Module 4 Blog Posting

•How is Second Life a disruptive technology?

Second Life is a disruptive technology in that it shifts how content is generated.  Instead of having graphics, sounds, and worlds developed by companies with their artists and designers, Second Life allows users to create these items and worlds.  I visited Second Life and saw the Eiffel Tower in “Paris.”  Obviously, this is not the real Eiffer Tower built by a team of individuals over time in the physical sense but it did take man hours, creativity, and skills to complete. Another reason I see Second Life as disruptive is that the model for acquisition of wealth goes against what we see in the real world.  When ideas are generated by individuals these ideas usually become the property of the company who employs the individual.  In Second Life, users make money for their own creations that are sold to other users.

•What technology or innovation did it displace?

Second Life has helped replace ways of executing ideas people have imagined in their minds.  We often come up with ways to manipulate space and objects, but have no tools to simulate these ideas in motion.  When thinking of an actual technological too that Second Life has replaced is AutoCAD or other drafting or creation tools that were around in the early 80s and 90s.  Second Life could also move users from using two dimensional creativity tools such as Paint or Illustrator to three dimensional worlds.

A competing technology which Second Life has the potential to replace is the game the Sims.  Although there is little or no gaming effect in Second Life compared to the Sims, there are similar ideas of generating content for the virtual worlds in both innovations.  If harnessed and improved upon, Second Life could take over where the Sims is lacking in true interactions with others (not the Simspeak) and economic benefits (making money for contributing/creating content).

Another innovation replaced by Second Life is the internet chat room.  I remember one of the draws of America On-Line was that individuals could enter a world of different chats about different topics and with different populations.  You could meet new friends and chat about the day’s happenings in hundreds (which grew to thousands) of rooms.  For the more adventurous you could look for singles in Sacramento, couples in Cooperstown, or your soul mate in Seoul.  Unlike Second Life, these chat rooms did not offer avatars or immersive environments, but they did offer the same type of social interactions.  Second Life enhances the social experience by offering graphics and appropriate locales for social situations to occur.

•How many years do you think Second Life has left before another emerging technology or disruptive technology replaces it?

I am struggling to find out how Second Life is going to be around much longer.  With innovations like Skype, virtual meeting software, Facebook multiplayer games, and the other products that offer some of the same benefits, it is hard to see the market continue to grow for Second Life.  Rosedale (2008) even mentioned that many gamers are not interested in Second Life because there is no gaming appeal or quality graphics.  It just is a place to hang out, meet new people, and if you are creative enough, make money selling creations.  One reason I see the economic benefit waning is that once something is built, say the Taj Mahal, there is no need for a second or third one to be built or sold.  I guess everyone could have this monument in their world, but it just does not seem like this would happen.  Rosedale mentioned translation devices that were sold as items within Second Life.  There are free versions of these which only require a little work to access.  The economic model does not seem to promote continued growth or need.

The social aspect of meeting others in trendy discos or the Sahara desert is intriguing, but I wonder if it would be something that loses its luster after a few uses.  Humans want to interact and socialize with each other.  We want to meet new people around the world.  We have tools like social networking sites that allow us to do this, but also have more features that interest users.  People can play Uno® online with their relatives, watch the Biggest Loser while chatting with Bob Harper, or interact with moderators during the presidential debates.  All of these are done without the need of an elaborate simulated world.  I just do not think users would get much more benefit doing these tasks in a room built to simulate the auditorium of the debate location, the gym of the Biggest Loser, or some smoky gin joint in the French Quarter.

•What are the social benefits of Second Life, and what might be the social implications of virtual worlds in your industry?

In education, Second Life could serve as a portal for students to come together and collaborate on large scale assignments.  Instead of creating a type of conference call where students take turns talking about ideas, they can instantly provide ideas and feedback to others.  They can create new avatars and new identities which might help them if they have self-esteem issues.  Students who are afraid of speaking up in class can “speak up” in Second Life without the disapproving looks and snickers of others.  

With my example of the Eiffel Tower, another way Second Life helps in education is that individuals could explore worlds that they may never do in their real life.  Teachers could offer tours of battle sites, historical monuments, or other places of interest for their curriculum.  Some users create tours in which the participant sits in a special chair which moves their avatar around the virtual world.  There are stops along the way that offer information about the various features or landmarks as well as citations or references for further study. A caution about this tool is that since the content is user-generated, it may not completely accurate or even appropriate for classroom use.

