EDUC 8848 Module 4 - Disruptive Technologies

Disruptive technology is a new technology that performs the same function of an existing technology, which it obsoletes, and it is often cost-effective (Laureate, 2009). Second life is a 3D virtual community where exist avatar representing a real person. Second life is a disruptive technology as its use of the virtual world makes it cost effective, and part of its characteristics is social networking. The evolution of second life will be bigger than what is available on the web (Rosedale, 2008). The web gives access to information through text and images. In virtual worlds, access to information is through iconic symbols that can be used with human beings. The experience of creating, consuming and exploring the information is intrinsically social (Rosedale, 2008). It might likely obsolete websites based on 2D technology or virtual entertainment.

The life span of second life might not exceed the next three to five years considering the rate of emergence of new technologies. However, enhancement of the user interface and other facilities on the platform might add value to usage. The social benefits include the ability of users to create a space to suit their needs and socialize; reduce environmental impact of travels; retain intellectual property to their creation, and collaboration and communication among users across the world. The use of avatars gives users comfort in participating within a community without real identity, especially introverts. The social implications of virtual worlds in education are numerous. Educators use it to design learning objects that makes learning attractive, visual simulation processes and creating a virtual classroom. It is a tool for distance education, which might make learners feel more comfortable to collaborate and participate effectively in their courses.

References

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2009). Disruptive technologies [Video webcast]. Retrieved from http://mym.cdn.laureate-media.com/Walden/EDUC/8848/04/downloads/WAL_EDUC8848_04_B_EN-CC.zip

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

EDUC 8848 Module 3 - Rhymes of History

With civilization, the world is forging ahead with history not being repeated, but with rhymes of modern inventions. Humans use writing implements to record and convey their thoughts and feelings. The recorded information is what generations yet unborn as at the time of writing read and use to know about who they are, and what has transpired in the past. The history of writing implements dates back to around 4000BC. Man keeps a record by scratching the surface of clay tablet with a bronze or bone tool. Thereafter, the Egyptians developed writing on papyrus scrolls using thin brushes, and subsequently was writing on parchment with a quill pen. The invention of metal pen point, fountain pen, ball point pen and roller ball pens changed writing styles as they evolved. In 1997, was the evolution of ring pen, which do not require three fingers for gripping (Grandee Corp., n.d.).

However, technological advancement in terms of record keeping has made use of pens to be obsolete. People now keep records on their computers, and where such records are of utmost importance, external storage devices are used for safe-keeping and ease of access. The miniaturization of the storage devices enables people to carry their records around. The impact of the various inventions rekindles something from the distant past (Laureate Inc., 2009). The storage devices rekindle the clay tablets used to record and store information over 6000 years ago. Moving forward, do people really need to carry physical devices? Will technology allow people to retrieve their information anywhere at the touch of just a button? This leads to Kelly’s opinion on codependency stating “Total personalization in this new world will require transparency”. I do not want consider a touch (biometrics) or “Google it”, but probably ability to talk with a machine (voice recognition) and retrieve my information anywhere I go. I do not need any writing implement, be it a pen or keyboard. The “Cloud” serves as the tablet, papyrus and paper of old. Would this fall in place with Kelly’s idea “Humans are going to be the extended senses of a machine” or McLuhan’s idea “Machines are the extended senses of humans”?

References

Grandee Corp. (n.d.). History of Writing Instruments. Retrieved October 8, 2012 from http://www.ringpen.com/history.html

Kelly, K. (2007, December). Kevin Kelly on the next 5,000 days of the Web [Speech]. Speech delivered at the EG 2007 Conference, Los Angeles. Retrieved from http://www.ted.com/talks/kevin_kelly_on_the_next_5_000_days_of_the_web.html

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2009). Rhymes of History[Video webcast]. Retrieved from http://mym.cdn.laureate-media.com/Walden/EDUC/8848/03/downloads/WAL_EDUC8848_03_C_EN-CC.zip

EDUC 8848 - Module 2

Emerging Technologies Tetrad

The Holographic Versatile Disc (HVD) is a storage device based on an optical disc technology and can store several terabytes of information using collinear holography technique (Layton, n.d.). HVD enhances disk storage capability and a faster transfer rate of data. This technology obsoletes data storage devices such as CD, DVD, and Blu-ray disks with lower disk storage capability. HVD rekindles the early days of punch cards in which information were stored on perforated paper and early invention of hard disk with storage capacity of about 5MB. Then 5 million characters were huge, and people feel the invention of hard disk was the best to happen in terms of storage capacity. However, the progression of storage devices has been so rapid with the emergence of other devices such as flash drives in gigabytes. The reversal of HVD might be cloud storage, which will have unlimited storage capacity and access to information and documents can be anywhere, anytime around the world.

