The first two publications from the University of Nottingham's research into Web 2.0 have appeared on Becta's website. Here's a brief description of what they are and where you can find them.
Before getting started, I have to declare some interest in this. When the call for tenders first appeared, I joined a couple of consortia but neither of them were successful. However, I was contacted by Charles Crook, of the University of Nottingham (as well as others, obviously), and took part in a telephone interview as part of their research. I also met him at a Becta seminar to which I was invited, on the same subject, and at which someone from the University of Nottingham was speaking.
As the Nottingham speaker (I didn't catch his name) said in his opening remarks, half the people in the room were people who regarded research as a time-consuming, resource-consuming irritant that gets in the way of transforming learning, and the other half were people who had unsuccessfully bid to do the project. 
The first report to be published mentions Coming of Age: An Introduction to the NEW Worldwide Web a couple of times.
The two publications are:
Report 1: The current landscape - opportunities, challenges and tensions, and
Web 2.0 technologies for learning: The current landscape – opportunities, challenges and tensions. Supplementary materials.
The introduction to the Report says:
"This is the first report from research commissioned by Becta into Web 2.0 technologies for learning at Key Stages 3 and 4. It is based on a review of the current literature and thinking around Web 2.0 and its potential in education. The report explores:
· what Web 2.0 technologies are and the drivers for their adoption
· their potential use and impact on education
· tensions surrounding their implementation in learning and teaching."
The second publication contains 3 appendices:
Appendix 1: The evolution of Web 2.0
Appendix 2: The current Web 2.0 ecology
Appendix 3: Six technology drivers for Web 2.0
So, all in all it looks pretty interesting, and has solved the problem of what to read on my travels later today. To download and read the publications, go here.
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