Friday, November 25, 2011

RED QUEENS AND INCREASING RETURNS

RED QUEENS AND INCREASING RETURNS

When I decided to obtain my DVD for the science fiction assignment, I used Netflix. The current competition between DVDs and VOD (video-on-demand) is an example of increasing returns in this era rather than Red Queens. Red Queens, according to Dr. Thornburg, is a huge competition between technologies in which the other similar technologies are completely left behind (Laureate Education Inc., 2009). Presently, DVDs and VOD are not experiencing a Red Queen, but more of an increasing return where the demand for VOD is more than it is for DVDs. Thereby, the market paints a picture of increasing returns for the success or infusion of VOD as an adopted technology (Laureate Education Inc., 2009).

Now, I think that DVDs are fastly, if not already, approaching the second quadrant of McLuhan’s tetrad (obsolete) and VOD is in the first quadrant (McLuhan, 1988). DVDs are not in high demand in the hard copy format, but VOD is very hot due to the fact that it enhances portability and is easily accessible to users

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

McLuhan, M., & McLuhan, E. (1988). Laws of media: The new science. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.

Sunday, October 30, 2011

Second Life Technology

What is Second Life? Second Life is a 3-D virtual world where users can socialize and connect to share ideas and created identities that would otherwise be impossible to create in the real world (Rosedale, 2008). It can serve as a means of escape and creativity (Rosedale, 2008).

How is Second Life a disruptive technology?
In the field of education, high school education, many of our students use Second Life technologies to escape the stressors of everyday life as a student. They create this collaborative environment where only they and the members (peers/friends) are welcome. They can enjoy free expression and a world that they have created specifically for themselves.

What technology or innovation did it displace?
It has displaced the teacher as the leader of dialog and the face to face classroom collaborative learning environment.

How many years do you think Second Life has left before another emerging technology or disruptive technology replaces it?
That is difficult to answer. I am just becoming familiar with the new technology, but this one will be around until something else comes out that expands on the current technology (Laureate Education Inc., 2009).

What are the social benefits of Second Life, and what might be the social implications of virtual worlds in your industry?
The social benefits of second life are endless. Some of our students will not interact in an open environment. Second Life gives them the opportunity to develop some social skills in a different platform. Nonetheless, they are being exposed to various cultures and ways of seeing the world. I think this type of collaborative learning and interacting forces educators to look at how our students prefer to communicate. We will have to eventually create an environment that supports this method of communication within the face to face classroom.

For more information, please visit http://secondlife.com/whatis/


Reference
Laureate Education, Inc. (2009). Emerging and future technology. Baltimore, MD

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

Sunday, October 23, 2011

Rhyme of History: Document Camera

A Rhyme of History: Document Camera

The document camera can be described as an image projector or digital projector. You can lay a piece of paper on it and write or draw on it to delineate a concept or theory being taught. Whatever is written is projected on a screen for the audience to see. The document camera rekindles the overhead projector in the respect that it project an image in real time and allows for real time modification that can be viewed by the targeted audience, and it is portable as the overhead projector was. Visit http://www.visualedtech.com/What%20is%20a%20document_camera.htm for a full description of the document camera.

Below is a picture of the overhead projector.


Below is a picture of the document camera.

Friday, October 7, 2011

Obsolete Technology Tetrad



What does this technology enhance?
This technology enhances picture quality and playback quality. It also provides options for scene viewing. The DVD player slowed for dimension modification of screen viewing so as to increase of decrease the screen viewing size of a motion picture. The DVD player also enhanced the sound quality of motion pictures.

What does this technology replace?
The DVD player replaced the Video Cassette Recorder.

What does this technology rekindle?
The DVD player rekindles the use of more wires to connect media, the use of more than device to complete the viewing task, and the need to for storage to keep the DVDs.

What does this technology reverse?
The DVD ushered in the data screen and data projector in conjunction with the PC.

Sunday, September 18, 2011

Module 1

Emerging Technology…

Document sharing is an emerging technology in our area. ©Google Docs and ©Microsoft SkyDrive are online non proprietary programs that allow document sharing and groups to work on a project simultaneously. Students can also see the progress of peer group members in real time as they work. Some of the challenges associated with the technology is ease of access from various educational sites that may not have high speed internet and with SkyDrive, a Microsoft affiliated email address is necessary to be able to edit the document. We have had similar problems with ©Google Docs. Students have had problems accessing the documents unless they have ©Google accounts.

The societal or target market need that this technology meets is the team based atmosphere for work. Many industries are advocating the need for employees that can work as a team and make decisions that will holistically benefit the team.

This technology would be so much better if the email stipulations were not there. If the permissions were relaxed so that anyone with any email address could gain access and edit the shared documents, the pitfalls we and others have experienced in this area would be eliminated