#edcmooc Communication technology (the artefact)

I found it really difficult to create my digital artifact  I've been blown away by the whole edcmooc things. There have been many interesting themes, running through the course “E-learning and Digital Cultures”. The important thing for me is writing blogs, because I’ve never done it before.

So I decided to tell about communication technologies. As we know communication is the transfer of information and some means of ensuring that what is sent is also received. Technology is channel in which information can be communicated. 
Communication technology includes the speed of transmission, and the total volume that can be handled at any one time.

There are such communication technologies as: mobile phones, email, blogs, forums, social networks,   websites and etc.

Obviously, it plays an important part in your social and educational life. We can argue a lot about  advantages and disadvantages of it. Yes, technologies can’t replace the real conversation and  real emotion. But it helps us to keep in touch with people who are far away from us.  This technologies is helpful in work, collaboration on projects and sharing resources.  

New communication technology is the key for education which can provides the opportunity to get and share the knowledge. It can contribute to universal access to education,  equity, and quality learning and teaching, teachers’ professional development and more efficient education management, governance and administration.
Communication technology has the potential to:

•  enrich, and deepen skills;
•  motivate and engage students in learning;
•  contributes to  changes in school; 
•  helps to create  economic viability for future's workers;
•  provides opportunities for connection between the school and the world

The big problem is the digital divide between advanced and developing countries. Ukraine has also some problem in providing this technology in educational life. Most people, school students haven’t an access to new tech at schools in distant regions. For instance, having an Informatics subject at school, students have neither computer equipment nor access to the web. The country is still developing. I believe in our future of education. 

But communication technologies can contribute towards violence - both unintentionally and intentionally.

I want to show you another side of communication technologies which can change people’s opinion in one country and lead global changes. All those ideas are due to my country (Ukraine). 

The social networks turn into the tools which can expand the revolutionary spirit in the country (for

instance, the Arab Spring). 

What about Ukraine?

Few in Ukraine were expecting mass protests after  the decision by the government to postpone the association agreement with the European Union. The agreement would be a historic landmark in Ukraine's economic and political integration into Europe, and was seen by many as a sign of its geopolitical choice between Russia and the EU. 

Only about 1,000 people had come to Kiev's Independence Square on Thursday evening, 21th November 2013 - first independent activists, then opposition leaders. The important thing is, all these people come together through social networks (Twitter, Facebook, Google+). According to BBC, the #euromaidan hashteg (rally took place in European Square) first appeared in social networks and become a trend of Ukrainian Twitter. It had been used by more than 21 000 times by November 22. During the Orange Revolution 2004, an important role in the coordination and organization of protesters played mobile phones. The information was shared via sms-messages, and gathered a large number of people. The social network  helped to raise the people in 2013.

Most of reputable journalists posted important information on social network’s pages and blogs. The next action was online translation events through the Internet. The information was shared faster than appeared on TV.

The new media became source of information for all residents.

Sharing the information through the communication technologies, people know the situation all over the Ukraine. The whole world has an opportunity to follow events and news in the country. 

The official EuroMaidan Facebook page, created by journalists and civil activists, became the fastest growing page in the Ukrainian segment of the social networks.Since its beginning (November 21), it has garnered more than 130,000 subscribers. During the first days of the demonstrations the page appeared in the top 20 of Ukrainian Facebook pages and became the most “talked about”.

 Twitter, which until now has been underutilized in Ukraine, finally became a main and important source of information, simultaneously with Facebook. 
But social media is also a powerful tool for opponents. A number of bots used the hashtag on Twitter to promote similar provocative messages. 

So, communication technology is a powerful tool for the development of quality teaching and learning and also it is a catalyst for radical change in society. It helps to create new generation and new type of human.

What if?

There is much debate about what constitutes life. We are living in the age where technology are developing very quickly. Will robots to replace the human?

It is becoming period of creating a creature which is exactly the same as humans. Most of the robots can think as logically as we can and they can maybe act approximately the same we do.

