IBM- Goals for the Next 5 years December 28, 2010

I read an interesting article on Google about IBM’s goals in the next 5 years. In sum, these are the goals:

1) To create a cell phone that produces a 3D hologram of people and the environment so that users can interact and virtually SHOW what they are talking about.

2) To create batteries that use oxygen to re-energize.

3) To utilize already present technology such as mass data networks within businesses’ output energy in a recycled manner that could actually heat or cool buildings.

4) To improve transportation by a device that gives ALL possibilities for a driver’s possible routes to a location taking into consideration driver’s patterns, weather, construction, best modes, etc.

5) To use static or kinetic energy to operate small devices such as the iPod without batteries altogether.

6) To use current technology to gather very specific information such as info about nearby streams, earthquake data, etc.

 

While we know that all new endeavors have their positive’s and negatives, I want to focus on just one of the goals above, and reflect on the good and the bad.

Goal one listed above is very interesting! How cool would it be to see a friend or co-worker right in front of you even though you are only talking on the phone? This could save gas costs by allowing you to see your friend or co-worker. This could allow for virtual presentation, conferences, more detailed repair services for say a computer problem or appliance. It could also allow EMT to get a better grasp of an emergency situation. It could allow loved ones in far estranged places to view one another. It could capture more crime. If a user was on the phone in an area where a crime is being committed, the person may very well catch the surroundings and allow be able to find suspects more quickly. In fact, ransom calls would be pretty hard to make don’t you think? FBI or CIA could possibly target high profile crimes if suspects used this type of way to communicate. There is a lot to gather from being able to see backgrounds and people’s actual appearance.

On the other hand, while this could be used for the good, what negative implications could this have? Prices on cars and transportation might actually go up since fewer people would have the direct need to travel as often. Society may use such a device in ways that could create some serious moral concerns that would involve a wide range of age groups. For example, using the device to be inappropriate, create visual exploitations, and such. It may also be devastating for loved ones to actually see loved ones die before their eyes in emergency situations, while knowing what they are going through, but not being able to get to them. If not constructed in a very intelligible way, it could be a concern for privacy. Such phones would make speaking to someone on public transit very public indeed. Will there be a way to turn off holograms or use some sort of head attachment that would allow you to see the other person without everyone seeing them.

While it is clear that this could be a big step in technology and communication, we must recognize that negatives and positive both exist for the furthering of technologies use among people. This all sound pretty amazing! The question is…will it be?

Watch the IBM video! Very Cool!

Reflections about changes in the world July 9, 2010

Reflection After Reading Neil Postman’s Technopoly: The Surrender of Culture to Technology?

Can there be a compromise? Where do we draw the lines between God, science, technology, etc? Before I ever reflect here, I want to make it perfectly clear that I am a Bible believer and see Jesus as the ultimate authority on right and wrong. As, I’ve learned about the Industrial Revolution and the Rise of Technopoly in our nation, what I really see is a money hungry nation who is searching for ways to solve problems without having to think or do any sort of work to get there. Yeah, there are a few who started this trend and put the man hours in, but as the rest of the world has now been able to set back and benefit from these efforts, our nation does little “true work,” we simply supervise and manage the ongoing happenings…always trying to improve and make everything more efficient. I see a sort of utopian environment on the rise. Man wants a perfect world; much like one would imagine Adam and Eve’s Garden of Eden. The truth is that, that world is lost. Sin separated us from that world, and as such we must “work by the sweat of our brow.” What is puzzling to me is that we had that perfect life and had the opportunity to walk with God in the cool of the day. Now man, seems to think that by creating all of these machines and technology that we will have more time with God, family, and friends, when in reality, people end up on the sofa watching tv or surfing the net. Man’s own creations or work has become our own gods.

Much like the movie Time Changers depict, tv has slowly desensitized our morals and has taken Jesus as the authority of right and wrong out of the equations. Yes, our nation has learned a lot of new and exciting things through history, but HOW have we used this information. Have we given God the glory?

Sadly, I even find myself feeling like I am doing the same thing in my own life. I’m constantly looking for ways to be more efficient, to get tasks done easier with minimal thinking involved. I myself often search for a peace of mind in the duties of everyday life, when in actuality; it is our duty to WORK. When we actually engage in REAL WORK, we find that we spend a lot less time thinking about things that really don’t matter. We find ourselves engaging in sinful activities. We put God last in almost everything. We can spend hours watching television, but verily find time to crack our Bibles open. This is ridiculous.

