Failed Prediction

“Television won’t last. It’s a flash in the pan.” — Mary Somerville, pioneer of radio educational broadcasts, 1948 (Top 30 Failed Technology Predictions) is one failed technology prediction. Television has involved from “a rotating-disc technology to transmit pictures over wire” (Television History – The History of TV) to displaying on plasma screens and web TV. Close captioning technology allows people with hearing problems to follow television shows by reading the text displayed on the screen. In February 2009, analog transmission of television signals will change to exclusive transmission by digital broadcast. My prediction is that television will continue evolving in the foreseeable future.

Week 3 - Web 2.0 Discoveries

This week I expanded my Web 2.0 knowledge of wikis by adding flash files, navigating and developing electronic portfolios, and visiting SPORE (www.spore.com) virtual world during a webinar on edutainment for academics. The tools have similar tools available when compared to other applications, but I need to spend more time in each tool to develop expertise beyond the basics techniques.

With so many tool sites, each needing usernames and passwords to access, I wonder what tools are available to consolidate the locations into one site with single sign in. Good research idea...

Assignment 1 - Video Review

Disclaimer: All comments are for class purposes only.

One of the education videos using technology differently than intended caught my interest. Education is known to have limited funds to maintain assets and teach students. Therefore, methods of enhancing classroom technology for the least cost are important to me. Interactive whiteboards allows Instructors to be facing students instead of remaining near the computer when talking. Commercially available smart whiteboards cost $2,000 - $3,000. Johnny Lee’s TED video demonstrates using a motion sensor capable Wii remote and homemade infrared pen with his free software application to create an inexpensive smart or interactive whiteboard. The functionality of Lee’s $50 smart whiteboard has about 80% when compared to commercial whiteboards though multitouch is a function of Lee’s whiteboard not found in the high end whiteboards. Lee’s device shows new technology grows from existing technology.

Reference

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