"Robbie" is a short film by Australian director Neil Harvey about an aging robot drifting alone through space 6000 years in the future. The process involved downloading 10 hours of footage from NASA archives. Robbie is capable of  experience loneliness, happiness, faith and friendshipthe question is, what are the emotions that are genuine for the robot? Love, lineless, firth… all of this can be simulated, using special program cod. This program would be able to reproduce human behavior according to emotions. We can create new world with new type of “human being” where robots can be used as an excellent simulation tool to investigate the nature of human emotion, empathy, and social interaction

Can the robot convey all emotions through the computer code. Robots are not human, but humans aren’t the only things that have emotions. There is something deeper …something unconscious that even human can’t control. What about soul? Intuition? Can robot feel this? I don’t think so. There is a line which separate robots from human.  Even Descartes asserts that ‘ if there were a machine were to attempt to mimic human beings, ‘we’ would always be able to tell the difference, to preserve the firm distinction between the human and the inhuman.’

Badmington Neil  says “rational thought, quite simply, makes humans human.” 

Robbie lived a long life. Did robot really know what is life?

Rather than viewing robots as machines, researchers are beginning to see robots as an actors, for example. It can autonomously interact with humans in a socially life. A fanny robot Gumdrop from  "Gumdrop Short Film" ( Kendra Trailer). In this short film from feature director Kerry Conran, Gumdrop is a 27 year old Bulgarian robot auditioning for a role in a feature film. Along the way some clever CGI allows Gumdrop to show her skills dancing with Charlie Chaplin and Fred Astaire. The official description is to the point: “A robot’s life story emerges during a casting session.” Gumdrop has autonomy, rationality, self-awareness, responsibility, and  resilience. So, being a "vacuum machine" she decide to be an actress.She lives lake human. She does what she interest in and  likes.

What if robot has a have the same rights and autonomies of human? We should think about it and, frankly, if in a near future it happens not to give strength. Because it can cardinal change the notion human in the word. I suppose, machines were creates to help people, not replace or being them.

New futuristic future, where no one is human describe in "True skin". The  main hero is Kaye. He’s on the run for stealing an advanced modification. Kaye finds himself in danger of losing more than just his humanity. Here we have new nature of mind, memory and learning, where our memory is as a computer’s memory. According to this the memories can be kept in a digital format. The parts of body can be replaced also. The process of education turned into the loading of requisite chip or program. There is an opportunity to install different memories or knowledge. There is new view on humanism. It is Posthumanism  - technological means that will enable the exploration of the posthuman realm of possible modes of being. 

“The future would begin with the end of Man”.

This video scared me. This new world is like a computer game. Can posthumanism responds to the redefinition of humanity's place in the world  in which the "human" is but one life form among many?

I don’t want to belie in it. But we should admit that humanism transforms itself into something new. This ‘new' is that we call posthumanism. Humans have augmented and enhanced themselves throughout recorded history. Freeman Dyson, English American theoretical physicist and mathematician,  makes the case that, "the artificial improvement of human beings will come, one way or another, whether we like it or not, as soon as the progress of biological understanding makes it possible. Their freedom to choose cannot be permanently denied."

The rapid pace of technology changes, without the proper degree of foresight, knowledge, wisdom and hubris could have devastating consequences. The choice of whether to use them, however, should normally rest with the individual.

"Avatar Days" is a new short film  by  Cormac Kelly that examines the fascinating relationship between a World of Warcraft player and their in-game avatar. They go about their banal, daily work (walking through cubicles, driving forklifts), but instead of people grinding out a 9-to-5, it’s their WoW characters 

  Avatar is a way of the human reflection . Very often  people hide behind their avatars which they use in fabricated world. In that world they are absolutely different. Humans would be like: killers, saviors, bandits, warriors. Playing World of Warcraft is different to drown a line between real and virtual world.  They are obsessed of it. I think it’s not connect with t World of Warcraft players   only, but also  all those people who hooked on games. In the video was shown the  human "passions”.

  

#edcmooc week 3: Being Human or Who wants to meet meat?

This week  I’m asking myself what mean to be human in our digital age. The answer is  in the video: Toyota GT86: the ‘real deal’ advert, BT: heart to heart advert, World builder, They’re made out of meat. 

The video "World Builder" struck me the most.This amazing story is demonstrating futuristic computer interfaces where a man uses holographic tools to build a world for the woman he loves, thanks to the viral power of Internet distribution. 