There is nothing wrong with making one’s self better if the principles that we apply are scripturally based, and are applied with the motive of living a godly life that is pleasing to the Lord. We should not attempt to do things to make life easier for the sake of being able to relax and be lazy, we should only attempt to make ourselves better by allowing God to change us through His Word, and through time spent with Him. When we do this, He will show us how to conduct our lives in conjunction with His Word.

So can there be compromise? What does it mean to compromise? The answer is that in terms of God’s Word there can be no compromise. Does that mean we ban television, automobiles, machines that make our life easier? I think the answer is no, but we must be cautious of how and how much we use these tools in our lives. These are tools, not gods. If we allow tv to dominate our thought life, then we need to eliminate it from our viewing, or choose more carefully the programs we watch. If automobiles are used to engage in criminal acts or take us to places we have no business being, then we need to start walking (that might make us think twice about whether we want to go or not-LOL!) or choose our choices more carefully.

My thoughts have been about the change in our world. Where we are truly headed? As technology and thinkers of our times guide our society subtly, do we notice the changes that are taking place? Do we notice what is happening to us on the inside? Will these changes be acceptable when we have to face God and account for our actions? If man truly wants a utopian environment, we must begin by living according to God’s word so that when God pronounces judgment on sin in our world, that we can be one of the faithful few who can enter Heaven: the only true Utopia.

MyPodcast Site-Dr. Lowell made this Assignment easy! January 26, 2010

One of my first assignments in EDUC 634, was to sign up for mypodcasts, get a feed, and subscribe to classmates feeds. I first went to www.mypodcasts.com and signed up for my own podcasting station. I then downloaded the software that you must have with podcaster, pressed the record button, and spoke. I saved the podcast and uploaded it to mypodcaster site. It’s a lot like a blog, only its a podcast blog. I then, went to Google Burner and signed up to get a feed address. Once I got the feed address, I opened itunes, and browsed the menu until I found something that looked like "subscribe to podcasts." I subscribed to my podcast, and the class podcasts, and now all I will have to do in order to listen to everyones, is go to to itunes. However, if I want to make a podcast, I have to open the mypodcast software, record, and then post it to mypodcast site. It’s actually not as hard as I imagined it to be. However, I must say that Dr. Lowell has broke me in well for this sort of thing.

MA Classes start today! January 11, 2010

I hope to be on here as much as possible. classes start today: EDUC 644 and CIS 634. So I’ll try to keep blogging and learning about new technologies and tools. My blogging may slow to once every two weeks.

Free PD!!! January 5, 2010

I was reading my blogs once again, and I noticed a link which is attached that offers free online PD, which once can receive credit for when approved through your district or administrator. I actually sent this link to my administrator as we were talking about the need for finding more PD.

We were working on our School Improvement Plan, and one area that we all felt we needed to improve in was PD. So, I am happy that I am able to provide this resource. It looks as though the site archives all it’s past PD’s, so one can go back and view these via video. Credit comes through blogging and answering several reflective questions in a blog, or document, which is pretty cool!

Professionals present the PD you can receive through this site. Those who present actually present their own proposal for presenting, which is reviewed and then selected for the yearly conference. These presentations can be viewed live when they are offered, but again if you have missed them, you can go back and view them in the archives.

Here’s a few that I would like to check out:

Organizational Learning and Technology Collide

Building a Web 2.0 Culture

Using eBooks to motivate Pupil Writing

Technorati Tags: http://k12onlineconference.org/

Creation Station Classroom December 29, 2009

This quote made me think:

“I have just got to take pictures of my room for you, just been so busy. But this year, I wanted to wiki-fy my walls. I want the very walls of my room to be places where students express and share what they are doing. I’ve done this in two ways. I have used velcro to stick small dry erase boards EVERYWHERE and also have used brightly colored duct tape to designate certain areas on my wall for certain types of things to be shared.” ~ CoolCat Teacher-Victoria A. Davis http://coolcatteacher.blogspot.com/2009/10/striving-to-wiki-fy-my-room.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+CoolCatTeacherBlog+%28Cool+Cat+Teacher+Blog%29

 

What Davis is suggesting makes a lot of sense. If we want a generator of inventors, scientists, thinkers, etc, we have to create and provide the opportunities to do such things. Cool Cat also provides a link to http://ideapaint.com/site/ideapaint_school.html You must check this out! Its is so cool! We can take one coat of paint and create a 3D virtual dry erase board for students, or it can be limited to student desks or spaces that we designate. The idea is to create space in which students can write their own ideas, plans, sketches, and inventions. You might think this encourages graffiti, but have we ever thought that people who do such acts are just wanting to be heard. Someone needs to listen to them, so why not give students a space to share their ideas in a constructive way. Pretty cool I thought!

