week 10 Qs 1 Wegner relating to Prensky

Both Wegner’s and Prensky’s theories focus on individual learning with the possibility of getting together with others in a ‘community’ to discuss the findings.
Wegner’s notion of Communities of practice is not as focused on doing everything digitally as Prensky but the sense of community is still the same digitally.
Natives can learn online individually as well as in groups which allow a larger number of people to be together and share ideas at the same time. A point that Wegner makes is that “Many of the ways we have of talking about learning and education are based on the assumption that learning is something that individuals do. Furthermore, we often assume that learning has a beginning and an end; that it is best separated from the rest of our activities; and that it is the result of teaching” (Wenger 1998: 3). Unlike face to face seminars discussions can continue online for as long as people continue responding to a certain topic and also the major thing this that people are no longer bound by geographical location.

week 10 Qs 2 digital divide

In socioeconomic society the digital divide could have negative effect digital natives with all the skills they need to access WebPages and downloadable files will not be affected but the immigrants might be. As we can see the government is now trying to push more people to use the internet and interactive television as their main source of information. Prensky speaks of the natives speaking in a digital language that new information should be present those outside the native society will be at a disadvantage because they might not fully understand what information is being put forward.
On a global scale the majority of the world still do not have access to computers and the internet and if global decision are being made without the majority knowing what is being agreed upon this could cause serious revolts in society or exclusions of certain groups.

Week 10 Qs 4 Tailored education

By tailoring education to suit a certain area or community instead of basing it on the national standard will affect society. The differences that will be included in this process will complicate situation when people move out of that community into another because their skills and/or academic grounding will not be the same as that of the new community and might not be compatible. Some cultural and personal preferences such as sex education in schools can be something that can be tailored to suit different communities but when it comes to fundamentals such as the basic maths and English this could prove to be a problem.
I believe that education has a major role in work culture because depending on ones qualifications this determines what career they will have and what promotions they are likely to receive. These qualifications are usually based ion a universal bench mark such as a masters Degree will entitle you to a higher position than a person with just a diploma, however if the educational system is tailored to suit different cultural needs in society giving promotions will be difficult because that universal bench mark will be removed.
A question that could be raised here is who gets to decide what the universal bench mark is? The dominant powers in society despite them being a minority society still needs to conform to their ideologies. The issue of culture also arises if cultural considerations were to be incorporated into education whose cultural values would it uphold? Again the dominant powers. In this we see the dominant powers exerting their ideas this process is known as hegemony, hegemony is a concept most popularized by the theorist Gramsci. He used the term to describe a process whereby “A condition in process in which the dominant class (in alliance with other classes or class functions) does not merely rule society but lead it through the exercise of ‘moral and intellectual leadership’” (Gramsci 2006 in Storey 2006:96)

week 10 Qs 5 what is the semantic web?

The semantic web is an idea coined by Tim Berners-Lee that search engines on the web might be developed to function better this could be done by making sure that the search results present what the reader only wants to see that is it would filter all the material not relating to the initial search without the user having to modify what is types into the search bar currently tricks such as using quotation marks or asterisks can provide a better search but Berners-Lee aims to seeks ways in which using certain features like self description can understand as to what context the search of the user is.

week 10 Qs 6 How does it differ from web 3.0 ?

It differs form web 3.0 because web 3.0 facilitates for the web to be a sort of database of enquiries which are not specific to different users instead it is the users task to sift through the information till they find what is relevant to them whereas with the semantic web the technology would readily do that for the user using filters specific to the user’s profile as well as context.

week 8 five different academic articles dealing with the notion of young people's facility with the new world of converged media

Brereton, P. (2007) “The Consumption and use of DVDs And Their Add-Ons” “Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies” Vol. 13 (issue 2) pg 115-117

Alexander. J (2008) “Media Convergence” “Computers and Composition,” Vol. 25 (issue 1) pg 1-8,

Griffiths, M. and Light, B. “Social networking and Digital Gaming Media Concergence: consequences for Appropriation in Habbo Hotel” (2009) “Perspectives On The Gamer”, University of Bedford

Johanson, B. et al. (2008) “Debate: Will Web and television Converge?” University of Stanford

