It took tens of thousands of years for writing to emerge after humans spoke their first words. It took thousands more before the printing press and a few hundred again before the telegraph. Today a new medium of communication emerges every time somebody creates a new web application. A Flickr here, a Twitter there, and a new way of relating to others emerges. New types of conversation, argumentation, and collaboration are realized. What does this mean for building learning environments that can foster the kinds of communication and community we hope to create in higher education? In this presentation, Wesch will showcase and discuss his own attempts to create the portal of the future, integrating Facebook, Netvibes, Diigo, Google Apps, Jott, Twitter, 2D barcodes, and other emerging technologies to create a rich learning environment.