Red Queens and Increasing Returns

Module 5
Red Queens and
Increasing Returns

When I decided to obtain a DVD for my science fiction assignment in Module 4 based on a Philip K. Dick book, I went to the local BlockBuster Media store in Carson City. Knowing that I would be at the residency in Minneapolis, the week this assignment was due, I decided I needed to purchase a DVD instead of rent one because the 5-day rental fee with extra day charges would be greater than the purchase. This made my choices very limited as to what I could select for this assignment. Each DVD suggestion from Dr. Thornburg for this assignment was available for rental, however, Total Recall was the only DVD available for purchase, so that is why I chose the movie I did.

The current competition between DVDs and video on demand is an example of increasing returns as described by Dr. Thornburg where “two innovations hit the market at about the same time and by chance, one technology gets locked in and drives the other to extinction, in a nonlinear process” (Thornburg, 2009). According to Chris Anderson from Wired Magazine, Reed Hastings the founder of Netflix saw an “inflection point” at the moment when home-theater units started becoming popular with the DVD hitting critical mass and saw an amazing opportunity (Anderson, 2004). At this point in time, neither the DVD nor video on demand has locked in, so let the game continue!

Living in Nevada now for 20 years, I can appreciate “the art of playing the tables in the Casino of Technology… and above all, the rewards go to the players who are first to make sense of the new games looming out of the technological fog and make adaptations to what is coming” (Arthur, 1996). Therefore, as I think about the four criteria of McLuhan’s tetrad, DVDs and video on demand are currently on the “Enhances” quadrant, because both of these technologies have enhanced the quality of life for many families to allow more time spent together at home, and I am not sure what will replace them yet as predicted in the “Reverses” quadrant (McLuhan, 1988).

References:

Anderson, C. (2004). Tech’s long tail [Video]. Retrieved from http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/
chris_anderson_of_wired_on_tech_s_long_tail.html

Arthur, W. B. (1996). Increasing returns and the new world of business. Harvard Business Review, 74(4), 100−109.

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

Red Queens Image. Retrieved from http://www.proteusadvisors.com/uploaded_images/Red-Queen-733517.jpg

Thornburg, D. D. (2009). Increasing returns and red queens. Laureate Education, Inc. Retrieved from http://sylvan.live.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=4199715&Survey=1&47=5797856&ClientNodeID=984645&coursenav=1&bhcp=1

Disruptive Power of Second Life

Module 4
The Disruptive Power of Second Life

Second Life has the power to be a disruptive technology by creating a virtual world that allows us to reinvent ourselves and be anyone or anything we want to be. We as humans are social creatures and the experience of creating; consuming and exploring information in the virtual world is inherently a social behavior that many people want to experience (Rosedale, 2008). Having the ability to be creative and an entrepreneur in a virtual setting can be prosperous; or it may allow an opportunity to experiment with an idea before promoting and implementing the idea in real life.

In K-12 public education, the industry that I have worked in now for 20 years, I do not see Second Life as a disruptive technology yet, mostly because it is prohibited from student use, not to say that it could be allowed someday soon. One research article I found only explored using Second Life in a secondary school setting enacting role playing while simulating negotiation skills based on globalization issues (Ho, 2010). Elementary aged students could benefit from virtual role playing as well; however, it is not yet common in a school setting. Virtual worlds outside of school like Tootsville, Dizzy Wood, Xivio and Club Penguin appear to be more widely used and are accepted for younger students, rather than Second Life. This promotes the possibility of virtual worlds to displace computer CD games and other handheld video games.

There are many social benefits for Second Life and other virtual worlds allowing experiences that are rarely possible or impossible in every facet of life. The social implications of virtual worlds in education provide opportunities for field trips that would never be possible for students to visit in reality and also in the medical field opportunities for people with physical disabilities to participate in activities they never thought they would experience (Krueger, 2008). Second Life and other virtual worlds also have the potential to connect users isolated by geographical locations and social circumstances, enabling individuals to overcome their limitations of real life (Wood, 2006). This leads me to think that Second Life has an unforeseen amount of time left before another emerging or future technology replaces it.

References:

Ho, C.M.L. (2010). What’s in a question? The case of students’ enactment in the second life virtual world. Innovation in Language Learning and Teaching, 4(2), 151-176.

