Html5... What does this mean for Education?

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I recently heard of something called Html5.  I am still somewhat puzzled but here are some of the bits and pieces I am gathering:

-We used to need Adobe flash or Java to view rich content, however with Html5 we can view rich content in a web browser.  

-Safari and Google Chrome and Firefox are so far the most compatible browsers with Html5

-With Html 5 you do not need plugins for embedding images and videos

- Web applications or documents can be viewed offline.  

- It does not have to replace flash technology but can be used in addition to it.

Html5 could change the way we view the web.  It will make accessing information a lot more easy, and it could also enhance the potential for online games.  

For more information check out HTML5 Why we should all care.

This Sribd document also provides an excellent example and explanation of HTML5.  

Google Wave is one of the tools that has brings together components of HTML5.  Below is a video that summarizes Google Wave: 

According to Ruth Reynard's article HTML5: The Web Beyond Web 2.0 the potential Educational outcomes for Google wave include: 

Group Projects 

Collaboratively work in real time to draft content, discuss, and solicit feedback all in one place rather than sending e-mail attachments and creating multiple copies that get out of sync.  

Photo Sharing

 Drag and drop photos from your desktop into a wave. Share with others. Use the slideshow viewer. Everyone on the wave can add their photos, too. It's easy to make a group photo album in Google Wave.  

Brainstorming  

Bring lots of people into a wave to brainstorm; live concurrent editing makes the quantity of ideas grow quickly! It's easy to add rich content like videos, images, URLs, or links to other waves. Discuss and then work together to distill down to the good ideas. 

Ruth, Reynard, 2009

And yes, there are a lot of tools that are already great for collaboration but Google wave brings it to the next level making the exchange of information easier (drag and drop) and immediate (in real-time).  

I am still not fully sure I understand all of the implications HTML5 has for the future of technology and education.  However, it is nice to know that there is still potential for technological advancement and improvements.  I also believe that with advancements in technology there will be advancements in our ability to collaborate and ultimately in our ability to learn.