditional learning material but they could access dynamic content allowing them to create their own for others to view and learn from contributing  both in class and potentially to other classes or schools.  By combining applications together in a Mash Up, students can customize the usefulness/ flexibility  of the content in a way that would give them greater empowerment in their learning

Right now a few draw backs are that the programming needed to create a combination of applications or information into something new can be quite taxing as the programming skills needed to create a new application by combining others can require an expertise that most people may not posses.  This leaves teachers/ students searching for  new mash ups to appear (almost at a rate of 2-4 a day right now). 

I can see in the future as companies open up to the possibilities of a community that can take their products to a new level  helping to  simplify the process where almost anyone can create new combinations.  As an educator the possibilities to use this technology are endless.  para medicine that can combine maps and video scenarios to help students judge there arrival time, directions and critical thinking techniques.  Culinary students who can identify where certain regional foods come form, additional information like news feeds or videos of the region and a place to add recipes or tips, all from one location in real time with the potential to add or change it as needed.  This content does not need to come from just the teacher.  With criteria defined, students can go out on the net or create their own content to be included or uploaded to make the learning their own. 

There are tremendous possibilities.