In response to Mauri's E-Learning

"Downes argues that online learning no one involves a medium, but instead a platform. I would say that in the Web 2.0 there are lots of what can be called platforms, but such are just a special kind of interactive media."
Mauri


In a bigger picture he is talking about removing the middle man and to enable direct relationship. Right now the middle man, medium, is responsible to transmit information between producer and consumer. With the idea of prosumer the middle man is not required. In student centered learning the typical learning hierarchy is turned upside down and the student is given a charge of his own learning. The term medium in my view is used by Downes to represent the middle man composing, organizing, packaging and finally delivering the content.

The platform he discusses will surely be a special kind of interactive media. Here the communication will be between the student (user) and technology. And an Interactive media designer would design self learning middleman to channel information from technology to the user (human).