ADDRESSING THE DIGITAL DIVIDE

As a leader in educational technology, what can you do to help make emerging technologies valuable to others, while maintaining gender, cultural, and socioeconomic sensitivity?

The biggest obstacle to making emerging technologies valuable to others is the cost factor. No matter what gender or cultural background a person has, their socioeconomic level matters. It can be something that can make miracles happen, but if the money is not there, none of that matters. I would try through grants to provide access to those people of these economic levels. To be competitive in the world of today, people who do not have much needs all the help they can get. In the United States, where the culture does not have an influence in the use of technology, there is still a big digital divide. The haves, have a whole lot more than the have nots.

Additionally, as a leader in educational technology, I would provide ways in which to see how technology could be beneficial on an individual level. According to Thornburg, "Valuable means understanding a culture well enough to help people incorporate new ideas into that culture" (Laureate Ed. 2009). Understanding gender issues and culture issues while pushing technology as an educational tool, should be a great way to help people to understand how these technologies could benefit them. Not only does it help the people of those cultures, but it will help me in understanding the diverse ways in which technology affects different people on a day to day basis. What can be important to one, may not be so important to another. We all can benefit from understanding others and as an educational technology leader this new and deeper understanding will help to allow me to see outside the box when trying to make emerging technologies valuable to others.

Laureate Education, Inc. (2009). Emerging and future technology. Baltimore: Author.

Red Queens and Increasing Returns

·        When you decided to obtain a DVD for your science fiction assignment in Module 4, where did you go to find a movie based on a Philip K. Dick book? Did you rent or purchase a DVD, or did you view it digitally on your computer using Netflix or a similar vendor of video on demand?

When I decided to obtain a DVD for my science fiction assignment in Module 4, I viewed it on my cable provider U-verse, through video on demand. I was actually out of town and was able to retrieve it on the computer through their service. It came in really handy that day.

·      Is the current competition between DVDs and video on demand an example of increasing returns or Red Queens? Justify your response with sound reasoning and specific examples.

The current competition between DVDs and video on demand is an example on increasing returns. According to Thornburg, Bryan Arthurs’ Increasing Returns theory states,” two innovations hit the market about the same time. By chance one technology gets locked in and drives the other to extinction” (Laureate Ed, 2009). With the increasing speed and clarity of television and the services provided by the cable companies, they are pushing DVDs out. Eventually, there will not be a need for DVDs because storage capacities have gotten better as times goes by. A video can be viewed over the computer and on demand and recorded for future use. DVRs are able to record a movie you would like to view at a later time and keep the movies on them for as long as you like. DVDs went from normal DVDs to Blueray and then now to 3D. All of these media types can be had through the cable providers’ services. Having them in video on demand has made the accessibility easier and faster, which in these times, are the most important things to people. For the DVD companies like blockbuster, Netflix and others, people will begin to use them less and less as time goes on. So if they do not lower their prices, eventually they will have to provide a free service or a new service and if not, finally, eventually go out of business.

Where do you think DVDs and video on demand are on the four criteria of McLuhan’s tetrad?

I believe, DVDs and video on demand are on the criteria of enhancement of McLuhan’s tetrad. It enhances the movie experience. Just like VHS cassettes, you are able to watch when you felt like at anytime of the day. It retrieves the drive in experience. In the times of the drive in, you could go to the drive in dressed however you wanted because no one had to see you in the car. It also allowed as many people as you wanted to watch the movie for a set price and not have to pay for everyone individually to see the movie at the same time.

Laureate Education, Inc. (2009). Emerging and future technology. Baltimore: Author.

Hempell, A. (1996). The Reasoning Interval: Exploring the process of the Tetrad. Retrieved on May 11, 2011, from http://www.anthonyhempell.com/papers/tetrad/concept.html

The Disruptive Power of Second Life

Second Life is a disruptive force in the world of today because it has created a way out for people who prefer not to socialize personally. “Virtual worlds obliterate time and space boundaries imposed by the physical world, enabling us to do what would be impossible — or nearly impossible — in our real environments” (   ). In my industry, building contacts and support people is necessary for incoming professional teachers. Teachers need all the help and guidance they can get when starting their career. When I started as a teacher, I was placed in the classroom and was told to teach. Mind you, I had not had any prior teaching experience and the most I was told to do was to sit in someone’s class for one or two times to get an idea of what is expected. Being able to build a support group by seeing people face to face would really help out an upcoming teacher.

The technology or innovation Second Life replaced was actual face to face conferencing. No longer do we need to be in the same place, country or even time zone. It has created a vast new way of meeting and greeting people through avatars.  The article states “"Virtual worlds and virtual reality will play an increasingly significant role in our personal and professional lives," says the report.  "In a virtual world, people can navigate a conference or other live event through a 3-D experience that enables them to interact with others via avatars"(CSC, 2011). This is basically what Second Life is allowing many people to do from the comfort of their homes.  

Second Life probably have a few more years before technology gets even better and a new form of technology to replace it. I believe virtual worlds will become better in which people will be able to see actual real faces in the virtual world rather than make believe avatars that do not look real. The implications of this in my industry will probably be for classes to be held in this format. We currently have virtual schools, but I am not sure if they have a virtual classroom like Second Life. If it does not currently exist, it won’t be long before it happens. Taking field trips without leaving the classroom is another way this technology could make a big impact in my industry.

Computer Science Corporation. (2011). CSC Digital Disruptions: Technology innovations powering the 21^st century. Retrieved on April 29, 2011 from http://www.csc.com/features/stories/12409-digital_disruptions_technology_innovations_powering_21st_century_business

Rosedale, P. (2008). Second Life [Video]. Retrieved from http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/the_inspiration_of_second_life.html.

Emerged Technology Tetrad: Nook e-reader

  


Enhances: Mobile library, interactive magazines and books, 

Obsoletes: It replaces brick and motar book stores, computers, printed material, printing presses. No longer will there be a need for paper and ink to be used. 

Retrieves/rekindles:  Scrolls were created to have reading material that were easily transferable from one place to another and to keep track of the documented things that has happened in time. 

Reverses:  Readers in the forms of eyeglasses or goggles. It may cause the end of bookstores or bookstores may transition to software stores that sells reading material on memory. Schools may use these e readers as student textbooks for mutliple classes for greater access and to avoid students having to carry so much weight.

 http://www.barnesandnoble.com/nook/index.asp
http://techpinger.com/2010/12/nook-color-ereader-review-and-first-hands-on-video/

Identify an Emerged Technology

http://www.protechprojection.com/document_cameras

Document Cameras

A current technology that has emerged in the last few years that shapes learning or productivity in my industry is the document camera. The document camera is a technology that stemmed from a previous technology, the overhead projector.

The document camera allowed for the same usages a chalkboard or whiteboard would allow, but it provided an easier and faster way for whole group instruction to occur. Some problems or challenges that have been associated with the document camera’s technology are the limitations associated with using the camera. It does not have much features on the camera itself. The camera also is not a stand-alone device. It needs a computer for it to work and to control all the other capabilities it has. The technology would be better if it had more capabilities of it’s own and did not rely so much on the hook up to the computer. If not for the software on the computer, the document camera would not provide much benefit in education.