Krueger, A. (2008). Innovations in Second Life [Video]. http://www.thehealthcareblog.com/the_health_care_blog/2008/10/second-life.html

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

Second Life Image: Retrieved from http://paulineoliveros.us/images/secondlife_1.jpg

Wallace, M. (2006). Mitch Kapor on the power of second life. Retrieved from http://www.3pointd.com/20060820/mitch-kapor-on-the-power-of-second-life/

Wood, D. (2009). Real life access to “second life” worlds: The potential, the problems and the possibilities for a barrier-free future. The International Journal of Diversity in Organizations, Communities and Nations, 8(6), 139-148.

Module 3 - Rhymes of History

Interactive white boards are an example of a technology that represents a rhyme of history. In the school district where I teach, we use SMART Boards specifically, therefore, I have become a SMART Notebook v.10 certified trainer and a SMART Exemplary Educator (SEE). SMART Boards rekindle from the past the need to display information for an entire classroom of students to see at one time, rather than the teacher having to write something on each individual students' slates or chalkboards, capturing lost teaching time, as did the inventor of the first chalkboard, James Pillans, a school headmaster in Scotland in the mid-1800’s (http://www.ehow.com/). How ironic is it that today, the teacher still only has to write something once on the SMART Board, but with other emerging technologies such as the interactive response system (clickers), iPods and iPads, it can also be shared individually with each student on a personal technology device just as the original student slates or chalkboards were used. I would also like to emphasize as Dr. Thornburg pointed out in his vodcast, “It’s not the technology, but the affect of the technology, that is rekindled," possibly coming full-circle.

Kevin Kelly paints an incredible picture of what life might be like in the next 5,000 days of the Web through “one machine” composed of three unique components: (1) embodiment is where humans are the extended senses of this machine, rekindling all previous forms of how humans communicate; (2) restructuring links data and all things, rekindling how everyone and everything in our environment effect each other in some way; and (3) codependency has everyone relying on everyone else, because we become the web, rekindling the need for socialization.

References:
http://www.ehow.com/about_6458935_slate-chalkboards.html

http://www.smarttech.com/

http://sylvan.live.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=4199715&Survey=1&47=5486705&ClientNodeID=984645&coursenav=1&bhcp=1

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/kevin_kelly_on_the_next_5_000_days_of_the_web.html

Module 2 - Emerging Technologies Tetrad: Digital Camera

While photography and cameras have been around for hundreds of years, the digital camera has only been in existence since August, 1981 when Sony released the Sony Mavica as the first commercial electronic digital camera (digicamhistory.com, 2010).

Enhances – The digital camera has allowed users to view images instantly on the camera itself and through other viewing devices such as televisions and projectors rather than always having the images processed on paper.

Obsoletes – The digital camera has replaced the need for film such as 35 mm, and 120 or 220 film in analog electronic cameras along with various types of Polaroid (instant print) film (learning-photography.net, 2010).

Reverses – The digital camera by itself has already been replaced by smart phones, and might be replaced altogether in the future by eye glasses and/or contact lenses, or implanted as part of our bodies.

Retrieves – The digital camera brings to mind why we want to save images. We want to preserve customs, traditions and memories as well as have visual records of history.

References:
http://www.digicamhistory.com/1980_1983.html
http://learning-photography.net/film-negatives/different-types-of-film/

EDUC 8848 - Emerging and Future Technologies - Module 1 - Identify an Emerged Technology

From World Book to Wikipedia

Do you remember the days when you wanted to learn about something, you went to the 22 volume book set of World Book or Encyclopedia Britannica? My parents bought our family a set of these heavy books in 1978 on a payment plan! Most students today have never looked in paper book encyclopedias because of a current technology that emerged in 2001. Wikipedia, a free online encyclopedia that anyone can add to or edit is shaping how many of our students are learning new facts and information. It has become one of the most popular online resources – statistics put Wikipedia as the eighth most-visited Internet site in the United States (Educause, 2010).

The biggest problem or challenge that has been associated with Wikipedia is the reliability and quality of content due to the openly editable information. This was a much bigger issue when Wikipedia was first launched, but is more reliable today, depending on the subject. In a recent study by CNET News, Wikipedia was found to be just as accurate and more up to date with current events than Encyclopedia Britannica (CNET News, 2010).

The societal need that Wikipedia meets is the ability for anyone to share their depth of knowledge and interest on any particular subject matter and for everyone to learn from each other. The greatest benefits are the up to date and always changing of information that makes it a great source for students to start with when doing research. I allow my students to use Wikipedia as one source of reference, but they must always find a second source that confirms that information.

The only thing that would make this technology better would be to develop a more sophisticated check of all information that is posted for accuracy with all viewpoints presented, leaving biases aside; however, the volunteer editors do an incredible job of monitoring the ever changing content.

