Module 4 Responses

I have responded to the following posts for Module 4:

Lewis Chappelear


Wanda Ardoin-Bailey

Module 4 Responses

I have responded to the following blogs this week:

Lewis Chappelear

Wanda Ardoin-Bailey

The Disruptive Power of Second Life

Disruptive technologies come out of nowhere and obsolete existing technologies. Thornburg (n.d.) explains disruptive technologies as being on an evolutionary path, but another technology comes on the scene and obsoletes the prior technology because it has other qualities that make it better. Second Life is a disruptive technology because has found a market in providing free, engaging and innovative ways to allow people to meet and interact in educational, business and social settings. It has had the potential to displace other technologies such as teleconferencing or distance learning technologies. However, even after almost 10 years of existence, I do not believe that Second Life has actually obsoleted those technologies. What it is threatening to displace are real life social relationships.

I suspect that Second Life has not displaced other technologies because it is not as user-friendly as it needs to be to attract new users. It is certainly easy to use for a young, digital native who has spent a great amount of time in the virtual worlds of video gaming. However, a digital immigrant like me will find the experience much more challenging. Although I made a Second Life account a year or so ago, I found the experience to be rather frustrating and so I never investigated it any further. My interest in Second Life has been revived with this assignment and I am reminded of those prior frustrations as I “learn to walk and fly” and explore the virtual world. Here is my avatar, Fiorentina Nicoletti, as she explores St. Peter's Basilica today. She was teleported there from Luxembourg City.

Second Life has been in existence since 2003. Its population is estimated to have reached approximately 15 million by 2008 and 20 million in 2011. This apparent growth in registered users is thought not to represent the actual numbers of concurrent users, which appears to be on the decline from 62, 000 in 2009 and 54,000 in 2010. It appears that Second Life has not sustained its popularity for the masses nor taken on the same mass popularity as social networking has seen with Facebook. While it appears to have a level of success and popularity with a particular crowd and certain institutions, in my opinion, the depth of its impact has not been as disruptive as that of Facebook.

The Forward 150 Timeline states that by 2020 “People will spend a large amount of time in virtual reality worlds.” What I found to be particularly startling is that they predict that the virtual reality may come to mean more to some people than their true reality. I see this as both a blessing and a curse. According to Second Life inventor, Philip Rosedale, there is great appeal in having a second life because it helps participants see the potential of the many things that could be possible as reality in their real lives. For example, someone who might be afraid to try something in real life will have the courage to try and be successful in his virtual life. This gives him the courage to change his real life. I also think of people who are geographically isolated or physically impaired. Involvement in a virtual world allows them to participate in activities in which they could not participate in their first lives. While this can be an enriching experience for some people, it can also be a curse for others who become more involved in their virtual lives than their first lives. My research on Second Life was filled with examples of how Second Life also brought out the dark and evil sides of people, which is not surprising given the anonymity of the environment. A recent film called Life 2.0 investigated this phenomenon.

The social implications of Second Life in education are exciting. While the popularity of this technology might not catch on with the general public, I believe it is a ripe opportunity for educational organizations. We already see the use of distance education and teleconferencing in school organizations. The ability to create virtual classrooms in which a diverse group of people can learn together in an engaging environment that promotes creativity and innovation is promising. Our schools are filled with digital natives who crave more engaging and relevant learning experiences. The digital 3D experiences of video games, the social context of instant messaging and collaboration of Facebook, Skype and Google Docs are part of our students’ lives outside of school. By not using these familiar tools with them in education is like asking our children to take a step back in time. Second Life has the potential to engage students by immersing them in a physical environment that simulates a reality that they would never be exposed to in their regular lives. The ability of students to operate with an avatar has a psychological impact. The learning experience may be far less threatening and have the potential to encourage a greater level of participation for some students who suffer from shyness or lack confidence in front of their peers. Collaboration, creativity, and the ability to differentiate the learning experiences for students could all be embedded into the learning environment for our students as just one more tool to help learning be more engaging and relevant for students.