McLuhan’s tetrad help explore emerging technology and has four quadrants in which every invention enhances, obsoletes, rekindles and reverses simultaneously (Laureate Inc., 2009). The progression of storage devices is in a chain from floppy disk, laser disk, CD and DVD, to Blu-ray disk and HD DVD; the end is not in sight with HVD and Cloud storage.

References

Layton, J. (n.d.). How holographic versatile discs work? Retrieved September 26, 2012 from http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/hvd.htm.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2009). McLuhan Tetrad. [Video webcast]. Retrieved from http://mym.cdn.laureate-media.com/Walden/EDUC/8848/02/downloads/WAL_EDUC8848_02_A_EN-CC.zip.

 

EDUC 8848 - Emerging and Future Technologies

Identify an Emerged Technology

From thick to thin clients

The affordability of computers by many organizations was as a result of the invention of desktop computers, unlike the days of mainframes. This made many schools have technology-enabled environment. Thick clients are full-featured computers with local hard drives and capacity to run multimedia applications. They can be connected to a network and operated as standalone computers. However, maintenance and sustainability were some of the challenges encountered by the use of thick clients. Many organizations had to incur extra cost in resolving the issue of viruses on the systems. However, the emergence of thin client architecture was able to mitigate some of the challenges encountered using thick clients.

Many organizations now opt for thin client environment because of high cost of a desktop replacement, network security, data access to mobile or remote workers (Hewlett-Packard Inc, 2012). Thin clients are gaining ground at a faster speed with various manufacturers’ design process to suit the needs of users. Though, the technology has challenges of scalability and high performance servers. There might be a need to upgrade the server as the users’ workload increases or purchase a new server. The capability is limited in handling multimedia-rich applications, and the transmission of data requires a higher network bandwidth. However, the benefits outweigh the challenges. Thin clients have lower acquisition, administrative, and maintenance costs. Thin clients have better security, and do not retain data during processes, as processing is centrally managed on the server. Thin clients are highly sustainable and do not require disks, regular updating or becoming obsolete within a short period. Reduction of network congestion and support of heterogeneous PC environment are part of the benefits of thin clients (Educause, 2012).

Other technologies might help the adoption rate of thin client architecture. The use of wireless technology in a thin client environment will mitigate the issue of network bandwidth, and transmission of data will be faster. The wireless technology is becoming more popular such that students with thin client netbook can have access to school web applications anywhere, anytime. The cloud computing technology will also aid the effective use of thin client architecture, as this will reduce the workload on the server. Users can access applications stored outside the primary server.

References

Hewlett- Packard. (2012). When to consider thin client solution? Retrieved September 10, 2012 from http://www.hp.com/sbso/solutions/pc_expertise/article/thinclients_consider.html.

Educause. (2012). What are thin clients? Retrieved September 10, 2012 from http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/DEC0005.pdf

 

 

 

Motivating Adult Learners - EDUC 8842 Module 6

Video Presentation

In this video presentation, the technology tools used are Windows Live Movie Maker, YouTube, Sound Recorder and Microsoft Powerpoint. The hardware for live video recording of the keynote speaker was Sony FX-50 camcorder. Most of the pictures were captured during a training session I held for adult learners.

Moving Toward Dynamic Technologies - EDUC 8842 Module 5

Static -  Dynamic Technologies Continuum

The learning outcomes of a course will determine the appropriate technologies to be used for designing the instructional materials. A course involving team work requires a good collaborative tool to engage learners actively during the learning process. The static technologies tools are easy to use and adapt to a learning environment. Static technologies broadcast information and avail learners the opportunity to capture information with little or minimal knowledge building. However, some technologies such as wikis and blogs tread in between static and dynamic. Learners interact with the content and generate new ideas. Creation of knowledge is through analysis and argumentation using media such as discussions board (Moller, 2008). Dynamic technologies allow learners interaction with materials at a deeper cognitive level. Learners construct new knowledge leading to a better understanding of the content and enhance learners’ achievement. At this end of the continuum, the use of virtual simulations and games to achieve learning outcomes is vital.