This is what SecondLife is going to be someday, perhaps? 

One day we'll be digitally enhanced and deal with magic. People physically worked to build our world and our reality. New digital tools build new world in 60 minutes with new reality. For this men the tech is only one way to see his wife alive and happy.He creates a city in the hopes it will wake her up from her coma. His dedication is enough to make any rom-com fanatic reach for the tissues and beg for the woman to wake up. 
The most important part of this story is human emotion. Tech is a tread to reproduce sweet memories of his wife, because he uses details from their past together.There is another way of communication – texting, chatting, tweeting etc, which depends on what the massage is for. The ‘BT: heart to heart advert’ confirms the video of  “illusion of non-mediation” Frankly, I’m not share this type of conversation, because, for example  skype conversation is better than text chat but there is nothing like being in the same room with the ability to feel the other person. I'm absolutely convinced, the nothing can changed real emotion which we feel  through  face to face conversation.
Speaking through Skype connects people who live on the other side of the world. Also we have the video conferencing which gives the opportunity to stay at home, rather than travel miles to a business trip away. 
I suppose this corresponds to the points in by Kolowich. According to him the "illusion of non-mediation" is emphasized by video and interaction between and among students and the teacher.The bright example is mooc , where students communicate through twitter, google+, and facebook. This way of studying can solve many problem concerning the distance education because of using video, audio-chat, text-chat.
The “Rea Deal” Advert   deals with a man trapped inside a fake city who discovers a Toyota GT86 from the real world. He feels alive for the first time and decides to make his escape from the not so real to real. The ad shows the relationship between nature and technology. All tech in those world is colorless tedious. But when human get a car the world changed. In this way the tech ( a car) help to escape from lifeless world into the real world. Personally I think that tech has some power above the human. The Toyota portrays the struggle between human and tech. so the men in ad becomes true and free when he crashed out from his technological control the men in ad become true and free when he crashed out from his technological control.

Who wants to meet meat?

 Following off from the story “They’re Made Our Of Meat” by Terry Bisson. I think probably this is the imitation of life. This is a science fiction story which has been nominated for the Nebula Award and it originally appeared in April 1991. This creative story tells us about two strange characters who are discussing a particular issue which would be trivial for us, human beings.

"Thinking meat! You’re asking me to believe in thinking meat!”“Yes, thinking meat! Conscious meat! Loving meat. Dreaming meat. The meat is the whole deal! Are you beginning to get the picture or do I have to start all over?”“Omigod. You're serious then. They're made out of meat.”

 Yes, we are consist with bones, mussels, and etс. There is another important issues  - out soul, intelligence, consciousness, and spiritual assets 

The new world of 'blogjects' #edcmooc

This week I went through with "Why Things Matter". Julian Bleecker, a researcher at the University of Southern California, has written a "Manifesto for Networked Objects" where he describes a clearly related but not identical manifestation of this technology. He cames up with absolutyly new thing such as ‘blogjects’, and ‘the pigeon that blogs’ which I’ve never heard before. According to  Julian Bleecker, as "blogjects," objects that create an ever-expanding record of themselves, accessible over the net - objects that tell their own stories. Blogjects provide connction  between ourselves and the world, focused upon the world -- except here the technologies are not intimate, but are instead extimate, spread around the environment, augmenting our sense of the world at a distance.

So,  we have another thing - the Pigeon that Blogs.  Actually blog is ‘a flock of pigeons that are equipped with some telematics to communicate on the Internet wirelessly, a GPS device for tracing where its been flying, and an environmental sensor that records the levels of toxins and pollutants in the air through which they fly’. This flock of pigeons send air pollution data into the internet.  As they fly over cities, they ‘blog’ – recording their daily encounters – directly into the Internet. A realtime constant stream of data is translated into a map within the net of air pollution patterns, as recorded, transmitted and traced by the pigeons themselves as they fly around. I suppose that the real and the virtual world are intimately  connected and changes in one effect changes in the other.

Now physical and the digital world are fusing. Therefore people should not just to create objects that blog, as we now understand blogging. But to disseminate blogs and social formation as one in which objects participate in the multipath culture circulation network.