References

Thornburg (n.d.). Disruptive Technologies. Retrieved from http://sylvan.live.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=5260654&Survey=1&47=5568839&ClientNodeID=984645&coursenav=1&bhcp=1

Module 3 Blog Responses

I have responded to the following classmate blogs this week:


Lewis Chappelear

Elizabeth Sanford

Maps to Apps: Rhymes of History

From the time of birth, a human’s brain is wired to
respond to and interact with the stimuli in its environment. There is a unavoidable curiosity that is inherent in the human brain that drives the need to explore. Circumstances in the environment, such as drought or lack of a food source also created the need to venture out in search for the resources to ensure survival. And so, I could imagine the caveman explorer who first ventured out to explore his surroundings may not have ever returned because he became lost, got too far from a water source or entered the dangerous territory of his predators and died. So, the next caveman got a little smarter and when he went out, he devised a system in which he created landmarks and used the sky to help him find his way back to the camp. His people gave him bread and advised him to drop the crumbs along the trail so that they could track him if he did not return. As time progressed, maps became carved on stone tablets, drawn by hand on hides, cloth, and eventually paper. The portability of these tools enabled the courageous explorers to navigate even further from their homes and actually return. As we fast forward in time, recent advancements in technology, such as GPS and RDIF technology allow us to track anything, anywhere.

Thornburg (n.d.) utilizes the term “rhymes of history” to characterize advancements in technology that rekindle something from the past. He asserts that the more knowledge we have of the past, the more prepared we will be to anticipate the future. GPS and RDIF technologies bring us back to the times of the first explorers and their need to navigate the environment. The same innate curiosities that drove the cavemen to explore still exist today. Our globally connected economies and abilities to travel further distances in shorter time frames make travel an inevitable experience for many. With a GPS, the explorer can travel more efficiently and effectively and successfully return to his/her place of origin. With RDIF technology, a person or thing can be tracked and located. Today’s citizens have the same basic needs as our caveman ancestors which explains why history continues to “rhyme.” What changes are the innovations and advancements of the technologies and how we respond to them.

I feel a particular kinship with my caveman ancestors and those other souls who braved the uncharted waters before me. I am about to embark upon a journey during the dreaded “Carmegeddon” that is supposed to occur with the shut down of the 405 freeway in Los Angeles this weekend. I am relieved that I am the beneficiary of a technological era that relieves my stress from trying to use a map while driving in chaos. I can use a GPS that is built into my rental car or I can use an app on my iPad, both telling me exactly where I need to go. Crumbs….maps….apps….rhymes of history leading to innovations in the future.

References

Thornburg (n.d.). Rhymes of History. Retrieved from Walden University on July 13, 2011 http://sylvan.live.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=5260654&Survey=1&47=5568839&ClientNodeID=984645&coursenav=1&bhcp=1

Module 2 Responses

During Module 2 I responded to the following classmates:

Lewis Chappelear

http://cathymarzialiedtech.blogspot.com/2011/06/module-2-smart-phone-tetrad.html#comments

Dolly Fernandes

http://studentofedtech.blogspot.com/2011/07/blog-post.html?showComment=1309680306173#c28614667729894726

I was unable to post response to our other team member Elizabeth Sanford because the post was not present by the deadline. I will contribute to her post when it is available.

Module 2: Progression of Smart Phone Tetrad

In his Emerging and Future Technologies blog, Lewis Chappelear created the following tetrad to illustrate the progression of the Smart Phone to an external device that begins to present communication devices with brain activation:



I believe that the trend of the future will be twofold:

1. Body integrated systems: The trend in technology is moving from wires to wireless to allow for ubiquitous access to communication and information. This access must still be activated by external, physical switching on devices. This technology will progress to being fully integrated into the brain to allow for any access to be activated by thoughts/brainwaves.

2. Fully integrative devices: There will be a greater integration of systems into one device. Currently, MP3 players, GPS technology, cameras, and phones are all combined into one device. This will be expanded to include an even wider array of needs/services and easier access. For example, the telephone conversation of the past required dialing a number and holding a spoken conversation. The conversation of the future may have a conversation activated by thinking of the person and having a quiet conversation within the brain. Or, one may be able to go through the drive-through window and they will have a scanner which recognizes the unique dietary needs of the customer which are stored in the chip in the brain.

The following tetrad illustrates this progression:

It is at this point that I begin to struggle with what could possibly come next. What do you think?