VoiceThread

1/20/11

The Web 2.0 technology I used to introduce Elton is called VoiceThread. I didn't know much about it except that it allowed users to comment on the post by adding pictures, audio, and to draw directly on the post. It was very easy to use but I did have to do a couple of work-arounds because of size-limitations for videos.

Side note...it is totally amazing to me how far we have come in the last 25 years in being able to create and edit video in a matter of minutes!!!

Cheers! Kim

What Does Emerging Technologies Mean?

1/14/11

Aloha everyone: What a great introduction and fun first class we had last night!

Our discussion about emerging technologies for learning brought to mind the book "The Tipping Point" by Malcolm Gladwell which is now 10 years old. I thought about it because I think an emergent technology has to be recognized and accepted by a critical mass of people in order for it to be impactful or meaningful. For example, Pete, I think it was you who mentioned electric cars in the chat box last night. Weren't electric cars possible decades ago? But society was not willing to move to electric cars because the price of gas was cheap enough that they continued to drive fossil fuel cars. It is only now that fossil fuels are becoming very expensive that people are willing to look at alternatives.

On the other hand, why is it that emerging technologies such as gaming are so readily embraced as soon as they hit the marketplace? Do any of you remember Pong? It was a very simple video game based on tennis that came out in the early 1970s. Even with the limited movement of the controller up and down, we played for hours.

If I may paraphrase what Dr. Bert said last night, how do we align all of what is good about emergent technologies for learning purposes? How do we capture the curiosity, excitement, and collaborative spirit for today's learners? These are the questions I want to look at from all angles during our course this semester. Aloha, Kim