A
disruptive technology is a technology that has the same functioning
capabilities of an already existing technology, but is more efficient and
therefore obsoletes the original technology (Laureate Education, Inc., 2009).
Second Life (http://youtu.be/lHXXsEtE3b4) is a
virtual world where people are able to use avatars to interact and create. It
is a disruptive technology because many people find it more enjoyable to use
than video chats and virtual learning. This is a superior piece of technology
for business meetings and classroom discussions. One of the reasons it is
better than interacting with a message board or video chat is because people
get to choose a representation of themselves and they interact with sights,
sounds, and other avatars (Nuthall, 2008). This is a social benefit of Second
Life because it improves human interaction over the internet because it feels
more real. Virtual worlds are used in many different venues, but especially for
job training (Nuthall, 2008). Virtual world job training can be especially
critical for employees who are from different parts of the world and need to
relocate. They can train for the job before they move.
Second Life was launched on June 23,
2003 (Second Life, n.d.). According to an interview conducted with the Linden
Lab CEO, Rod Humble, on June 3, 2013, there are over one million active users
and approximately 400,000 new users join monthly (http://youtu.be/kwNCU3RGruE). I think it
will be at least another five or more years before another technology emerges
that can displace this Second Life. Currently, I think computers are lacking
the hardware and software needed to improve the virtual world. For example, if
the virtual world could be projected as a hologram it may improve the reality
of it, but computers currently lack those capabilities.
Another social benefit of using
Second Life is the opportunity to meet people from different countries and
cultures. There are opportunities to learn more about these people as well as
network with people who have similar interests and jobs. I am a special education teacher. The social
implications of the virtual world in my industry could include providing the
opportunity for special education teachers to network with other special
education teachers who are not local. This can expand knowledge base and provide
an opportunity to learn about new teaching techniques, technologies, and
workshop opportunities. Another implication could be the face-to-face
interaction stops and therefore in person teaching might fade out. This could
happen because if a virtual classroom could be built where parents and their
children log in from home, teachers can lead the lesson, but parents are
providing the one-on-one assistance. This means there would be little to no
demand for paraprofessionals and teaching assistants.
Resources
Laureate Education, Inc. (2009). Emerging and future technology. Baltimore, MD: Author.
Nuthall, K. (Jan, 2008). US: A disruptive technology arrives. University World News. Retrieved
from http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=20080117162121373
Second
Life. (n.d.). In Wikipedia. Retrieved January 20, 2014, from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Life
I thought the Second Life technology (Rosedale, 2008) had the potential of Dr. Thornburg concepts of wild card in emerging technologies (Thornburg, 2008b) and Christensen’s (2008) ideas of disruptive technologies that might obsolete the traditional bricks and mortar education system (Hedberg & Chew-Hung, 2007). However, Second Life failed to produce the intended outcomes to transform life, business, and the global economy (Manyika et al., 2013). Certainly, Second Life platform is flexible, in allowing individuals to create content with no other required software and might be useful in project-based learning. The field of education has to wait some few more years for new technologies to obsolete Second Life.
ReplyDeleteReferences
Christensen, C. M., Horn, M. B., & Johnson, C. W. (2008). Disrupting class: How disruptive innovation will change the way the world learns. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Hedberg, J. G., & Chew-Hung, C. (2007). The G-portal digital repository as a potentially disruptive pedagogical innovation. Educational Media International, 44(1), 3-15. doi:10.1080/09523980601153747
Manyika, J., Chui, M., Bughin, J., Dobbs, R., Bisson, P., & Marrs, A. (2013). Disruptive technologies: Advances that will transform life, business, and the global economy. Retrieved from http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/business_technology/disruptive
I never thought about a virtual world classroom. The development of that would be interesting,but I do believe that students will miss the actual face-to-face interactions.
ReplyDelete