As Rosedale (2008) also mentioned, people from around the world could come together and interact with each other.  He gave the example of being able to ask others for advice when shopping online at Amazon.com.  In education, students could see who else is online, ask what the homework was for certain classes, and even get tutorials from experts online.  Teachers could keep office hours for students and parents from the comfort of their own homes.  Instead of physically going to the school, parents and students could click their way to the office to virtually meet the teacher.

Reference

TED Conferences. (Producer). (2008, December). Philip Rosedale on Second Life [Video podcast]. Retrieved from http://www.ted.com/talks/the_inspiration_of_second_life.html

Rhymes of History - Module 3

When thinking of the rhymes of history this week, I chose language differences and communication as items for exploration. Language barriers have been the source of some conflicts in history, the workplace, and in social settings. Imagine working with a new colleague who only speaks a language completely dissimilar to you own. The normal day to day routine of the workplace is disrupted when individuals cannot speak or understand the language. From my perspective, we all have a voice that needs to be heard and message we want to send to others. When others do not know what we are asking or stating, we get frustrated and often just give up trying. As Thornburg (2009c) noted, when looking at rhymes of history, we often look at how we utilize new technologies to revisit ideas from our past, even if we are working with the distant past. We are rekindling our inherent desire to share with others through verbal communication. We struggle to do this with those who do not speak our language, essentially causing a language barrier between people.

Enter translation apps, and more specifically, Google Translate. In previous renditions of these devices, words were directly substituted from the target language. In short, it was like looking up passages in a dictionary and piecing them together word by word. Of course, these “translations” were choppy and often times produced inaccurate results. With words like “weather” having different meanings, these searches would only find the word “weather” in the target language and substitute. You might have a sentence like “The house can weather a storm pretty well.” In Spanish, your translation might end up saying something like “La casa lata el tiempo una tormenta bonita pozo.” Each of the words is right but the sentence is something like “The house, can (like soda can), weather (like sunny, cloudy, cool, weather), a storm, pretty (like handsome or cute) well (like the hole in the ground).

As computer power and ability has increased, so have the capabilities of these translation programs. Instead of just looking at word by word definitions, these types of applications look for meaning of whole sentences and try to infer the message the user conveys. Our translations have improved as shown by this newer rendition of my sentence above. Instead of cans and pretty wells, we have a more reasonable, “ La casa se puede capear el temporal bastante bien.” As a Spanish teacher, I would know that this sentence came from a translation application if produced by my students. That said, it is pretty darn close to what the real sentence. The word “tormenta” is how you say storm and would have been the vocabulary word I would have taught.

But, looking beyond my classroom, individuals want to share their message with others in a language they understand. It is very unlikely we all would be able to speak over 1,000 languages and dialects necessary to communicate with everyone, so we need help. We are beginning to get help in the form of mobile translation applications like Google Translate for smart phones. Using an internet connection and the app, an individual can speak (or type), a sentence in their language and have it translated into the language of choice. This also works the other way around. A speaker of a foreign language to the individual could speak into the device and have their words translated into the language the person needs. We are getting closer to having some of the most accurate translations, but still struggle with intonation, inflection, and the nuances of certain words with multiple meanings or with certain verb tenses (subjunctive, imperative, conditional, etc).

So why is a translation application or program helping fulfill the rhyme of history of our communication with others? While gestures are still important in communicating, we don’t have to grunt, point, and pray the other person knows what we are saying. No longer do we have to have multitudes of individuals pouring over reams of documents and translating them for intelligence purposes, or just to read a menu. We need to know what others are communicating and we want to communicate back. These apps facilitate more dialogue with others from different cultures of our own and allow us to improve the global economy and sharing of ideas.

Now if only we could get an accurate translation program that would tell us what our dogs and cats are saying when they share their “voices” with us.

 

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Reference:

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009c). Rhymes of history. Baltimore, MD: Author.

EDUC 8848 Module 2 Posting

McLuhan's Tetrad and the iPad

In our learning group, we decided to put the Apple iPad device through McLuhan’s tetrad.  The iPad is an emerging technology that is rewriting some of the rules of technology both inside and outside of the educational environment.  While it does not offer the full functionality of a desktop or laptop computer, the lines between these devices are becoming blurred.

Enhances:

One of the greatest aspects of the iPad device is that it truly is portable.  Since there are no wires or peripherals needed to control the iPad, individuals can use the device in almost any location.  Combine this with wireless and 3G data access and anyone can use the iPad almost anywhere, except maybe underwater.  Students can search for material at their desks, in the hallway, or even outside during recess.  Teachers can walk around with their iPad and show students just about anything from grades to applications (or apps) related to the content they teach.  Another feature that makes the iPad more portable is its size and weight.  Laptops used to weigh between fifteen and twenty pounds.  “Light” versions still weigh in between three and five pounds.  The iPad weights a mere 1.33 pounds and is just a little smaller in size than a legal pad.  For students, this device could replace bulky textbooks.  For teachers, it could significantly lighten their bags with no need to carry grade books, teacher editions, or even student work to grade.