Theunert, H. and Wagner, U. “Childhood and Youth: How Adolescents Deal with Convergent Media” JFF- Institute for Media Research and Media Education, München, Germany

week 9 Qs 6b digital technologically imbricated world (or not) part 1

a)Oldest digital native: this would be my dad (50) he occasionally buys things off the satellite channels by pressing the interactive button this enables him to get more information about the product as well as select which products he wants as well as which type of delivery he wishes to have. This then leads to the payment page and the purchase is complete. The next stage is to then go on the internet usually on his I-phone and check when the product is dispatched and when it will arrive, and just in case there are any queries the I-phone is close at hand and he can make a call from it. In this we see the use of three overlapping technologies satellite, internet and the phone with the last two converged into one technology
b)Youngest digital immigrant: would be my little cousin Caitlyn (3) when she got a new game for her Nintendo DS she had to go through the section that taught her how to use the game step by step before commencing the game and she had to play the game level by level before see could interact with other users interactively through wireless technology. In this we see the game console being used alongside wireless technology which was previously mainly used in computers and telephone systems.
c)Threat to notion of native/immigrant: this threat would be me :D I tend to alternate between the two in some cases I can be a native which technology that I was raised around such as computer I can expect the technology to teach me what I need to do because I am accustomed to the basics of the technology. Whereas with new technologies such as the Microsoft's Dream Screen I would need the read the manual of how to use it therefore I would take on the role of the digital immigrant.

week 9 Qs 6b digital technologically imbricated world (or not) part 2

d)With their resistance to technology the neo-luddite will the left out of the technological world. I think that communities of traditionalist neo-luddite will be formed and special courses will be run for them but with them being against technology most of the materials they will need will be outdated because book will have because a thing of the past and most of the current information will be online. With them taking up special traditionalist university study structure they will be limited as what subjects they can take up to study. With limited material to study as well as limited course choice the future prospects of getting a job will be heavily limited.
however we could have so neo-luddites who are willing to use some technology some of the frustrations of the 'enlightened neo-luddite' could be obtaining reliable information form the internet, since most of the work to be submitted on university courses is heavily reliant on computer formatted work most research is now being carried out on the internet. Despite there being a vast wealth on information on the internet it is not always correct and sifting through hundreds of web pages to obtain information can be really frustrating. Without the essential knowledge of how to use search tricks such as including quote marks to pin point your search or asterisks to make you search broader on that subject matter.
e)A technophile in 2020: which the now advanced society long gone are the desktop computers and laptops now the Microsoft's Dream Screen has taken over no longer to students need to carry around bulky computers but instead just need a flat surface on which to project the computer and keyboards because they have now been replaced by interactive virtual keys. With everything centered around technology human interaction is minimalistic lectures are now delivered through a master chip which can be downloaded within the university Wi-Fi range and virtual seminar will have taken over.

week 9 Qs 3 should education stretch a person?

I definitely think that education should stretch a person but only to a certain level, but stretch I mean that it should challenge the student to think further than just the material provided during lectures or seminars. The information provided should urge the student to want to find out more about the topic from other sources as well as contradicting sources to get a different point of view. The sources used should not just be the expected books that are on the reading list but books by other authors to give a different perspective of things, journals provide the most up to date information by academics before books are published as well as using web of science which has books and journals from authors that are not typically found in the everyday library, all these exercises help the user to stretch their mind as well as enrich themselves which new material.

week 8 absract 1

Commercialization remains a key subject matter in the media, which in which cooperation’s make money on products has been a fascination of scholars and academics alike. This article focuses on the way cooperation’s are capitalizing on new technologies in this instance DVD’s. DVD’s can be seen as a remediation of the video cassette. The convergence of film and documentary means full length documentaries of how a movie was made, extended features and other added features are all merged into this format. Convergence of DVD and cinema means that the two mediums are no longer two separate distinct media in the sense that the viewer can obtain the same product at the cinema as well as at home. Is this new merge creating a positive or negative effect? This question is answered by looking at the use of such materials outside the home and in public spheres such as schools.

week 8 abstarct 2

The article deals with the convergence of the computer and television, the factors that make them individually separate and add on’s which could merge them into one alternating medium. As with all products cost is a key factor, the author poses questions as to whether this venture will be commercially viable a) for the manufacturers and b) for the customer. He analyses the steps to which this combined product would have to go through to be made outlining the feasibility of this converged product. Positive elements of this are outlined throughout the article and the author notes that in some sectors such as business such convergence is already in place but on a small scale the argument could go either way with the negatives adding up to just as much as the positives.