My comfort zone is the middle of the static-dynamic technologies continuum. The use of Google docs for collaboration comes with ease, and one of the advantages is the ability for learners to edit document at the same time, irrespective of their location. The ease of use of Skype for phone calls, video conferencing, chat, and instant messaging has made it a preferred choice with the added value of free access. Moving to the dynamic end of the continuum, I foresee developing courses using Moodle and Blackboard with embedded collaborative work, discussion forum and opinion polls. I require creative skills to develop games relating to a subject. The mind map tools are very dynamic and enhance learners’ critical thinking skills. The use of mind tools will aid learners to explore, create, apply and construct new knowledge. Mind tools will inevitably be part of my designed courses. This will help learners think creatively and generate various possibilities to solve assigned tasks.

These links give more insight on static and dynamic technologies. Erica’s blog has embedded videos with information on using dynamic technologies in the classroom.

http://ericaeduc8842.blogspot.com/2011/02/module-five-blog.html and

http://loadholteduc8842blog.blogspot.com/2010/08/module-5-moving-toward-dynamic.html

Reference

Moller, L. (2008). Static and dynamic technological tools. [Unpublished Paper].

Engaging Learners with New Strategies and Tools - EDUC 8842 Module 4

 

The learning environment in an online setting is a determining factor for effective engagement of learners. The environment must be supportive, open, trustworthy and respectful (Durrington, Berryhill, & Swafford, 2006). Anderson (2008) in his community of inquiry model stated the essence of social presence, cognitive presence and teaching presence for learners to be actively engaged in an online learning environment. Social presence will establish a supportive environment for learners with a level of comfort and safety to express opinions and present themselves as real human beings. Cognitive presence will ensure the development of critical thinking skills, and teaching presence will involve instructional design and organization of the learning experience, activities to facilitate interactivity and varied forms of direct instruction. It is vital that educators create learning resources that will expose learners to critical concepts on the new knowledge to be acquired (Siemens, 2008).

The framework of the teaching presence and its components is the driving force for building a strong sense of community among learners. Shea, Li, Swan and Pickett (2005) in their study on the role of teaching presence in developing a learning community in online asynchronous college courses established that perceived teaching presence is associated with student’s sense of a learning community. Another finding established by Swan and Shih (2005) in their study on the nature and development of social presence in online discussion was the existence of a significant relationship between perceived social presence and satisfaction with online discussions.

Strategies that encourage student interactivity include asynchronous instructor-mediated discussion, student-moderated discussion, and problem-based learning (Durrington et al., 2006). The educational experience of learners must involve communication, collaboration and content, which are embedded in these various strategies. There is a variety of tools that could help to achieve a high level of student interactivity in online learning environment. The use of Skype is very effective for communication as it includes facilities for web conferencing, online meeting, instant messaging and sharing of files. Google docs is a collaborative tool that allow learners to share ideas and work together on documents in asynchronous and synchronous ways. Learners can access the documents on any system as a result of the cloud computing. Mind Meister is online collaborative tool for developing mind map concepts. It is an easy to use tool for class tasks. It allows learners to create mind maps on various lessons with color coding for easy of reference, and can be used on interactive whiteboard, to engage learners in brainstorming activities. Google sites allow learners and teachers to integrate technology into their daily activities. It is free, fast and easy to use. In an educational environment, it can be used to build content knowledge, which is accessible anywhere.

References

Anderson, T. (2008). Teaching in an online learning context. In Anderson, T. (Ed.), The theory and practice of online learning (2^nd ed.) (p. 343-365). Edmonton, AB: Athabasca University Press.

Durrington, V. A., Berryhill, A., & Swafford, J. (2006). Strategies for enhancing student interactivity in an online environment. College Teaching, 54(1), 190−193.

Shea, P., Li, C. S., Swan, K., & Pickett, A. (2005, December). Developing learning community in online asynchronous college courses: The role of teaching presence. Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks, 9(4). Retrieved from http://sloanconsortium.org/jaln/v9n4/developing-learning-community-online-asynchronous-college-courses-role-teaching-presence

Siemens, G. (2008, January). Learning and knowing in networks: Changing roles for educators and designers. ITForum.

Swan, K., & Shih, L. F. (2005). On the nature and development of social presence in online couse discussions. Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks, 9(3). Retrieved from http://sloanconsortium.org/jaln/v9n3/nature-and-development-social-presence-online-course-discussions