Obsoletes:

While the iPad has not, in my opinion, replaced the traditional desktop or laptop, it has gotten pretty close.  When you think about what users need in a mobile computer, they often look to complete work tasks like emailing, using productivity tools (e.g. Office, Adobe tools, etc.), and entertaining themselves.  Right now, the iPad can do all of these things, up to a point.  Users can check and respond to emails, compose documents similar to Microsoft Word, and even entertain themselves with apps like Netflix (or is it Qwikster?!?) or Angry Birds.  However, they still cannot use Flash, play games like World of Warcraft, or craft a PowerPoint presentation with audio and video as they could with a traditional computer.  That said, most end users do not use the iPad for those processor/graphics-intensive purposes.  They view this content and respond to it via social networking or office email accounts.  I think the iPad could serve as a tool to replace portable gaming devices such as the Nintendo DS or Sony PSP, but this is still a long time coming.

Retrieves/Rekindles:

When looking at old television shows from the past, the iPad device reminds me of the Star Trek PADD.  If you watched Star Trek: The Next Generation, there were numerous types of handheld input devices that the characters used to interface with the ship’s mainframe computer.  This strikes me as similar as the iPad interfacing with “the cloud.”  In the show, users input messages, looked up data, and planned strategies all with the use of the PADD device.  In real life, users input messages, search the internet, and Skype with others to plan out their attacks in the corporate world.  I have to wonder if Steve Jobs and/or other Apple developers deliberately sought to recreate the PADD because of Star Trek.  Through great imagination and ingenuity, developers took science fiction and made it a reality.  This could be attributed to John Sculley who developed the Newton MessagePad device, the first embodiment of the iPad.   This device contained similar tools found on the iPod and iPhone. 

Reverses:

I feel that tablet computers, such as the iPad will soon spell the end of laptops, netbooks, and in a much distant future, desktop computers.  As I mentioned before, the iPad can do just about anything a typical computer user would need.  Thinking more in my personal realm, I think that computer gaming companies will have to rethink their products and how they are delivered.  If you remember traditional computer games, the graphics were basic (and in BASIC) .  Now, gaming companies are developing more robust artifacts and worlds to explore.  This trend exploded when the cost of computer components fell.  Now, the challenge would be to take a game like World of Warcraft or Rift which take up between 4 to 8 (or more) gigabytes of hard disk space and convert them to a tablet device like the iPad.  How can we take an MMO which usually requires a mouse, keyboard, speakers, microphone (for voice chat collaboration), gaming computer and monitor, and condense it to fit on an iPad device?  Moreover, how do we take the game and transfer it over where the quality is equivalent or greater to the original?  When we can get computer gamers unplugged from their Ethernet cables and outside of the confines of their houses, could we have some social change?  Could gamers easily meet up, connect their iPads to the internet and commence gaming with others instead of being locked away at home?  Would they want to?  I think these are all questions we might see answered if developers seriously move from traditional gaming to iPad (tablet) versions of the same games. 






Reference

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


Images courtesy of:
http://images.apple.com/ipad/specs/images/ipad_front.jpg
http://news.cnet.com/i/tim/2010/07/12/Angry_Birds.png
http://srigk.files.wordpress.com/2010/08/padd.jpg
http://www.riftgame.com/img/media/screenshots/ss309/ss309-large.jpg

EDUC 8848 Module 1 Blog Posting

EDUC 8848 Module 1 Posting

This week we were asked to identify a current technology which has emerged in our industry. In this case, I will be discussing the education field. We were also asked to identify the challenges this innovation faced and what societal needs it addresses. Finally, we were asked to improve upon this technology in order to avoid the challenges.

Here goes...
When considering technologies that have shaped the education field over the past years, I had many to choose from. I saw laptops, netbooks, streaming video, and even Smart Boards as potential candidates. However, one technology emerged which has had a significant impact on education, wireless internet or WiFi connectivity. As Thornburg (2009) mentioned, wireless internet allows students and teachers to be mobile learners. Instead of being stuck in front of a computer wired into the wall or in a computer lab, internet use can done anywhere within the range of the wireless signal.

