Increasing Returns or Red Queens

·         When you decided to obtain a DVD for your science fiction assignment in Module 4, where did you go to find a movie based on a Philip K. Dick book? I found the DVD, Next at Blockbuster’s store on their science fiction isle. 

·         Did you rent or purchase a DVD, or did you view it digitally on your computer using Netflix or a similar vendor of video-on-demand? I rented the DVD Next from Blockbusters. 

·         Is the current competition between DVDs and video-on-demand an example of increasing returns or Red Queens? I think the competition between DVD’s and video-on-demand is an example of Red Queens.  As stated by Dr. Thornburg (2009), Red Queen is “A Huge competition between two technologies, in the process. All other competitors are left behind.  Everything falls aside.”  Unfortunately, video-on-demand has caused DVD rental stores to fall behind/become obsolete. 

·         Justify your response with sound reasoning and specific examples.

Last year, I remember quite a few of the Blockbuster stores closing.  We are living in a time of convenience and accessibility.  Some pros to utilizing video-on- demand are there are not any late fees associated, movies can be watched over and over for a low monthly fee, you can watch the movies anywhere, and there is not a need to leave home. HBO subscribers can sign up for movie on demand for free.  I think this is Netflix completion, because instead of having two monthly bills they only have the one cable payment that provides customers the same options as Netflix.     

·         Where do you think DVDs and video-on-demand are on the four criteria of McLuhan’s tetrad? As of today, I would say that DVD’s would fall under the retrieval and video-on- demand would be Enhancement.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2009a). Increasing returns featuring Dr. David Thornburg. United States: Walden University. Podcasts retrieved from http://sylvan.live.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=6200933&Survey=1&47=4862829&ClientNodeID=984645&coursenav=1&bhcp=1

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2009b). Red queens featuring Dr. David Thornburg. United States: Walden University. Podcasts retrieved from http://sylvan.live.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=6200933&Survey=1&47=4862829&ClientNodeID=984645&coursenav=1&bhcp=1

Second Life

How is Second Life a disruptive technology? As stated by Dr. Thornburg (2009) “Disruptive technologies are new technologies with the same functionality of an existing technology, but it functions more efficiently, and then obsoletes that technology. Second life is a disruptive technology because it changed the nature in how we communicated socially, professionally, and educationally.

What technology or innovation did it displace? Chat rooms (AOL) and the need for face to face gatherings

How many years do you think Second Life has left before another emerging technology or disruptive technology replaces it? I think Second Life will be around for a while because there are endless possibilities in this virtual world. The impossible becomes possible (Laurette,2009).  Philip Rosedal (2008) stated he felt “It will be bigger and better than the total usage of the web itself.”

What are the social benefits of Second Life, and what might be the social implications of virtual worlds in your industry?

Philip Rosedal used the example of going into space and leaving society as you know it behind.  He said during the journey you have the opportunity to become someone else.  Second life mirrors this concept, which makes this a huge befit.  People have the opportunity to become someone else (Rosedal, 2008).  Second Life allows people to reinvent themselves.  In addition, educators are using it more to transform their classrooms.  Second Life enhances the learning experiences and meets the needs of different learning styles

References

Picture retrieved from: http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://factoidz.com/images/post/r-2854-5321.jpg&imgrefurl=http://online-games.factoidz.com/secondlife-review-and-promo-coupon-code/&h=341&w=320&sz=12&tbnid=Wy4KELhMXZO14M:&tbnh=93&tbnw=87&zoom=1&docid=HYUN1DxUPR4QGM&hl=en&sa=X&ei=ChoiT6yBMMnAtgf21OWiCw&sqi=2&ved=0CEsQ9QEwCg&dur=31

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009).Disruptive Technologies. Baltimore, MD: Author

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

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Rhymes of History



As stated by Dr. Thornburg (2009) “Rhyme of History is another force that has an impact on the emergence of technology”.  One technology that represents a rhyme of history is the opaque projector.  The opaque projector is the technology that is retrieved from the past.  The opaque projector was used as a means for projecting words and text from paper sources such as books and drawings.  This piece of technology was able to achieve projection of text through its light and the mirrors and lenses. The light would reflect light off the image and travel into the lens.  Next, the document was focused through mirrors and projected through another lens which then projected the image to the designated area.  One drawback to the opaque projector was its limited capacity to only project in gray scale and the potential fire hazard if documents were kept on the stage too long.

As technology continues to evolve, Opaque projectors are not widely used due the invention of overhead projectors.  The overhead projector, invented by Roger Appledorn, was one of the most used technology tools during the 80’s and 90’s . 

David S.(n.d.).  How does an opaque projector work? Retrieved from http://www.ehow.com/how-does_5007648_opaque-projector-work.html

Overhead Projector. (n.d.). xtimeline (2008-2009). Retrieved from http://www.xtimeline.com/evt/view.aspx?id=334773

Opaque Projector



Module 2 Tetrad

TimelIne1877    (Thomas Alva Edison, the first machine to record and play back sounds)

1888    (Lateral-cut disc records- Emile Berliner)

1948     (The long-playing record (the LP) was invented Columbia Records)

1949     (RCA Victor- released 45 RPM record)

1963     ( 8 track - William Powell Lear)

1978      (The Walkman - Nobutoshi Kihara)

1984    (Sony introduced the D-50 ,the first ever portable digital music player)

1987    (MP3 player - German company Frauhofer-Gesellshaft)

2001   (iPod- Apple’s Tony Fedell)

Module 1

·         Identify a current technology that has emerged in the last few years that shapes learning or productivity in your industry.

A current technology that has emerged in the last few years that has shaped learning in education is the Elmo.  The Elmo also known as a visualizer/document camera replaced the overhead projector. 

·         What problems or challenges have been associated with this technology?

1.      One disadvantage to the document camera is the cost to purchase them.  Currently, the document cameras cost around $400 to purchase which is approximately $200 more than an overhead projector (Frisk,2008).

2.      The maintenance of the document camera can also be costly.

3.      It is not a stand alone piece of equipment.  It requires connection to a computer or television monitor.

4.      I feel there are limited hands-on interaction with the Elmo.  Yes, the document camera is used to project images but what’s next.  At most, the students can go to the screen and point but the hands-on interaction stops there. 

What societal need does it meet, and what are its benefits?

The main societal need that has been met by the document camera is that it eliminates the need for copying because images and text can be projected directly from its source. Some benefits to the Elmo projector are:

1.      The document camera provides visual stimulation in color or black and white or even living objects.

2.      It has the ability to enlarge objects or text.

3.      It is a portable tool.

4.      It is light weight and does not have a bulky body.

5.      Set up is very minimal.

What would make this technology even better, avoiding the pitfalls you identified?

One thing that makes the document camera better than the Overhead projector is the document camera eliminated the need to have transparencies to display information.  Again, the document camera whatever is put on its base.  In my opinion, one thing that would make this technology better is ability of the user to be able to step in front of the images being projected on the screen and not block the light / the image.

Reference:

Frisk, J. (2008). The Document Camera: Advancing Classroom Visual Technology. Tech and Learning. Retrieved from http://www.techlearning.com/article/the-document-camera-advancing-classroom-visual-technology/45399