What tomorrow will bring #edcmooc

The second week of  #edcmooc brings me new thought about near digital future.

Personally, I have two points of view.Well, initially we have perfect utopian word, where new technology is completely integrated with daily life and education.  A Day Made of Glass 2 shows us the world of glass technologies and featured “ubiquitous displays” of “interactive glass surfaces,” adding new “dimensions” to “ordinary surfaces” etc.  In the video a host of everyday items, from countertops to refrigerators to mirrors to dashboards, are enhanced to become giant touch screens that can also augment reality.  If this vision is likely to become reality, it is imperative that we consider the impact it will have on the humans who will be affected by it. The video focuses on the father and two daughters. As the characters work, learn, and play, the applications for specialty glass extend into the classroom, hospital, and home of the near future. Yes, it is best way to improve quality education and medicine, where technology application is the key to solve much important tasks.

Using this glass at school  helps student develop  their  imagination, creativity, and personal skills. They can learn many new things using visualization.  For instance, students have opportunity to learn more about dinosaurs or how to build a bridge models (Bridging our Future). These education solutions help teachers provide innovative, personalized and secure learning environments to prepare students for successful futures in the 21st century.

Many researchers in such area as medicine are interested in developing new tech, because it’s a good chance to cure incurable diseases. It can help to diagnose the patient on the distance if a patient cannot be transported.

Can humans determine how to work with the virtual without crossing into disembodiment or confusing it with the real? We shouldn’t rely only on tech. The human factor must be present.

The displays envisioned by “A Day Made of Glass 2” means that humans will be constantly interacting with them. Such interaction means that humans will be influenced by this new technology, for better or for worse. The main idea is what it means to be human in the networked information age.

Mary Kathleen Speckhard in her research ‘Patterns and embodiment: An examination of human knowing in "A Day Made of Glass" writes “Although Corning’s vision truly does enhance the vision of humans, adding to their ability to know, its vision hardly expands the ability for humans to use their sense of touch to aid them in knowing. The sliding of fingers, while embodied, does not allow humans to dwell in the information around them as well as a more tactile practice would. More concrete physical actions that involve more than just fingers or palms would allow people to incorporate tools into their bodies more concretely, leading to more skilled use that is ultimately more satisfying”

It looks like utopian world. But there is another point of view, which connects with the influence of technology on human nature. On the one hand, there is a concern with the question of technological determination, where what is held to be most definitive of human nature (individuality, consciousness, the senses, memory and the body) is put at risk. In the A Digital Tomorrow and Sight  howed our dystopian future. It’s scared. People are completely under the control of tech. Can we do this possible?

I’m agreed that the digital future (which is coming) brings new opportunities and challenges for generations. Everything depends on the person. To be perfectly honest, the human relationship will be changed. The new generation will adapt to new form of technology faster than ever before. They will be having constant access to information, everywhere, throughout one’s environment, being fully connected at all times to this information.

In the end of the 19th century many modern writers was predicting human failure. By nature, the human will always be human. The old value will never go away and they will always influence human. I think if one has the ability to turn technology off, one is much less likely to start thinking of the physical world as less real than the information around her, to emphasize pattern over presence, because  of the material presence that makes up the components of the technology. The technology is the key which gives human the ideas to visualize to things and allow human to have access to in depth knowledge.  The technology should add benefits to life without becoming a necessity

Summarizing the first #edcmooc week, I discovered many new things.  I found another example of utopia vs dystopia in The “1984” ad, directed by Ridley Scott. It  is an American television commercial which introduced the the first Apple Macintosh personal computer. This advertisement showed absolutely new view on PC. It was like revolution against dystopian world. There are powerful images of mindless drones, all-seeing tyrant, and also pathos. The background of the whole spot is the intersexuality with George Orwell’s Novel “1984”, in which the dystopian nation of Oceania is governed by a suppressive totalitarian government. The girl with the hammer is the protagonist who destroys the dystopian world. She is going to liberate the people from the control of the tyrant. In this way the girl is unique, and original, exactly what people want to see in the utopian world. Utopian world as Apple wants to be seen as the perfect place, where technology is helpful tool for people. It doesn’t come outright and say it, but it is implied. 

