#edcmooc

[theroyalpantagraph]

A Very Short History of Information Technology - a Digital Artefact

http://prezi.com/2q9bnccr2iil/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy&rc=ex0share

[theroyalpantagraph]

The Last Avatar #EDCMOOC

As a human who belongs in the society of this world, I personally think that we, people, should know when to be in the boundary of 'reality' and when to be in the boundary of 'technology'.

The final film that I would like to feature on my blog is Avatar Days. This particular film reveals the relationship of a player to his avatar. But before anything else, I think it would be better to share first my own personal experience with avatars being a player myself.

Having my own avatar is like me having a piece of my imagination turn into a reality. I've always liked RPG games and not just for fun of the game itself, but also the freedom to make your own avatar. I often choose a female as my avatar for I am a mama's boy! (HAHAHAHAH!!!) Furthermore, I choose a female character since I'm a male and I believe that a girl's looks can be deceiving and fool  other players' avatars. Moreover, I prefer that my avatars get a magical abilities instead of being a simple soldier or a simple archer and many more. These things I couldn't have done in real life but in the world of avatars, that's a different thing. This different world allows me to explore the things I've always desired even though its a fictional world, do things I couldn't do , and dream things I couldn't have dreamed. And I guess that's the relationship that exists between me every player to his own avatar.

Limit doesn't exist in the world of simulation, just as boundary and rules. And people often want that, to have a little time where they are not pressured to live their life and follow the norms of the world. But we always have to remember when to go back to reality.

[theroyalpantagraph]

Naturally Artificial #edcmooc

The plot of the film goes with a guy suddenly woke up from his day dreaming when an untimely timer that drips for an hour alarmed. This made him particularly focused to make what he had to make, and do what he had to do. He, firstly, made several blocks, as appeared to be buildings, and then tried to decorate them. He put colors and tried to make "his world" the most realistic of all. In the latter part of the film, it was revealed that all the things that the guy built was for his lady who appeared to be wearing hospital clothes. She made her way through the made-up world with glee, however, I could sense some sadness in her smile as if something is missing. I've thought and thought about it and I think it's touch, human touch she was looking for. Yes, there were many beautiful things that surrounded her yet she keeps on searching for something, someone who can accompany her in this almost perfect, little, made-up world of hers which is NOT going to be replaced by any other technological advancements. I felt sorry for the guy, as well as for the girl, who can't be with each other and feel each other's presence.

So you see, even in an almost perfect simulation or any technological process for that matter, there are still drawbacks to consider, there are still things that lack even in an imaginative world run by technology. Thus, it makes me wonder if this video truly shows what 'humans' will be in, in the present and in the future.    

[spreadingthevibe-blog]

"No Man Ever Steps in the Same River Twice."

I chose this image for the #edcmooc image contest because for me it depicts what it means to be human and exist in the world.  The quote implies an evolution of the mind and body and although we repeat certain actions they can never be done in the exact same manner.  We, as humans, are always changing and because of the realization of humanitarian efforts we are gaining a deeper understanding of a greater purpose for life.  

[spreadingthevibe-blog]

This advertisement is Toyota’s attempt to create a product, which frees us from the dystopia of our pixilated world, a world in which we are dependent on technology so much so that we have lost feelings of joy or satisfaction.  The new Toyota GT86 allows us to break free from the chains of our artificial society and feel what its like to be human.  Rightly pointed out is the fact that according to the video, the only way to feel human is to buy another form of technology, and that is so often true in our world today.  Feel like you can’t sleep, breathe or eat, take some artificially made medicine to reliev your stress. Can’t find love, sign up for OkCupid or match.com.  Too often in our technology dependent society we yearn for more to make us feel human.  If you really want to feel human, go camping and connect with nature and the animals around you.    

[spreadingthevibe-blog]

A very strange world this video depicts.  The idea of gestures and overall body language with a connection to technology is very interesting.  We have adapted our body language to the technology of our lives and continue to learn to do things differently because society as a whole values a technology.  For example, I think about just a simple body position of head facing down as we walk.  Before the invention of smart phones, the only reason you would constantly be looking down and walking is if you were crossing a park full of dog poop.  But now, cruising down the streets of San Francisco, I have to avoid and sometimes just bump into hundreds of screen-glued zombies stumbling down busy pedestrian walkways.   

This video shows some curious changes to the way they see our body language being changed in the future.  Watching TV on your sunglasses, while smiling laughing or crying for an unexplained reason from the point of view of an on-looker.  Now with the invention of Google glass, this is beginning to take place and may confuse people around you.

With the car interactions, the hand or eye recognition is of course looming in the future, and the hands-free telephone capabilities already exist.  But, the woman’s gestures to hang up the phone appears the same as a motion for another car to move past, causing a conflict for the car operator.  Additionally, the whole part about putting on enough makeup so that your car will approve, is truly ridiculous.  If we need technology to approve our physical appearance I don’t want to live in that society.

Finally, and probably the most interesting of all, are the social interactions.  Though I didn’t quite understand the idea behind thought syncing, as it seemed more complicated than just writing or saying a message, overall we will continue to interact less face-to-face and more with our screens which may project our emotional gestures and body language to others, but we will lose for example the understanding of what to do when someone smiles at you.  Technology is without doubt changing and always has changed human body language, but the key is to not let it interfere with human interaction (i.e. smiling, hugging, kissing, touching, comforting, listening, communicating) or we will most assuredly become robots.

[theroyalpantagraph]

Our World Driven by Technology #edcmooc wk. 2

[spreadingthevibe-blog]

What a classroom experience!  I could not be more on board with these technology advancements.  It’s clear that in courses like engineering, a hands-on field of study, this is imperative to understanding.  The ability of the teacher to present at the front, assign to each student, and track the progress of each one greatly increases the teacher’s value in a classroom.  Additionally, the ability to instantaneously collaborate between the students, teacher and people in the field is crucial to building a successful plan.   Finally the ability to test, and see the real trial and error reinforces the strength of the curriculum.  What about for other subjects?  I teach English as a second language to adult students, and I see that technology plays an important role in a language-learning classroom, but not to the extent of this Bridge Building class presented by Intel.  How do you use technology in a language-learning classroom?