The Emerging Technology final assignment video can be found at this address:

:http://youtu.be/IcFivt-gIMQ

Because of its length I have had to cut 5 minutes of it out to be able to upload it to youtube. I am gong to try to upload agan to teacher tube so the whole video can be seen.

Red Queens and Internet Dreams

I cannot remember the last time I actually picked up a DVD and used it to watch a movie. I use Netflix, Hulu, Drama Fever, Apple Store and Amazon Prime for all of my entertainment needs. I suppose for me, internet streaming has replaced the old technology completely. When this kind of replacement happens society wide it become an example of a red queen in tech speak. This was discussed in the video casts by Thornburg in the Walden resources. This same idea has been discussed in the scientific world as the red queen hypothesis. The idea that evolutionary changes in one organisms can lead to the extinction of another(Van Valen, 1973). It is interesting that living things follow the same basic pattern as technology and its acceptance into society.
Thornburg (2008) mentions the need for students to understand emerging technologies to better prepare for the future and how it will effect them. I believe this is why DVD and streaming are included in the tetrad because it is happening right now. We are analyzing a red queen phenomenon in real time and it helps us to better understand what will be happening in our future.


Read the red queen hypothesis
http://www.indiana.edu/~curtweb/Research/Red_Queen%20hyp.html


Thornburg, D. D. (2008). //Emerging technologies and McLuhan's Laws of Media//. Lake Barrington, IL: Thornburg Center for Space Exploration.

Module 4 Disruptive Technology

Disruptive technology is defined as something that changes the way society does things.  The virtual world of Second life is thought to be the future of social, educational and corporate interactions. Second life was touted by some to be the latest in disruptive technology.  Second life does not appear to be  inherently disruptive technology. The internet and its ability to allow socialization appears to be the actual disruptive technology.  Second Life seems more like  another example of socialization software.  I actually investigated using second life as a teaching tool about 5 years ago but it did not benefit the students as it is. It was fun for a day or so but to actually replace educational methods permanently or true socialization in our society I do not think it will be that disruptive.  I can see why many think it could be disruptive overall but it seems to be more about how the internet has been disruptive than Second Life itself. 

Second life could possibly enhance classroom instruction or corporate business but so far it has not changed these things drastically. I spoke to some Clemson University students recently and asked them their opinion about Second Life in the classroom. They mentioned a few professors that have used it but they all avoided those classes if at all possible. They felt it was a waste of their time and did not benefit them enough to go to the trouble of using it. One student felt it might be beneficial to use it to demonstrate things a professor or teacher is discussing. For instance, create a medieval world that each student must have an avatar that meets the expectations of the time period and completes tasks developed by the professor. They did not feel it would be useful long term but as an enhancement to regular classwork.  The fact that these students did not like Second Life could mean the professors were not using the technology effectively but once again I see it more as an enhancement. 

Kitely and Open Sim are good replacements for Second Life as they allow for cloud structure and  information backup. Will these types of virtual environments become the norm in our society? It is hard to say but Business Weekly feels that virtual environments will never replace the effectiveness of face to face meetings. I feel the same way about the educational setting. I think it will be an important tool in the educational process but I do not think it will ever replace face to face interaction. 

http://www.businessweek.com/debateroom/archives/2009/01/virtual_meetings_will_erase_face_to_face.html

Rhymes of History

Rhymes of history as described by Thornburg (2009) looks at technology and the repetition of its uses throughout human history.  The need to navigate is one example of how technology changes but performs the same task.  Sailors used the stars but this method was made more efficient with the development of azimuth technology. Map making became more and more skilled as technology was developed but the product was the same just more efficient. Sonar allowed us to map the bottom of the ocean until satellite technology allowed us to map more efficiently even though we have actually only SEEN about 1% of the actual bottom of the ocean.  Handheld GPS allow us now to know our exact location anywhere on the planet once again because of satellite technology. Maps were our best way to know our locations before the development of this GPS technology.  Mapping technology has moved to Google Earth and our ability to see anyplace on the globe at any given moment. In the future there is the possibility of roads that will contain GPS information which increase safety for an ever increasing driving population. 