I may be wrong, but this ad describes a technology determinism,because the Macintosh brought new opportunities for society. In that time, people were also being seen as potential tools for personal empowerment. The ad showed a great company that was the only thing standing in the way of dystopia and mind control. The main idea was create the opposite world with new ideas for technology and products as the only way for someone to break out from the crowd and be truly original.

Now we have the same situation. One technology replaces another. There are more people who use technology wisely, creatively and contribute to an amazing 

Tech and Society #edcmooc

There are so many resources about the Internet . The Strands of Internet research focuses upon Uses, Technological and Social Determination.

The Uses Determination focuses upon the ways of using technology in pedagogy. The shape of educational institution is changing. Now, we have potential of technology to transcend the boundaries, roles and philosophies of traditional education, and to extend, enrich and enliven learning for all, from the very young, through to lifelong learners. The technology wave is not slowing, and won't go away. Educational institutions need to choose wisely when they are procuring technology, to ensure that they are meeting challenges, not merely buying technology to jump on the bandwagon.

The Internet is what it is today because of innovators, writers, graphic designers, coders, companies and millions of others who have contributed. People use the Internet in politics, domestic life, community participation, and business. We should recognize what it means for us. It is a communication, education, and information medium. Moreover, the Internet forms our social meaning because of media technologies.  The technology, according to Social Determination, “can be regarded as congealed social relations - a frozen assemblage of the practices, assumptions, beliefs, language, and other factors involved in its design and manufacture”

The Internet has fast become the most extensive resource tool available to teachers and learners across the globe. I found the Internet a very good instrument of self-education. And in this era, free education has never been so accessible. The Web gives lifelong learners the tools to become autodidacts. For instance, my first experience  of online studying was connected with painting (Frankly, I’m keen on it) on YouTube channel “A Splash of Paint”. I learned a lot of different watercolor technics.  Now “E-learning and Digital Cultures MOOC” is great opportunity to study want I am really interested in. During my study at university I was learning a lot of uninteresting and unnecessary subjects. I suppose it was just a waste of time.
 Using the Internet, we can learn a new language or delve into interesting things   with just a click of a mouse. The Web created a virtual school, potentially leveling the playing field for students around the world.

 Benjamin Hubbard the Manager of Webcast at UC Berkeley says, “I think there’s a wide array of reasons why faculty should be engaged in recording and publishing lectures online. The first is wanting students to have access to materials. The second is for cultivating a really great affinity for a public university that’s providing research and community service. The third is closely aligned with this opportunity to provide educational resources all over the world to those from all walks of life, despite what disadvantages they have faced. It’s so important that we recognize as a public institution that this is something people value greatly and has great value for us too.”

Today we have so much great recourses to study online, such as:  Coursera, Khan Academy, P2PU, Skillshare, Scitable and it isn’t complete list. This is Education without geographical borders.
Skype is also an important thing. It’s not only an instrument of communication, but it is helpful in work, collaboration on projects and sharing resources. I think teachers can integrate Skype to regularly connect students who have not opportunity to go to school. 

John Daniel, UNESCO Assistant Director for Education, claims: “Over 100 million children never see the inside of a school. As many more do not stay in school long enough to gain useful skills. 800 million adults have their lives blighted by illiteracy. The world needs more access to education.”There are many programs which also use Skype to give lectures to students all over the world.
We have another side. Yes, the Internet is an amazing tool, where we can learn and to acquire new information and new knowledge. But also it is  the place where unnecessary information is accumulated. It’s clear that the massive of data collection is moving faster than it ever has before. Don’t forget about poor countries which have a lack of Internet access.Can Online education replace traditional education?I don’t believe for a minute it is possible. Education is more than just listening to lectures, it’s a way of life. 

 Benjamin Hubbard, ETS, Manager of Webcast at UC Berkeley says, 

“We need a better integration between the videos we’re capturing in the classroom and the experience learners have when interacting in a social context. Online, you don’t get that same sort of feedback. What are the ways we can take the data about these videos and analyze that and understand if students are having trouble understanding something?”

The world is not standing, it is moving. The education system is changing. Obviously, the foundations of learning must change too.