One major challenge facing schools with wireless internet is need for upgrading. In my previous district, there was a major bond program which added hard wired internet along with Ethernet cabling for all classrooms. Less than five years later, this type of networking is not compatible with new devices such as tablet computers. iPads, for example, only use wireless internet or a 3G mobile connection. If a school has not invested in wireless internet, iPad use would be limited.

Another challenge facing wireless internet is balancing security with accessibility. Schools are rightly concerned with allowing access for students and staff while restricting access to outsiders. However, in order to secure this access, schools risks creating log in routines and passwords that are too difficult for users. This type of gate-keeping can easily turn off users from wanting to access the internet. If acquiring access takes longer than searching for content, the users might simply avoid using the wireless resource at all.

A need wireless internet meets is allowing the mobile computing I mentioned before. Lessons do not always take place within the walls of a school. Students can explore the outdoors, tablet computers in hand, and access content while on the move. By adding a wider radius of access, students could access the internet in homes where this is only seen as a luxury. Some students never benefit from computer use or internet access because of their socioeconomic status. If they were able to access the same content as their affluent peers, they might improve their academic achievement and knowledge base.

I would like to improve two pieces of wireless internet. My first issue is that internet use is a luxury item that many cannot afford. There has to be a way that we could subsidize wireless internet accessibility for all citizens, regardless of where they are located or their economic status. Secondly, we have to address security issues with wireless devices. There must be a way that we enter one password, one time, and we can access a wireless network seamlessly. Wireless internet is no fun when I have to keep a list of separate user keys/passwords just to access my email or watch an episode of Two Broke Girls. I have found many instances of “free wireless” no-password connections in airports and around town which are nothing more than someone trying to hack/phish/steal etc. my information.

So I ask, when will we have blanket coverage of secured wireless internet for all citizens? Is this a possibility, or is this a pipe dream?

Reference
Thornburg, D. D. (2009). Current trends in educational technology. Lake Barrington, IL: Thornburg Center for Space Exploration.

Wireless router image courtesy of: http://www.piyushshekhar.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/wireless-router.jpg

8842 Final Video Link

Here is the link to my video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7r0q-pMuW7E

Module 5 Posting

In this module we were asked to highlight the differences in static and dynamic technologies used in distance education. Here is my concept map:

While I would want to be on the more dynamic end of distance education, I currently do not have the access or even skills needed to use some of the tools Moller (2008) and McGreal & Elliott (2010) mentioned. I feel I am more in the transitional between static and dynamic content. I use static content such as streaming audio and video to deliver the content to my students. To move towards the dynamic end of the scale, I could deliver content via virtual worlds or games. An idea I have, past the dissertation, is to create a foreign language game where students are immersed in the target language, and explore content related to lessons being taught. For example, students would begin learning greetings and farewells in their game tutorial lessons. Then, they would progress to a new skill, say numbers 0-10, but still would use the content learned in the first lesson. A barrier is that most virtual games are text based where voice commands are not frequently used. When technology improves more with gaming, students would be able to give voice commands, in the target language, which would control their characters.


As far as collaboration goes, I see my level more in the static realm with wikis and blogs. Being an introvert and private person, I do not use many of the online collaboration tools like Skype and videoconferencing. I prefer more text based communication, as it is more suited to my communication style. However, as Fahy (2010) mentioned, text based communication does not reach all audiences. I need to move towards incorporating more graphics and audio, and yes, break out of my introvert shell. In my personal realm, I do collaborate more when I play my multiplayer games. I do use voice chat and the game as a backdrop to lay out plans for success. I could take this interest of mine and work with students in this comfortable area so I can go beyond my text messages.


The biggest concern I see with settling in with these new technologies for distance education is that they are constantly changing. Once I get comfortable learning something and developing course content, a new and improved tool comes out. I have no problem learning new tools, the concern is migrating my content from one platform to another. There is more work involved in changing content to match platforms than tweaking content that may not be as effective for the students. I fully embrace changes in education, just hate feeling like I wasted inordinate amounts of time to develop something that: either nobody accesses or has to be changed in a couple of years.



References

Fahy, P. J. (2010). Characteristics of interactive online learning media. In T. Anderson (Ed.), The theory and practice of online learning (pp. 167-200). Edmonton, AB: AU Press.

McGreal, R., & Elliott, M. (2010). Technologies of online learning (E-learning). In T. Anderson (Ed.), The theory and practice of online learning (pp. 143-166). Edmonton, AB: AU Press.

