Chapter 31, Emerging Instructional Technologies: The Near Future, was for the most part an eye opener for me. I know that as a society we have become quite advanced over the years, and that much of that advancement has taken place over the most recent 30ish years, however the direction, and speed at which the author takes us into the future is unbelievable. Probably the two biggest, and most exciting part of this chapter for me was that if AI (artificial intelligence), and the bit on nanotechnology. I have to admit that I am a "trekie" at heart, and some of the things that were described (between the two areas) really painted the Star Trek picture for me. Now I know that anything of the sort is such a long way away, that I'll likely be long gone before we see anything of the sort, but it sure sounded cool. Door opening for you, wine chilling when your expected home, computers talking to you, and etc.
The other big one that really stuck me as neat, was the Artificial Intellegence with respect to instructional technology. I'm very hopeful that this type of technology will be very beneficial, not only in the educational setting, but in many trades/vocations, and industries. The idea of a platform itself learning how someone learns, and automatically adapting itself, and conforming information/material in a manner which best fits the learner would be an awesome feat.
Favorite activity of the semster:
I really enjoyed learning about the blogger, and its components. I pretty handy at web development (websites, etc.) so this blogger seemed pretty neat to use throughout the semester. I'm actually considering makeing another down the line for a journal type blog. I've never been too good at creative writing, however writing these reflections has sparked my interest a bit. The other activity that I really liked was creating the websites, as I have a nack for it anyway. I only wish that I knew HTML, and Java better. Maybe another course down the line!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
I agree that a lot of the technologies discussed was an eye opener. Although we seemed bombared with technology, it is amazing to think where we can and will go, and even more amazing how we can, if we really try, use these and future technologies to help EVERYONE learn in a way that is most beneficial to them. As a teacher, it is very exciting!
And, I agree with you about the blog. I really overlooked that as my "favorite activity" because it has become something that is surprisingly very natural to me. I would have never guessed that would happen at the beginning of this course.
There are so many technology-based ideas out there, it all seams like it could be a bit overwhelming for the general population to take in! Your post really highlighted the way in which technology is increasingly finding its way into up-and-coming trends in worldwide development of a variety of sorts. To think that something like artificial intelligence is actually plausible, when not so long ago, it was entirely fictional, is both interesting, and hard to believe. For me, just the idea of something as simple as paper being developed upon technologically is a bit mind boggling... to think that electronic paper could be mainstream in the distant future really speaks volumes about the fast imapct technology has made on our planet, both good and bad.
I like the authors take on nanotechnology also. I remember watching Star Trek as a kid and thinking how cool to tap a button on your shirt to talk to others. Well, with nanotechnology...blue tooth...we all look like characters from Star Trek. What next? Teleportation? :) It was great working with you this semseter. Good luck with all you do.
Steve
I agreed with the artificial intelligence piece and coming from a vocational instructor too, this would be a great piece with a lot of my curriculum. I was so excited about everything I read this week, I shared it all with my students, and related especially to the AI part of it. We use a web-based learning system for the expert features in Microsoft and if the students don't 'get it' the first time through, the tutorial will re-start and they go through it again. It is more of a memorization piece, but if it actually tracked their progress and took them other routes and created assessments based on their learning style and level, that would be awesome.
Very fun chapter!
Post a Comment