Okay so today is the last day of blogging o I thought I would sum up my experience of blogging and learning online.
As I had never blogged before this, I went into it with an open mind, and I must admit that I have enjoyed it. ive liked the fact that it has been somethinf different to do on this module rather than just essays essay essay and presentations, although I do know that we have an essay in this module too!
I feel the topics have been really interesting and i've enjoyed researching and blogging every week (even if it has been a little stressful some weeks). I've also enjoyed the group that I worked with, you all posted you blogs weekly and I enjoyed how we all got on and commented each other :)
All in all I think this was a good means of learning to experience. I personally do enjoy face to face interaction, I did enjoy the difference of this module to the othermodules on the course, although I don't think i'd like every module to be like this. It would be far too stressful! If I was to do this module again I think I would post my work earlier so that I could expand on comments that are made on my posts, and I also try to comment on more blogs. All in all i've enjoyed this module...roll on the Essay (eek!)
Thanks guys! xx
Friday, 27 March 2009
Week 10: Something Extra: ITunes- U?
Okay so I know that we've come to the end of blogging, but today I received an E-mail from Itunes. I had a little gander and thought that it was influtential to the new media topic so I thought i'd tell you guys about it. Cara perhaps our ideas about an I-Education and an I lap for a technophile in the future are beginning to be created! :)
The E-mail was telling me about Apples latest idea for itunes: 'The Itunes- U'. The ITunes U enables you to 'learn anything, any place anytime'. It's hard to believe but Apple have decided to feature free lectures, language sessions, audio books and seminars from various Universities all around the world along with various professional journals and websites!
The Itunes U application lets you access more than 60,000 audio/video files from universities, All of these lectures and audio books etc can be sync'd with your iPod, iPhone or iPod touch anytime of the day anywhere! Even though this may sound technical according to Apple you can "search, download and play educational content as easily as you do music, movies and TV shows". This notion once again relates to 'convenience culture'.
I think this just goes to show how the idea of E-learning and distance learning is developing at a phenomenal pace. It's quite hard to believe that some of the ideas that we all wrote about in last weeks post about what life will be like in 2020 might actually be coming true in 2009! See Cara, you and I thought our ideas were a little 'out there' but perhaps they're not as out there as we thought.
I've added the link on to the bottom so that you guys can have a gander. Sorry if it wasn't very interesting to you guys, I just thought it was pretty cool :) What do you guys think?
http://www.apple.com/uk/education/itunesu_mobilelearning/itunesu.html
The E-mail was telling me about Apples latest idea for itunes: 'The Itunes- U'. The ITunes U enables you to 'learn anything, any place anytime'. It's hard to believe but Apple have decided to feature free lectures, language sessions, audio books and seminars from various Universities all around the world along with various professional journals and websites!
The Itunes U application lets you access more than 60,000 audio/video files from universities, All of these lectures and audio books etc can be sync'd with your iPod, iPhone or iPod touch anytime of the day anywhere! Even though this may sound technical according to Apple you can "search, download and play educational content as easily as you do music, movies and TV shows". This notion once again relates to 'convenience culture'.
I think this just goes to show how the idea of E-learning and distance learning is developing at a phenomenal pace. It's quite hard to believe that some of the ideas that we all wrote about in last weeks post about what life will be like in 2020 might actually be coming true in 2009! See Cara, you and I thought our ideas were a little 'out there' but perhaps they're not as out there as we thought.
I've added the link on to the bottom so that you guys can have a gander. Sorry if it wasn't very interesting to you guys, I just thought it was pretty cool :) What do you guys think?
http://www.apple.com/uk/education/itunesu_mobilelearning/itunesu.html
Week 10: How does the semantic web differ from web 3.0?
Both Web 3.0 and the semantic web look to personalize the web. They also look at improving the usability of the web to enable easy navigation to the particular areas you are looking for. As we are now in Web 2.0, web 3.0 is seen to be an ‘improvement’ and is also seen to be the future. Web 2.0 seem to concentrate on the notion of interfacing, social networking sites and other mainstream ideas.