Moller, L. (2008). Static and dynamic technological tools. Retrieved from http://sylvan.live.ecollege.com/ec/courses/14936/CRS-WUEDUC8812-3730064/8842_M5_Paper.pdf

Module 4 Posting

In order to create an interactive online course, Durrington, Berryhill & Swafford (2006) discussed key factors that are present in effective courses. They stated instructors need to provide timely feedback and students need to have high levels of interactivity. Both of these communication areas can be addressed with technology in many ways. For teachers to provide timely feedback, courses can use drop boxes where students submit work to be graded. This prevents work being lost in emails or files being too large to send. As soon as work is submitted, the professor is notified and can begin evaluating the student’s submission. This feedback could also come in the way of a chat via Skype or text based programs where the student and professor talk about the assignment. This creates interactivity between the teacher and student while also creating quicker feedback. There is nothing worse for a student than waiting two weeks for an assignment to be graded, wondering if the work they submitted was acceptable. If chat options are not available, instructors can also employ the editing/track changes feature found in most productivity software. Here, the comments which would have been saved for chat can be expressed to the student. The student could resubmit work, and the professor could go back and grade again if necessary.

Another set of communication concerns comes with student-student communication. Since students are essentially isolated from each other, they need some way to connect with their colleagues. This can be done with synchronous and asynchronous chat rooms and discussion boards. If students want to connect at a certain time (or are required to do so), having these options available helps facilitate communication. To move the teacher into Siemens’ curatorial role, it is possible to have students moderate and evaluate the weekly discussions. Not only are they learning the skill of communication from an instructor’s viewpoint, but they are becoming more engaged as they have to go deeper into the content of a message, instead of blindly agreeing with what the original poster said. They could also provide more information which would require further individual research which usually was a task the instructors completed. Finally, When groups are chosen for projects or assignments, Durrington, Berryhill & Swafford (2006) suggest creating separate spaces for each group to communicate. This way they can focus only on their topic and not have the background noise of the other groups’ work.

When developing and presenting the content of a course, Siemens (2007) discussed the idea of the instructor as curator. Essentially, the instructor provides all of the course artifacts and guides the student with the expectation that the student would generate knowledge from the resources. The instructor is no longer the lecturer in the class, but provides resources that he/she thinks would be best suited for their students. In an online environment, this could include podcasts or vodcasts that feature pioneers in the field of study or simply lectures from previous years. The professor could also reserve library articles of interest and post those to the class homepage. In order to meet the different learning styles of students, the instructor could consider posting transcripts and slides from shows instead of just the videos or audio files. It is easier for students to search text files for interesting points instead of jumping around in audio files. To generate knowledge and not recite what is already known, the instructors could create scenarios or real life problems for the groups of students to solve. For example, in our 8842 course, we were presented with a case-study. Based on our readings of other course text, we were expected to generate solutions for a school’s concerns about starting an online section of classes. As we are working with a diverse population of students, it is important to keep traditional textbooks while allowing e-books as well. Not all students want to give up textbooks, especially as reading online causes eyestrain. Finally, to provide content, instructors should ensure the course can be viewed on mobile devices. As students might use those more often than laptops and computers, having access to the files and videos can help students stay connected to the course.

Collaboration and communication within a course can be done with tools such as online meeting software which allows users to connect with each other on a central computer. If I had files we needed to work on for a group, I could host a meeting and the group could participate in editing the document live. This prevents editing issues or individual concerns being left out after chat conversations take place. Combine this software with Skype or other videoconferencing and students thousands of miles apart can work together, see each other, and communicate beyond text messages or other typed words. As mentioned above, instructors can use traditional chat rooms or discussion boards for students to type messages if users are not comfortable using teleconferencing (or don’t have the necessary equipment). When our new technology fails, or users choose not to use it, there is always the telephone that can be used. A simple phone call is easy to make and is much cheaper than in previous decades, even internationally. A final way classes can collaborate is through the use of Wikis within a class. Say the class decides to create their own online class for future use. A wiki could be used where each person contributes and edits information. Each person is contributing to the final project and can see the contributions of others. The professors moves from lecturer to guide and encourages learners to participate if they are not pulling their weight.


References

Durrington, V. A., Berryhill, A., & Swafford, J. (2006, Winter). Strategies for enhancing student interactivity in an online environment. College Teaching, 54(1), 190-193. Retrieved from ProQuest Central.

Siemens, G. (Producer). (2007, September 10). 10 Minute Lecture – George Siemens – Curatorial Teaching [Audio podcast]. Retrieved from http://learnonline.wordpress.com/2007/09/20/10-minute-lecture-george-siemens-curatorial-teaching/