Module 5: Red Queens and Increasing Returns

When I decided to watch the movie Paycheck, which is based on a Philip K. Dick book, I did a YouTube search for the movie. Several videos came up and one of them included a note from the YouTube user that contained another link to an outside website that had the full movie. I went to it, it loaded within seconds, and I watched it. The competition between DVDs and video-on-demand is a great example of Red Queens because the Red Queen in a Lewis Carol book tells another character, to run as fast as she can to stay right where she is. This is similar to technology competition because both DVDs and video-on-demand are available to people and are constantly trying to put the best opportunity forward to attract people (Laureate Education, Inc., 2009). For example, DVDs were available for rent if you went to the store and they were available to borrow. At Blockbuster, the cost was approximately $5.00 for a 4-day rental. Then, the amount of time the movie could be borrowed increased and then the cost dropped. Shortly after, rentals were available through a vending machinefor $1.00 and they could be mailed directly to the house. This is all to compete with the videos readily available through On Demand features on the television and through the computer, which is how I viewed the movie.

            In regards to McLuhan’s tetrad, I think video-on-demand enhances the way people can watch movies because it is immediate, there is no wait time. It enabled me to complete my assignment within two hours. It makes VHS tapes and DVDs obsolete. It retrieves when VHS were first invented because this was the first opportunity people had to view movies at home rather than in the movie theatre. The reversal will be when all movies can be found on video-on-demand. Currently, that is not the case.

Resource

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

Module 4: The Disruptive Power of Second Life

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

Response to Module 3

No one in my group had posted anything until yesterday. Here is my response to Lakeisha's post:

I never realized before that the old cartoon the Jetson's used video technology. After Lakeisha's post, I recalled those cartoons. I remember thinking as I was a child, "that is so far in the future," when really, it was not. I never considered before that a rhyme of history could also be an idea rather than an actual action/event/object. I had much trouble with this assignment. I asked many people for suggestions and I could not get any. After I had already posted, my father suggested medical technology. He gave the example of how barber's would bleed out their patients if they had infection, whereas now there are CAT scans, xrays, blood tests, medicine, and so forth.

Rhymes of History Technology

It is believed that new technologies rekindle something from the distant past (Laureate Education, Inc, 2009). It is not specifically the technology that gets repeated, but the effect the technology had that is rekindled from the past (Laureate Education, Inc, 2009). One example used was how runners went from town to town sharing information and news. This correlated to a person who road from town to town on a motorcycle with a satellite and laptop so people could check their email (Laureate Education, Inc, 2009). Another example used was how social networking sites are similar to water hole gatherings from the past (Laureate Education, Inc, 2009).

Another example of a current technology that represents a rhyme of history is video chats. I believe video chats are similar to the original phone systems that were used in the late 1800s and early 1900s.  I believe this because in order to do a video chat you must both be physically present at the computer or phone you are using. This is different from regular phone calls where you can leave a voicemail or texting because the person can retrieve those messages when he/she becomes available. The original phone system required you to be connected to someone else and you both had to physically be present for the conversation to take place.

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

Tetrad Response to Group

The tetrads for Timothy Jetter and Alicia Roberts were not posted.

Here is my response for Lakeisha Coleman:
We basically had the same information for what it enhances, reverses, and obsoletes. With one exception, Lakeisha writes that it replaced "dads" and I do not know what that is. She opened up my eyes to the USB drive retrieving filing cabinets. I never considered this before. I like her connection between a filing cabinet organizing information and a USB doing the same. I agree.

Tetrad for USB

Benefits of using a USB Flash Drive

Module 2 Technology Selected

The technology my group is using is the Floppy Disc.