The semantic web is far more specific as a means of wanting you to access information quickly and effectively. This particular part of the web is also an individual product which could in the furture be added or encorporated into Web 3.0 to improve or support it. However later on in my post I will question the idea of Web 3.0 and the semantic web.
Here is a site with examples of silimarities and differences.
http://internet.suite101.com/article.cfm/what_is_web_30
It can also be suggested that Web 3.0 is far more powerful than Web 2.0. In an article that I read they have suggested Web 3.0 and the semantic web to be the same thing. Perhaps a combination of the two is being considered? I feel that a combination of both Web 3.0 and the semantic web would result in a very professional product with easy navigation and access to information. From my research i've found that Web 3.0 isn't necessarily going to be the fixed name of the future web, but instead Web 3.0 is a way of promoting it to a group of people who know that the web at the moment is known as Web 2.0. If they don't keep the name Web 3.0 I wonder what it might be called? (although web 3.0 does seem the common sense name)
I feel you should all have a read of this article and inparticular the comments which people have made at the bottom of the page. I found them very interesting!
Author Unknown (2007), Web 3.0 and beyond: the next 20 years of the internet, http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/the_web/article2726190.ece, [Accessed 25.03.09]
The semantic web is far more specific as a means of wanting you to access information quickly and effectively. This particular part of the web is also an individual product which could in the furture be added or encorporated into Web 3.0 to improve or support it. However later on in my post I will question the idea of Web 3.0 and the semantic web.
Here is a site with examples of silimarities and differences.
http://internet.suite101.com/article.cfm/what_is_web_30
It can also be suggested that Web 3.0 is far more powerful than Web 2.0. In an article that I read they have suggested Web 3.0 and the semantic web to be the same thing. Perhaps a combination of the two is being considered? I feel that a combination of both Web 3.0 and the semantic web would result in a very professional product with easy navigation and access to information. From my research i've found that Web 3.0 isn't necessarily going to be the fixed name of the future web, but instead Web 3.0 is a way of promoting it to a group of people who know that the web at the moment is known as Web 2.0. If they don't keep the name Web 3.0 I wonder what it might be called? (although web 3.0 does seem the common sense name)
I feel you should all have a read of this article and inparticular the comments which people have made at the bottom of the page. I found them very interesting!
Author Unknown (2007), Web 3.0 and beyond: the next 20 years of the internet, http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/the_web/article2726190.ece, [Accessed 25.03.09]
Week 10: What is the Semantic Web?
The Semantic web is an extension of the World Wide Web. The semantic web is also known as a ‘web of data’ and “enables people to share content beyond the boundaries of applications and websites”.
The semantic web looks at the idea of applications being needed to help us gain information over things that we are searching for. This type of web is suggested to be ‘smarter’ than the ordinary world wide web as it can help us find what we want quicker. It helps to specify the results we find when searching on the internet to the particular topic we’re looking for. The semantic web enables us to have “data as well as documents on the web so that machines can process, transform, assemble, and even act on the data in useful ways”.
I personally feel it will been as significant in the area of education as it will enable you to research and pin point sources quicker. It will also be seen as highly effective as digital natives understand and use this method of the web to the best of their ability. The idea of the semantic web seems highly professional and even though it will be some time before we see it working, it is obvious it will be highly influential on society.
Herman, I (2008), What is the Semantic web?(http://semanticweb.org/wiki/Main_Page), [accessed 25.03.09]
(Author Unknown), (2007)What is the Semantic Web?, http://www.altova.com/semantic_web.html, [accessed 25.03.09]
The semantic web looks at the idea of applications being needed to help us gain information over things that we are searching for. This type of web is suggested to be ‘smarter’ than the ordinary world wide web as it can help us find what we want quicker. It helps to specify the results we find when searching on the internet to the particular topic we’re looking for. The semantic web enables us to have “data as well as documents on the web so that machines can process, transform, assemble, and even act on the data in useful ways”.
I personally feel it will been as significant in the area of education as it will enable you to research and pin point sources quicker. It will also be seen as highly effective as digital natives understand and use this method of the web to the best of their ability. The idea of the semantic web seems highly professional and even though it will be some time before we see it working, it is obvious it will be highly influential on society.
