P2P in your Flash Player? - Possible impact on learning

Just read a blog entry (http://gigaom.com/2008/05/15/flash-p2p-now-thats-disruptive/ ) about the new Flash Player (10). It appears that they have built in a P2P (peer-to-peer) capability right into the player.

Reading on the internet is akin to swimming in a whirlpool of information. Soon I was reading about Microsoft’s own plans for P2P. Not within the SilverLight scheme of things but as LiveMesh (http://mmwp.wordpress.com/2008/04/23/live-mesh-the-ultimate-p2p-platform/ )

Having something like Napster, Kazaa, and eMule in-built into something like the Flash Player is super cool. Sure it rocks not having to install another application and just using a RIA (Rich Internet Application) to share files without the dependency of a server. The question which started ticking in my brain is WHAT could be the possible impact on learning systems and applications?

Here are some possibilities which spring to mind, most of them relate to collaborative learning:

1. Turbo-charged eLearning with:
1. File sharing as a part of the learning experience for:

i. Distributing and collecting assessment responses. (Most P2P stacks inherently allow control over who can see, use, and access your shared data)

ii. VoIP and Video sharing interactions as a part of designed activity

iii. Team activities which have dependencies (e.g. a live elearning activity on film making where the script, storyboard, music, video clips all do the rounds and end up as a film which is assessed)

2. Richer gaming environments using Flash (or even SilverLight linked to Live Mesh) which allows team activities based on VoIP communication and collaboration.
3. Knowledge management extensions which make it easier to gather inputs using RIAs and connected crossover desktop applications. It is not like this does not happen already. It just means that it will now become easier yet.

Learning ideas apart, I was thinking of the advantages which translate into immediate advantages:

1. Learning applications built using these advantages will become easier to port and use across platforms, OSs (Operating Systems), and devices (for example http://blog.wired.com/monkeybites/2008/04/microsoft-mesh.html says “Live Mesh synchronizes and shares data across multiple machines — currently that means Windows PCs, but look for Windows Mobile as well as Mac OS X support to be added later this year.” )
2. An organization will not need to invest in an expensive server (Like Flash Communication Server) just to use simple features which can be used by the P2P in-built. This will be a significant contributor to it’s spread
3. Both Adobe’s Flash Player (by virtue of it’s almost absolute presence across browsers) and the Windows platforms (by virtue of it’s operating system market domination) have enormous and almost immediate reach.

Like most new technologies it may seem interesting but it remains to be seen if we can USE it to some learning advantage.