http://www.gps.gov/applications/roads/

Internet Streaming Tetrad

Internet Streaming

Enhances Video streaming has become the latest trend in watching videos. It is convenient because you only need internet access and a computer to watch practically anything at anytime for a low cost.	Obsoletes The Video streaming industry is expected to make all other types of digital recordings obsolete. It is also thought that streaming video may replace cable television and satellite service.
Retrieves Many people feel that the old type media production will always be the best mode of watching video. CD’s or LD has complete bandwidth capabilities that allows for good picture and great sound quality. Laserdiscs are not pirate protected and can be used on any player anywhere in the world as long as it is played on any National Television System Committee(ntsc) players which includes most countries.  Many still look for the LD form of media that conform to the theatrical aspect ratio. If treated well the LD will last longer than any other format. The same will be true of the CD format for the same reasons.  Streaming video may have many return to the use of LD, DVD, CD etc. when it realized that the quality of streamed video etc. is not the best quality (Keenan,2011) .	Reverses When pushed to the extreme video streaming will become a library of videos that anyone can stream from the cloud or some pay service. Schools and businesses will no longer need to buy video technology but simply stream from a service much like UnitedStreaming which is used in schools today. This could eventually lead to teachers streaming there lessons online for distance learning capabilities.

The easy access of streaming makes it the choice of the day for many people today. With the LD, DVD/Blu-ray it is necessary to deal with how the media is produced and distributed along with the instrument that will be used to play it. Streaming video can be played on many different platforms from phones to desktop computers. One of the biggest problems for streaming is the need for sufficient bandwidth to play properly. LD, CD,DVD technology must  be hardwired when streaming does not. Streaming's best selling point is its accessibility and availability. At the moment streaming is limited because of bandwidth but as internet access increases history has shown that quality of media loses out to cheap available media formats (Malczewski, 2011).

This is the internet streaming site I use in my school now:

http://streaming.discoveryeducation.com/

This was a great article about streaming in education:

www.cisco.com/web/strategy/docs/education/ciscovideowp.pdf‎

References:

Keenan, D. S. (2011). Factors that Influence Learning Satisfaction Delivered by Video

Streaming Technology. Journal Of Interactive Instruction Development, 22(1), 3-19.

Malczewski, B. (2011). Still Loading. Library Journal, 136(19), 22.

Module 1 blog post

Educational technology is continually changing just as technology changes in everyday society. I have chosen the Interactive White Board (IWB) or Smart Board to discuss for this forum. The Smart Board has been touted as the modern way to get kids out of their seats and engaged in the classroom. It has also been said to increase critical thinking skills and of course test scores.  In fact it would seem that these effects would actually be caused by the technology allowing a teacher to be more effective not necessarily because of the Smart Board itself.

The advantages of an IWB are numerous. The IWB allows the instructor to use pre made lessons on the computer without using a conventional white board. Many of the lessons teachers need can be found on the internet ready to go thus saving time for the teacher to complete other necessary work in the classroom. There are interactive lessons and games students can use during instruction time to make the lessons more interesting. The IWB is connected to the teacher computer so all work completed by the teacher and the students can be saved for later or printed out for home use.

The disadvantages come in the same form as much of the latest technology in society today, cost. The price for putting IWB’s in every classroom is prohibitive. Also the training necessary to have students become effective users of SMART board is also expensive. The board itself also requires a projector mounted in the ceiling for best use and that in itself is another expensive issue. Students will also have to be trained in the use of the board and the new technology often just becomes a game to them rather than a learning tool.

The use of the SMART board would become more ensconced in education if were more affordable. There are grants available but that is not a guaranteed source of income and certainly cannot cover every school. There is also the issue of some schools moving to the SMART TV which has touch screen and computer connection with less cost and many schools have changed to these SMART TV’s instead of the IWB. I wonder if this going to be a case of an emergent technology (IWB) becoming obsolete rather quickly as the SMART TV replaces it.

I taught in China for a couple of months last summer in some private schools. Every classroom had the interactive television rather than IWB’s. It was the first time I used a SMART TV in the classroom and I liked it. Although the IWB has some advantages because so many lessons have been designed for it.

The promethean website demonstrates one of the more commonly used IWB in classrooms:

http://www.prometheanworld.com/us/english/education/products/interactive-whiteboard-systems/

 

The website below is an example of a teacher asking for a donation of a smart TV to her classroom:

 

https://classroomcash.org/winner?id=93