Herman, I (2008), What is the Semantic web?(http://semanticweb.org/wiki/Main_Page), [accessed 25.03.09]
(Author Unknown), (2007)What is the Semantic Web?, http://www.altova.com/semantic_web.html, [accessed 25.03.09]
Wek 10: Education being 'tailored' to fit into cultural and personal preferences
When looking at our own culture, we have such a diverse group of people living in the UK it would be wrong to concentrate on our own British culture without taking into account others. There are various religions and cultures in our society which we must be educated on, as well as other cultures worldwide. If we didn’t have a knowledge of various cultures and groups our own culture would be damaged and create problems in various parts of our society. As the U.Ks population continues to develop so do are cultural and religious backgrounds.
This question could link to the previous question of education ‘stretching’ a person. Education should not only challenge a person to get the best out of their abilities but it should also broaden as persons learning in specific areas of our cultural knowledge. If we were taught our British culture then what would other people such as ethnic minorities with different cultures that live in the UK study?
Prensky could also be mentioned here. He suggests that education should be tailored around the indiviual and to young digital minds. The notion of tailoring education here is an example of trying to keep digital natives intrested through new means of education such as the internet etc. If this interest isn't here then some students won't be as encouraged to learn and understand various concepts which are being taught. The introduction of new digital technology does mean however that we can access information about various cultures and talk to people from other cultures on the internet. By easily accessing this information we can learn things about culture quickly and accordingly.
We are exposed to various cultures and religions in both education and in the workplace. If we were educated in issues soley tailored to our culture various problems would arise. If we are not educated in schools about the variety of culture in our society then students could result in feeling victimised for being part of a particular religion/culture or they might get bullied for being ‘different’ to other people. There is enough victimisation going on as it is and it would get much worse if we own knew about our own culture.
Also when we finish education we move on to getting a job in the developing business world. Knowledge of different cultures will be seen as an advantage as you will be able to communicate with a larger amount of people and have knowledge of particular topics based around cultures as it is something that you have learnt and developed.
Personally I feel the need to know about different cultures is a must! Cultures differ and vary depending whereabout you live, you have to adapt or at least know about these different cultures. Our society is multi-cultural and is continuing to develop it is essential we have an idea of some of these different cultures as they play a great part in our society.
This question could link to the previous question of education ‘stretching’ a person. Education should not only challenge a person to get the best out of their abilities but it should also broaden as persons learning in specific areas of our cultural knowledge. If we were taught our British culture then what would other people such as ethnic minorities with different cultures that live in the UK study?
Prensky could also be mentioned here. He suggests that education should be tailored around the indiviual and to young digital minds. The notion of tailoring education here is an example of trying to keep digital natives intrested through new means of education such as the internet etc. If this interest isn't here then some students won't be as encouraged to learn and understand various concepts which are being taught. The introduction of new digital technology does mean however that we can access information about various cultures and talk to people from other cultures on the internet. By easily accessing this information we can learn things about culture quickly and accordingly.
We are exposed to various cultures and religions in both education and in the workplace. If we were educated in issues soley tailored to our culture various problems would arise. If we are not educated in schools about the variety of culture in our society then students could result in feeling victimised for being part of a particular religion/culture or they might get bullied for being ‘different’ to other people. There is enough victimisation going on as it is and it would get much worse if we own knew about our own culture.
Also when we finish education we move on to getting a job in the developing business world. Knowledge of different cultures will be seen as an advantage as you will be able to communicate with a larger amount of people and have knowledge of particular topics based around cultures as it is something that you have learnt and developed.
Personally I feel the need to know about different cultures is a must! Cultures differ and vary depending whereabout you live, you have to adapt or at least know about these different cultures. Our society is multi-cultural and is continuing to develop it is essential we have an idea of some of these different cultures as they play a great part in our society.
Week 10: Question 2 (b)
b) To global access issues across countries and regions
For years now the internet has enabled people in various countries to be connected all around the world twenty four hours a day, allowing them to access practically anything that they want to find out about at just a click of a button.