References:
http://www.educause.edu/ELI/7ThingsYouShouldKnowAboutWikip/161666
http://news.cnet.com/Study-Wikipedia-as-accurate-as-Britannica/2100-1038_3-5997332.html

Graphic:
http://himaarmenia.files.wordpress.com/2009/08/wikipedia-logo.jpg

Motivating Teachers with New Technology

Different values and expectations promote different motivation factors for each individual. In the case of motivating teachers to want to experiment and teach with new technology tools, winning a $150,000 technology grant is an extreme motivator for many teachers and quite intimidating for others. This situation occurred at the K-5 elementary school where I teach six years ago. We received $50,000 for hardware, $50,000 for software and $50,000 for professional development to be used over a three-year period of the grant. Out of our 45 staff members, 15 teachers were extremely resistant to the laptops that were given to them, along with a plethora of software, and the training to learn how to use the laptop to enhance their teaching.

Using John M. Keller’s ARCS (Attention, Relevance, Confidence, and Satisfaction) Model, the other 30 staff members have been working diligently and patiently with these 15 who did not want any part of teaching with technology in the beginning of this endeavor. Each of these reluctant teachers exhibited the attitude, that what they have always done still works, so why change; and they said it was too much work to learn. They demonstrated behaviors like not showing up for the trainings, always making excuses of why they could not be there, and why it did not fit into their teaching style and schedule.

The first condition from Keller’s model is to gain and sustain “attention” (Driscoll, p.334). Our staff was able to achieve this by paying the teachers to attend the trainings. The grant allowed a portion of the professional development money to pay stipends for the teachers. This made a significant difference in the attention upheld at the trainings. The second condition is enhancing “relevance” (Driscoll, p.335). Once the teachers came to the trainings, they began to see how relevant the technology tools were to what and how they were currently teaching, and it made many of their teaching duties easier, gaining valuable student engagement time. The third condition is building “confidence” (Driscoll, p.336). Allowing a safe environment to acquire new skills, apply new skills, fail, and try again until success is achieved was the confidence builder these teachers needed. A little handholding goes a long way to gain self-assurance! The fourth condition of generating “satisfaction” (Driscoll, p.337), came from knowing that this group of reluctant teachers in the beginning, many has now become the biggest advocates for technology, wanting more teaching tools and actively seeking out new technology professional development opportunities for themselves.

Resource:
Driscoll, M. P. (2005). Psychology of learning for instruction (3rd ed.). Boston: Pearson Education, Inc.

Module 1 Blog:

What are your beliefs about how people learn best? What is the purpose of learning theory in educational technology?

People learn best when they make connections to prior knowledge, are given adequate time to process and reflect, allowed the opportunity to ask questions of inquiry in a non-threatening environment, provided time to apply and practice their learning and given positive reinforcement for achieving success. In our education world of high stakes testing today, teachers are forced to move ahead to cover all the content that will be tested, without taking the time desired to always respond to all students’ individual needs or allow them the needed practice time to achieve mastery of their new learning. According to Glenzer, in reflecting how behavioral change is the evidence of learning, practice does make perfect in order to achieve the desired learned behavior. (Glenzer, 2005, p. 101)

The purpose of learning theory in educational technology provides the needed background knowledge and historical perspectives about how people have used, and continue to use technologies as a teaching and learning tool. Historically, behaviorism has influenced educational technology in six areas: the behavioral objectives movement; the teaching machine phase; the programmed instruction movement; individualized instructional approaches; computer-assisted instruction (CAI); and the systems approach to instruction. (Saettler, 2004, p. 286) The ability to assimilate and understand learning theories provides teachers the foundation needed to produce well-planned lessons that include observable and measurable content and language based objectives. Teachers must also have a thorough knowledge of all students’ abilities, and be able to demonstrate a high level of competence in applying educational technologies to maximize their students’ learning. (Semple, 2000, p. 27)

Here is a list of education blogs from Online Education Database with 22 of them specific to educational technology:
http://oedb.org/library/features/top-100-education-blogs

Resources:

Glenzer, H. (2005). Living learning theory through My Fair Lady. British Journal of Educational Technology, 36(1), 101−105. Retrieved May 28, 2009 from Academic Search Premier database.

Saettler, P. (2004). The evolution of American educational technology. Greenwich, CT: Information Age Publishing.

Semple, A. (2000). Learning theories and their influence on the development and use of educational technologies. Australian Science Teachers Journal, 46(3), 21-28. Retrieved May 29, 2009 from ProQuest Central database.