week 8 abstract 3

Convergence can be seen by most academics as a positive implement in society but in this article we see that this is not always the case. The authors use a big phenomenon within the circles of young adults which is social networking and digital gaming and identify the pit falls of combing these two forms together as seen in the Playstation. Does it provide an all rounded product or provide a more lacking product? A key point which is noted is that this could affect how such media are classified and given meaning as well as the problem of future generations not being able to distinguish the separate media embedded within the one technology. In this study they use the case study of the Hablo hotel which as invented in 2000 and outlines the positive and negative aspects of the site. The article paints a pessimistic picture of a converged but lacking society.

week 8 abstract 4

The subject of convergence is very much an age related topic with the younger digital natives most associated with it. Technological forms that were once available in one format such as television, have spread to more formats than ever before and with the study focusing on the niche 6-19 market the authors aim to seek out the beneficial facets of convergence. This study uses both qualitative and quantitative research methods. Analysis of various factors such as a age, gender, social and cultural backgrounds to obtain results from the children, by using different survey topics they broke down the research task into different sections to give a more accurate conclusion despite the study still being in progress.

week 8 abstract 5

Media convergence has been incorporated into everyday life for young people both for the educational and entertainment purposes. This article seeks to find out what methods are used and in what way, if they are effective and how they seek to replace the traditional with a new media way of thinking . new media is beneficial to those “Students fluent with digital and new media communication technologies...(whom are capable of) mixing and matching media to produce complex, multimodal, multimedia texts.” The key question still remains, what kind of literacy skills are students developing with the aid of convergence?

week 8 5 web pages dealing with dital immigration and digital natives

http://www.macinstruct.com/node/146

http://www.which.magazine.co.uk/easy_use_pc_guide.php?jchk=1&nolog=1&CMP=KNC-GOOGLE&HBX_PK=Jellyfish&HBX_OU=50&jtid=21003026&source_code=Y08EEJ

http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/how-to-automatically-run-programs-when-windows-vista-starts.html

https://www.blogger.com/start

http://store.nike.com/index.jsp?cp=EUNS_KW_NS08_UK_Google_B&ref=http://www.google.co.uk&country=GB&lang_locale=en_GB#l=shop,nikeid

week 8 what is digital immigration prt 1

Digital immigration is a term used to describe people who have spent the majority of their childhood and teen years without digital technology such as computers and therefore are fairly new to the internet.
Within digital immigration there are a few terms that have been coined to describe different people within that community such as digital natives these are the opposite of digital immigrants. Our generation is to be one of the first generations of digital natives. Digital natives are those people that were born immersed in digital technology. These digital natives are thought of not needing instruction manuals to learn new programs instead they rely on technology to teach them how to use the program.
New terms are being coined within digital immigration such as “digital immigrant accept” this is the way in which a digital immigrant speaks online or for example the way they write or behave in front of computers which exposes their lack of ICT skills.

week 8 what is digital immigration? prt 2

This term was coined by Marc Prensky in his book “Digital Game based Learning”
“The digital immigrant accent includes going slowly, going step by step, and using outlines for organization, reading manuals, and going to the internet second rather than first. Digital natives find this accent and approach very hard to deal with”
Digital immigration is mostly focused on those of the older generation for whom technology is a new conquest, and those of whom obtaining technology difficult in obtaining such as those in less developed parts of the world. Thee people are usually looked down upon (or slightly ridiculed) by digital natives because of their lack of experience.

week 8 Article review part 1

Article 1
despite DVD’s taking over in the developed world, in less developed parts of the world VHS still pretty much the way to view movies after they have gone out of the cinema, the convergence of documentary and film is not yet observed in these parts of the world because the majority will still have the now considered primitive technology.

Article 2
In this article the author looks at the problems that the users would face with a converged product, this is a key problem that authors seem to make. They assume the reactions of the audience rather than conducting a study or presenting an argument that could go either way. In this article he poses the problems that the users would face from financial, mental and habitual difficulties however he doesn’t note the fact that we now live in a technologically advanced world and the majority of the population own a TV and a computer in their homes and the convergence both technologies would not (in my opinion) comes a major technological shock. New technologies are generally welcomed into society by younger generations such as seen by the launch of the I-Phone, which is a good example of how society is ready to accept two separate technologies and merge them to use as a single product.