There is the notion that not all countries/regions are as technologically developed as our country. In fact some are far more technologically developed such as China etc whereas others have limited access to digital technology. The idea of Less Economically developed countries (LEDC’s) and More Economically developed countries (MEDC’s) is implied here. Some countries do not even have the money to purchase these new digital technologies to allow them to develop. Many countries/regions might not even recognise the term ‘digital divide’ as some have little or no electronic appliances. This is highlighted by the theorist Lu who states “In developing countries, citizens do not have the disposable income to purchase the necessary equipment for internet access or and digital technology in general. It is not just the equipment; a literacy is also necessary to use it” (Lu, 2001).
In many countries the idea of become digitalised is not as important as issues such as health and poverty, implying that not every country or region is ready to be digitally caught up at this moment in time. This is an idea which could be isolating regions to get connected sooner consequently making the global digital divide greater. Again the idea of education can also be mentioned here. Online learning in some countries/regions is extremely limited.Children that are supposed to be 'native' to these technoliges have little or no access to this technology resulting in them not being able to use this technology effectively. Online communities, communities of practice and societies are also limited as people are unable to access the internet and interact with people who have similar or differing views and opinions due to various cultures. The idea of a digital divide not even being an issue in some countries can be suggested as they have no idea what Digitalisation is and therefore do not feel like they are missing out.
Both parts of this question imply how much we (the digital natives and immigrants) take the idea of technology for granted. Some of us feel like we’re missing out by not having the latest gadget. But what we should realise is that in some cases we have far more than other people. I feel that we are so native to technology today that if it went tomorrow we would have no idea how to carry on. Some LEDC’s have never even seen a phone or a computer or even have electricity in places, a number of of the gadgets that we have to them must seem unbelievable as it is something that they will have never encountered before. Hopefully more LEDC's will be able to catch up with technology at some point or at least get to a standard which will help to change their loves. If you think about China are far more devloped than us, so perhaps once we've reached China's idea of development perhaps some of the LEDC's will have reached to where we are now.
Lu, M (2001) “Digital Divide in Developing Countries” Journal of Global Information Technology Management, Volume 4 (3), pp. 1 – 4, http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?index=0&did=83155528&SrchMode=1&sid=1&Fmt=3&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1237463068&clientId=57096
For years now the internet has enabled people in various countries to be connected all around the world twenty four hours a day, allowing them to access practically anything that they want to find out about at just a click of a button.
There is the notion that not all countries/regions are as technologically developed as our country. In fact some are far more technologically developed such as China etc whereas others have limited access to digital technology. The idea of Less Economically developed countries (LEDC’s) and More Economically developed countries (MEDC’s) is implied here. Some countries do not even have the money to purchase these new digital technologies to allow them to develop. Many countries/regions might not even recognise the term ‘digital divide’ as some have little or no electronic appliances. This is highlighted by the theorist Lu who states “In developing countries, citizens do not have the disposable income to purchase the necessary equipment for internet access or and digital technology in general. It is not just the equipment; a literacy is also necessary to use it” (Lu, 2001).
In many countries the idea of become digitalised is not as important as issues such as health and poverty, implying that not every country or region is ready to be digitally caught up at this moment in time. This is an idea which could be isolating regions to get connected sooner consequently making the global digital divide greater. Again the idea of education can also be mentioned here. Online learning in some countries/regions is extremely limited.Children that are supposed to be 'native' to these technoliges have little or no access to this technology resulting in them not being able to use this technology effectively. Online communities, communities of practice and societies are also limited as people are unable to access the internet and interact with people who have similar or differing views and opinions due to various cultures. The idea of a digital divide not even being an issue in some countries can be suggested as they have no idea what Digitalisation is and therefore do not feel like they are missing out.
Both parts of this question imply how much we (the digital natives and immigrants) take the idea of technology for granted. Some of us feel like we’re missing out by not having the latest gadget. But what we should realise is that in some cases we have far more than other people. I feel that we are so native to technology today that if it went tomorrow we would have no idea how to carry on. Some LEDC’s have never even seen a phone or a computer or even have electricity in places, a number of of the gadgets that we have to them must seem unbelievable as it is something that they will have never encountered before. Hopefully more LEDC's will be able to catch up with technology at some point or at least get to a standard which will help to change their loves. If you think about China are far more devloped than us, so perhaps once we've reached China's idea of development perhaps some of the LEDC's will have reached to where we are now.