A tool for Learning: Pixton December 28, 2009

Using higher order thinking skills when designing lesson plans forces not only the teacher to prepare students for learning higher order thinking skills, but allows students to really demonstrate their learning in creative ways. When students have to construct or create something, they must think not only about the foundations of a topic, but all the parts that make it up, and how you arrive at the bigger picture/topic or issue.

I found this website through reading my blogs called Pixton. Pixton allows students to create their own comic strips, backdrops, etc. This site is used not only by students, but by all sorts of people. I think allowing students to create a comic strip to understand a concept is an excellent way to engage students, and practice 21st century skills. Students have a variety of backdrops, characters, and colors to choose from. On the other hand, the student can start from scratch and create all of these things themselves. It is an excellent tool to use!

Technorati Tags: http://pixton.com/

Frontier: Shoot for the great beyond! December 23, 2009

This assignment was given on a blog I read from, “2 Cents Worth.”

Technorati Tags: http://davidwarlick.com/2cents/?p=2047

So, here’s my topic assignment for youngster and teacher bloggers. What frontier might inspire us to race to a better, more exciting, and self-fulfilled future?

 

Today, we do of course want to shoot for the highest limits, but success is also measured by depending on others and networking to collaborate and create resources for use in the world. Our vision was to inspire our students to shoot for the moon. What frontier should inspire students today?

I think what our students should shoot for really is to create something that does not yet exist. They should shoot for what is beyond the great unknown…past the galaxies, black holes, and nebula to a place that has not yet been stepped upon or seen. The point is there should be no limits to learning. No place for arrival…it should go beyond what we know …. always shooting to grow and branch out into a network of learning and community. That’s my vision and a frontier to embark upon.

Think about it. In a game we are always working toward making it to a new level, because we haven’t seem what challenges that level holds, and it’s also challenging to get there. However, once you have arrived at the new level in the game, you want to go beyond that level. So Level 3 loses its sense of newness, and you are hard pressed to get to the next one….so why set limits. Let’s shoot for what’s beyond now.

Back channeling? What in the world? December 22, 2009

What is back channeling?

Well, know this one took me a while to figure out. I had absolutely no idea what back channeling was until I went to this site called Today’s meet (http://todaysmeet.com/) I had really Wikipedia, and goggled for a while, but I still had a fairly puzzled look on my face. My discovery is that back channeling is simply a way for an audience, ranging from one person to many, to talk while someone/group is delivering a presentation.

What is the purpose of back channeling?

Back channeling allows a speaker or presenter instant feedback by reviewing what his/her audience was talking about, passing notes about, etc while he/she was presenting. It basically allows hard core feedback in order to improve a presentation.

Who is this sort of thing good for?

Teachers who want to improve their teaching. Professional development speakers, business presenters,etc can use this tool to improve.

 

Where or what do you have to use to backchannel?

Well, from my basic understanding, there are many ways to backchannel. Today’s meet is one site that allows you to do this. Another one you might want to check out is Access Grid.

 

Technorati Tags: http://davidwarlick.com/2cents/?p=2072

I’ve discovered Podcasts!!! December 21, 2009

   Ok, I know this may be a bit behind the times, but since I’ve purchased my new laptop, I’ve been able to explore new places and tools that I could not with my older desktop computer. I have found the coolest podcasts for my science classes.These short podcasts are perfect for beginning class, closing class, or filling up a few extra minutes with some real meaty science facts. I subscribed to www.odeo.com, and then I subscribed to 3 different science podcasts after previewing a few clips: A Moment in Science, NASAcast, and 60 Second Science.

    Right now, I start each day with a Brain warmer, which is typically a review question from a previous lesson. I love the fact that I now can mix this up with some podcasts. I’m loving my laptop! I’m loving my findings!