Article 3
In this pessimistic article the author’s main concern is that with the convergence of technology future generations will not be able to distinguish different technologies as separate. This implies the dumbing down of the future generations, just as much as people can learn about new technology so can they about old. This can be seen with the first new media task that we were set of finding out about old computer programs. Another concern was that of fraud online. Such problems are being solved by websites introducing fraud control facilities onto the majority of social networking sites as well as warnings about the risks of online purchases.

week 8 Article review part 2

Article 4
My main concern with this article is that the study is only focused on 6-19 year olds; this puts limits in the study. People this age are still very much under the support and control of parents/guardians they regulate which and how much technology is allowed in the household and this is not universal amongst families and therefore the effects of this will vary since this is a relatively small study this will provide scattered results for the quantitative study.

Article 5
This article is concerned with the educational uses of converged media, especially how it teaches literacy skills, although it is not pessimistic it has a lot of questions of how the converged media will work and replace traditional methods of learning. Although we are heading into a technological future this does not mean that traditional educational implements will be abandoned, they very much work together. Books are being converged with other technologies such as sounds to make the learning experience better, and so we have evidence of convergence in practice already

week 8 Digital Divide Qs 3 part 1

1. This site is very up to date because it provides traditional teaching materials such as screen dumps on the site to show the user how to use the technology but also have other technologically advanced features such as podcasts and videos to further help the user to understand how to use certain features. These additional features are really good because the visual can give the user better step by step guide. The whole site is specifically designed to be simple for the user to use with out the use of digital jargon, the web page has a simple layout without which will make it easier for the user to use without the need of further help from experienced users ;)the content on the site is graded according to difficulty/usability so that the users know which features that they need or feel comfortable using which goes to really cater for digital immigrants. The site is always under constant review there is a new feature which includes a guide section where by more educational material will be featured, the issue of commercialization which will be spoken about in future posts still is there with additional upgrades to the existing material on the site.

2. this site deals with some of the major concerns of most digital immigrants, it offers online help as well as traditional paper based guide books again the layout of the site is basic with limited images which decreases the chance of the user getting lost on the site, the site not only deals with issues of digital immigration but other factors that might interest the user and urge them to practice and further develop their skills. However this site unlike the first one only features limited text informing the user of what products are available and what benefit they will give the user but in order for one to use them they have to subscribe to the site before viewing the material. The material seems to be limited to text and screen dumps unlike the first site which incorporated various media forms, another downfall for the site is that you cannot contact anyone if you have any questions or problems it seems to flow in a one directional way.

3. this site focuses on a range of topics but this particular pages deals with more complex questions that the digital immigrant might have it uses more native language however it is not too technical and the slightly experienced immigrant will be able to comprehend as to what is being discussed. The site up to date because it incorporates videos within the site as well as links to export the page to other sites as well as email the page to friends. At the bottom of the page there is facility to leave comments about what the user feels/ thinks about the site

Week8 Digital Divide Qs 3 part 2

4.This site is catered more for the advanced user, with the set up of the site requiring previous experience which using a similar structures site and technical language. This site incorporates various media and is highly interactive and correspondence between users can be instant or take a while depending on how many people are using the site. The Digital immigrant features not fully incorporated in the site past the first page and using the site can become quite difficult for digital immigrants however this can be seen as a positive/welcome challenge for the native users.

5.this site can seem quite basic to the accustomed user but or a digital immigrant it might prove quite difficult, the site does not offer instructions of how to use the site instead it assumes that the user has prior experience with using a similar site. The way in which the site is designed mainly caters for the native with the use of moving images and urban feel associated with the younger generation. The site follows a more modern structure with a majority of images rather than text and doest follow and top to the bottom of the screen instead text is scattered all over the page. This completely differs form site 1,2 and 3 that I reviewed.

Summary
in all the sites that I reviewed I found that the level of authority was in the hands of the dominant powers, the users could only use and in one site export the webpage to another websites however the element of digital immigration was covered in various ways in the first 3 sites but I found that some of the sites didn’t not cater for those who are not considered to be immigrants.

week 7 review of http://www1.worldbank.org/disted/Technology/technology.html

A wide range of technologies are now available for students to use in distance learning and these combine traditional technologies such as radio and television and newer ones such as online learning. The cost factor is noted in the use of modern technology as compared to traditional formats, but when considering effectiveness no one technology can singularly provide the best results in order to have the best results a combination of technologies has to be employed, however this is not guaranteed to provide the ultimate result. This ‘ultimate’ result is still dependant on the structure of the course; technology alone cannot educate distance learners.