Lu, M (2001) “Digital Divide in Developing Countries” Journal of Global Information Technology Management, Volume 4 (3), pp. 1 – 4, http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?index=0&did=83155528&SrchMode=1&sid=1&Fmt=3&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1237463068&clientId=57096
Week 10: Question 2
What difference to all this might the 'digital divide' make? a) To socioeconomically related access issues within a society?
Digital divide is a term used to explain the ‘gap’ between people who access and benefit from digital technology and those who do not. England is planning for the ‘digital switchover’ on 2012 by enticing all household to get a digital receiver in their households to access digital radio and television channels etc before the analogue channels are switched off for good. This is hard for some generations as they cannot understand the concept of the digital switchover and cannot grasp the ideas of this new digital age. Presnky’s idea of digital immigrants can be implied here as the main number of people who cannot understand this new concept of digitalisation are of a different generation to the digital natives. This results in the being able to grasp and understand these new digital ways and ideas.
The economic crisis also has to be mentioned here. With the so called ‘credit crunch’, job loss and the decline in the economy the digital audience can be affected. People with lower incomes or that now have no jobs are unable to afford digital appliances to allow them to continue developing at the same speed as society. There is also the idea an amount of people who are unable to access digital facilities. As I mentioned in a previous post a few weeks Gordon Brown wants all households to have access to a computer with the internet and most to have digital boxes within the next few years to prepare for the digital takeover.
However many poorer places will still be unable to reach some areas. If they’re not careful the digital divide could get bigger rather than smaller. More needs to be done in the poorer areas of society. If not they will result in being left behind and will remain immigrants in a continuously developing society. Education must be mentioned here also. If families cannot afford to buy new digital appliances then their children will be unable to access a computer or the internet from their homes. This is ironic as these children are supposed to be digitally native to this new digital technology but instead are unable to be native due to their poorer background in society. The only way in which these children will be able to access digital facilities will be in schools, although they still might have limited time and access to it.
It is clear that digital technology is running at fast past and there seems to be no signs of it slowing down. The government are trying their best to close the gap on the digital divide but are now struggling due to problems in the economy. This year I think you can expect to see a lot more involvement from the government trying to engage all areas of the country into digitalisation.
Digital divide is a term used to explain the ‘gap’ between people who access and benefit from digital technology and those who do not. England is planning for the ‘digital switchover’ on 2012 by enticing all household to get a digital receiver in their households to access digital radio and television channels etc before the analogue channels are switched off for good. This is hard for some generations as they cannot understand the concept of the digital switchover and cannot grasp the ideas of this new digital age. Presnky’s idea of digital immigrants can be implied here as the main number of people who cannot understand this new concept of digitalisation are of a different generation to the digital natives. This results in the being able to grasp and understand these new digital ways and ideas.
The economic crisis also has to be mentioned here. With the so called ‘credit crunch’, job loss and the decline in the economy the digital audience can be affected. People with lower incomes or that now have no jobs are unable to afford digital appliances to allow them to continue developing at the same speed as society. There is also the idea an amount of people who are unable to access digital facilities. As I mentioned in a previous post a few weeks Gordon Brown wants all households to have access to a computer with the internet and most to have digital boxes within the next few years to prepare for the digital takeover.
However many poorer places will still be unable to reach some areas. If they’re not careful the digital divide could get bigger rather than smaller. More needs to be done in the poorer areas of society. If not they will result in being left behind and will remain immigrants in a continuously developing society. Education must be mentioned here also. If families cannot afford to buy new digital appliances then their children will be unable to access a computer or the internet from their homes. This is ironic as these children are supposed to be digitally native to this new digital technology but instead are unable to be native due to their poorer background in society. The only way in which these children will be able to access digital facilities will be in schools, although they still might have limited time and access to it.
It is clear that digital technology is running at fast past and there seems to be no signs of it slowing down. The government are trying their best to close the gap on the digital divide but are now struggling due to problems in the economy. This year I think you can expect to see a lot more involvement from the government trying to engage all areas of the country into digitalisation.
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