Second Life-Try #2

How is Second Life a disruptive technology?

Second Life is a disruptive technology because it replaces the physical teaching environment with a virtual teaching environment. As Thornburg (2009) describes, disruptive technologies are wild card technologies that seemingly come out of nowhere to make obsolete an existing technology. Second life fits this description because it is a virtual world where things we imagine in the real world and things we cannot imagine will be made possible (Nuthall, 2008).

What technology or innovation did it displace?

Second Life displaces video games such as Sims, while also displacing current methods of video conferencing, travel, and classrooms. While Second Life hasn’t completely displaced any of these innovations quite yet, the more it grows and develops           the closer it will be to completely displacing them. Second Life also replaces social networking sites. While in Second Life, avatars can meet “physically” and interact with one another. As stated above, eventually SL could displace traditional classrooms, because teachers will be able to meet, interact, and teach students virtually. I really hope this happens and I can be an instructor because teaching from home would be wonderful!

How many years do you think Second Life has left before another emerging technology or disruptive technology replaces it?

In my opinion Second Life still has at least 10 years or so before another emerging technology replaces it. Second Life is not widely used enough yet, therefore, I feel like there is still time for it to grow, mature, and develop into a better technology tool.

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

There will be many social benefits of Second Life in the elementary education field. Teachers would be able to teach classes without leaving the comfort of their home, while providing interactive lessons for their students. They would also be able to interact virtually with their students. I think this would allow teachers a lot more time to communicate openly with students. Teachers would also be able to share videos, lesson plans, etc. extremely easily.

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

Thornburg, D. (2009). Evolutionary technology Vodcast: In Laureate Education, Inc. Emerging and future technology.

Robotic Vacuum Cleaner-Week 6 Blog

     

What does that technology rekindle or retrieve from the past that is a recurring theme of history? 

Dr. Thornburg’s Rhymes of History stated a very important point this week that “new technologies” are really just progressions or growths of previous ones. I remembering watching this episode of the Jetsons where with just a press of a button this robot vacuum would turn on and clean their whole floor! This reminds me of the iRobot vacuum my grandmother purchased 4 years ago. 

This iRobot rekindles vacuum cleaning from the past. The vacuum cleaner was invented due to advancements brought about by the Industrial Revolution. The original vacuum cleaner progressed right along with time. In 1899 with the gasoline powered vacuum cleaner, 1901 with the electric vacuum cleaner, and fast forward to 1969 with the first self propelled vacuum cleaner. Then in 2002, iRobot inventor Helen Greiner along with colleagues, introduced Roomba, the robot vacuum cleaner. While some people would call this iRobot a "new technology," Thornburg would remind us that it is really just a progression of the vacuum cleaners of the past! 

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLIPLiQDIk0

Website: http://store.irobot.com/category/index.jsp?categoryId=3334619

Timeline of Vacuum Cleaner: http://timerime.com/en/timeline/288654/History+of+the+Vacuum+Cleaner 

Interactive Whiteboards (Mimio) Tetrad Lauren Dart

Enhances  *Transforms ordinary lessons, into extroadinary learning experiences *Makes ANY whiteboard interactive, by attaching the device to the board	Obsoletes  *Traditional whiteboard *Chalkboards (if still around) *SmartBoard
Retrieves  *Brings to mind past online technology programs such as Oregon Trail, or Carmen Sandiego, that can now be “brought to life” on the interactive whiteboard.  *Fufills the need for interactive teaching methods	Reverses *Newer/more improved models to make whiteboards interactive  *Handheld computers for the entire classroom that link to the teachers computer, so everyone can see what is going on without the need of a whiteboard.

Web links

http://www.mimio.dymo.com/en-US.aspx

http://rmtc.fsdb.k12.fl.us/tutorials/whiteboards.html