I will look at two technologies used in distance learning, radio and television. Radio is one of the cheapest forms of distance learning and has been used literary since it was invented for educational purposes. Universities internationally use it as a learning tool because the radio format is readily available to most students. However with the development of new technologies radio is now considered to be an entertainment format and not as an educational one, Mp3s and podcasts are now proving to be the new media forms that students use for audio learning in the developed countries of the world however cassette recordings are still proving to be popular in less developed countries.

Television is an effective way of learning but it is quite costly to produce, a higher quality is needed as compared to radio because unlike the invisible medium, in television visual appearance in programs matters. The advantage that television has over radio is that scientific experiments can be shown, as well as case studies and this will “help (the students) to visualize dynamic processes and sequences of events.” However like radio, television is associated with being an entertainment medium, thus educational programs can loose their seriousness and be viewed passively by those cultures that view it as a recreational medium.

week 7 Dekin University

Online study is proving to be popular with older students at Dekin University because this allows them to balance work and/or family commitments, the use of various off-campus learning formats as been identified as being advantageous in the student’s learning. In addition to off campus learning the students still have additional learning support with the first being online conferencing. With the staff and students being virtually in the same place and contributing and seeking help, telephone conferences are still offered and the last and most beneficial in my opinion is weekend schools for face to face tutorials.

This online program is not just available to Australian students but is also offered internationally, this is beneficial for those living in area where there aren’t any universities such as the islands surrounding Australia. This can be seen as advantageous to some but it can prove to be costly in other areas since internet is not readily available in all societies. Telephone learning can also prove to be quite difficult to obtain. So is this only benefiting those with advanced forms of technology?

Like the Dahat International School all the units taught at the university have at least one online component, which enables all the students to develop their online skills.

week 7 Review of eLearning in the School System

Interactive Classrooms Initiative in South Africa Expands

http://www.elearning-africa.com/newsportal/english/news124b.php

Interactive products such as the white board are proving to be beneficial to communities because a large number of students can have access to the internet and more technologically advanced forms such as CD-ROMs, but this is costly and will not be available or most schools in South Africa. Although South Africa is one of the most developed countries in Africa it still faces some economic difficulties especially in rural schools in stalling in these white boards will have a lot problems, with most rural schools running without electricity let alone internet this will prove to be very expensive for small schools to implement these technological devices in classrooms and therefore it will take a long time for them to move from the black board to the white board. Another problem that could be faced is training the teachers to use such technology.

However with the limitations out weighing the positives there is a great progress being made such as the expansion of the radio network in the North eastern borders of South Africa to link up five schools in the area.

Beyers says the original Ulwazi Project was established as a virtual classroom, but this is now expanding to become more of a community communications resource.
“By providing the technology, we can not only empower the learners but also the communities in which their families live. Rural clinics and business hubs can be connected to the network to assist with e-health and entrepreneurial services. There are many opportunities for social and community initiatives to use the technology installed at these schoolsIf the interactive whiteboards had not opened up a whole new world of interconnectivity and applications, the Ulwazi Project wouldn’t have made the progress it has.”

week7 online education in Malaysia

Dahat International School
http://www.dalatalumni.com/news/19172/eLearning-Dalats-New-Online-Learning-Requirement.htm

The Dahat international school in Malaysia have added an online course which is compulsory for the high school seniors to complete prior to graduating they believe that it is in the best interests of the students because it “capitalizes on it’s students natural affinity for technology…looking at the trends in education and the work place, there is no doubt that (the students) will need these skills …”

The school’s principal recognises that this course will prepare the students for the future after observing the trends that are in education as well as the professional world. Despite Malaysia being a third world country it introduced the concept of online learning long before the U.S.A had introduced it in their own schools.
“Dahat offers its own learning courses …which blend online coursework and face to face time with the teacher.”

The positive outcome of this is that the online courses are not offered at a higher price instead because Dahat International School designed some of the courses, the students get them at a reduced price. “It’s an enrichment opportunity for students to take courses we just can’t afford to offer”

Another key point which is noted is that it creates a great flexibility because courses can be available all the time not jus during scheduled class times. This has opened the courses to a larger number of students who wouldn’t be able to fit into a single room at the same time. The students interact with the teachers in range of various ways such as podcasts, flash activities, discussions boards and instant messaging. The teachers at the international school believe that students do not need to physically be in a classroom in order for them to learn.
“Dahat’s next goal is to offer a dual-credit online classes that allow students to earn both high school and college credit at the same time.