Ted 2.0 Collaboration

The birth of Wikipedia as told by Jimmy Wales:

The video gives an excellent example of collaboration and the birth of Wikipedia. This shows the influence of information that is provided by both scholarly and non-scholarly sources from all over the world. However the video provides the original intent of the website and how it served as an original open source digital encyclopedia with a neutral viewpoint.

This allows local/national and global information sharing on any given subject/topic person etc.. The website has had problems in the past as some the information posted about people and situations were deemed to violate some cultural/moral and privacy laws in various countries throughout the world.

Questions for the group are as follows:

Should the website be held accountable for the information that it is presented or is the disclaimer enough?

Has the orginal intent made information sharing more commonplace among researchers and can we use this type of approach to gain better research results?



http://www.ted.com/talks/jimmy_wales_on_the_birth_of_wikipedia.html

Horizon Report

Horizon Report 2011

Key trends:

People expect to be able to work, learn, and study whenever and wherever they want.

Technology:

Mobiles devices

Summary:

In reading the Horizon report for 2011 I became astounded by the technology of Mobiles and it uses. This technology has been a key technology for the past two years and has contributed greatly to one of the key trends (People expect to be able to work, learn, and study whenever and wherever they want) increasing in relevance.  The trend shows that people worldwide are requiring information of any sort to be at their fingertips at any given movement. One cannot walk the street and not see someone check their email (personal/work); social networking accounts (Facebook/Twitter) and makes appointments all in a matter of minutes. 

This occurs because mobiles are fast becoming the access of choice to the Internet for most consumers as the availability continues grow throughout the world. In fact according to the Horizon report a recent report from mobile manufacturer Ericsson, studies show that by 2015, 80% of people accessing the Internet will be doing so from mobile devices. The companies are rushing to build the infrastructure to meet this demand with their expanded networks such as 4G which will provide more service and increased technological options for the consumer.

 The consumer wants to push a button and have immediate access to the Internet. A mobile device used to be thought of as just a cell phone that you could get some Internet access to complete a few tasks and was called smartphone.  However with the development of new applications such as access to a full browser this has changed the landscape. Now you have devices such as iPads, E Readers and their competition counterparts’ providing full scale computing on the go because of the increased screen size and portability. Once can sit in an Airport and see people watching movies, doing homework and having meetings before they board the plane to their next destination.

These types of abilities were just talked about last year in the previous Horizon Report and they are here already. This has occurred because of the convergence of the three trends mentioned in the report: The growing number of Internet-capable mobile devices, increasingly flexible web content, and continued development of the networks that support connectivity. With the development of the technology to meet the consumers need companies began to develop single use applications that allowed the consumer to select only the services that they needed instead of a whole web browser. This allowed the consumer to tailor their mobile devices to the exact Internet access and support that they require.

There is a different application being developed every day for a consumer’s specific need. With this in mind the ability of the mobile to become an education tool is being explored and tested by hundreds of schools and educators throughout the world. The mobile is cheaper and certain applications can be provided by the school or instructor that allow total interaction with the student in regards to classwork, exams, quizzes  and podcasts just to name a few of the options available or  that will be developed. One has to realize that mobile covers the gamut of the wireless devices in the market today and fit every need from the nominal user to the tech guru.

The mobile device can contribute immensely to the education because of the cost of access as nearly everyone can afford one. Whereas a computer and the monthly Internet render them unaffordable to a lot of people the mobile users will actually outnumber the computers in the coming year. The biggest boon to the educational application is that nearly 100% of students have one so there would be minimal cost to the university and student. The student would just sign into the schools network wireless network and be on their way to a highly interactive educational experience.

 Lastly, the modified Delphi process that was use provides a well-rounded dearth of information that tells a compelling study. As you go through the process one can see the exchange of ideas and collaboration that an open sharing of information can create. The results were astounding as I have never really heard of this type of method before. If the process is learned correctly and used by the participant’s the resulting research can truly be beneficial to the both the laymen and the practitioner.

For Further Reading

Pew Internet Research Report Mobile Access 2010

http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2010/Mobile-Access-2010.aspx

(Aaron Smith, Pew Research Center, 1 June 2010.) This research report by the Pew Internet

Project examines mobile computing usage among Americans.

Smartphones Give You Wings: Pedagogical Affordance of Mobile Web 2.0

http://www.apo.org.au/research/smartphones-give-you-wings-pedagogical-affordance-mobile-web-20

(Thomas Cochrane, Roger Bateman, Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, 7 June

2010.) This paper examines how mobile Web 2.0 tools can be used in tertiary education.

World's Largest Open University Goes Mobile

http://www.pr-inside.com/world-s-largest-open-university-goes-r1553595.htm

(Press release, PR-inside.com, 29 October 2009.) The Indira Gandhi National Open University, in

partnership with Ericsson, offers courses on mobile phones to more than 2.5 million students.

Hello

Hello All,

I am your navigator and narrator on this journey into the future. The intent of the blog is to explore and examine the Innovation of the Adults with the Imagination of the Youth as these forces combine to lead us all into the future. The previously mentioned forces are critical in our education and technology fields that are the basis of our development.

The blog name comes from Star Trek and Toy Story as they inspire greatness but are tempered with innocence and life lessons. These two seminal shows have inspired many a generation of innovators and thinkers of all ages.

I look forward to sharing many ideas and thoughts as we move forward and learn from each other along the way.

Thanks