M-learning & Virtual Worlds
Well we are finally there, talking about what the world will be like in the future from a digital perspective and not a psychological one, which I will reflect on later in the post.
I can recall watching movies when I was younger, in black and white as colour was not here then, about the future and what it would be like. I, along with others, watched it as a sci-fi entertainment and didn’t think it would become reality. How wrong we were, that future is now my present, therefore what was shown to us in class today will undoubtedly become the present in the future. Does that make sense?
The topic of today was M-learning and Virtual Worlds. When I write my reflections on our tutorials I refrain from checking Mark’s Wiki on the definitions and try to come up with how I have interpreted the information he has given us. I also check my classmates blogs after I post mine so I am not influenced by their insights. Therefore, I understand these terms to be the integration of virtual worlds into the progression of mobile learning.
How does this affect teaching? Teachers must not be ‘mesmerised’ by all the ‘ bells and whistles’ of this technology. Yes, by all means include it, however its relevance needs to be justified in the pedagogy. An educator needs to develop their lesson based on there being no technology and then look at where they can incorporate it, in other words, use a bottom up approach. Others may not agree with me and I welcome all comments.
How can we incorporate this Web 3.0 technology into our teaching? The walls of the classroom can be expanded by combining the appropriate learning objects with learning methods, for example, 3D virtual simulations combined with collaborative classrooms, and learning through virtual content, such as tours of museums and art galleries.
Another advantage of this form of technology is that is caters to the needs of all types of learners. For example, now when reading a text the written word and the medium is the only artefact, however producing the same text into a 3D virtual platform widens the experiences to provide multiple representations therefore engaging all learners – visual, auditory and kinesthetic.
Disadvantages I see with this technology is time. Technology now takes a lot of our time, to use, understand and prepare. Teachers would require longer preparation time to set up their virtual worlds, etc and what if there are technical problems or power issues with bad weather, etc? These things happen and before all this technology was being incorporated into the classroom teachers could quickly adapt their lesson.
I also worry about the health and psychological problems for the young people in the future. Now when travelling on the bus to class I observe numerous students using their mobile devices. They are addicted to them and instead of looking out the window of the bus and admiring the world (the river, the trees, the sky) they have their heads down reading their Facebook, etc. I can see a need for chiropractors and physios in the future from damaged necks!
It is not only the students on the bus but the people I see in the city hurrying to their work place. They are all looking down at their mobile devices and not where they are going. I am sure there are plenty of people crashing into others because they are not paying attention! Our Web 3.0 future will not have car to car accidents, it will have cars running into people not looking where they are going when crossing the road because their mobile devices control their lives and if they don’t look at it all their waking time they may miss out on something really important like a friend updating their status ‘I am bored’. Really? Who cares! All this future technology is going to destroy people’s lives and the psychiatrists will become very busy!
I was also astounded by the images Mark showed us of people walking around holding up mobile devices to landmarks, shops, etc. Now, close your eyes and imagine if EVERYONE, and I mean EVERYONE including children, had one in their hands? How ridiculous! We would all be bumping into each other and buildings, etc. Interpersonal communication would become non-existent as no-one would know how to talk to a person face to face.
It also worries me that generations to come will rely on Web 3.0 for virtually everything and they will become too dependant on it and will not be able to cope with basic everyday skills. For example, if the Web 3.0 technology crashed they wouldn’t know how to get water out of the tap as their mobile device, or some other technology built into the house, would have done it for them. They won’t know how to prepare food as those basic skills would be way gone with advancements in technology. They won’t know directions if all the GPS devices died as that would not be skill familiar to them. My 18-year-old son does not know how to read a street directory now or know which way is north, east, west or south as he relies on his GPS. There are so many basic skills the Web 3.0/virtual world generation of the future will not have if they only rely on the technology. It is quite disturbing and sad.
Another disadvantage I see relates to our last lecture of information overload. Why do we need all this meta data? One example that made us laugh, and I am sure there will be a number of comments on my classmates blogs, especially Mary’s, was when Mark commented that in Japan they are tagging milking cows so that when you scan your milk with the appropriate mobile device you receive all the information regarding what cow your milk came from, what farm it is on, etc. Why do we need this much information? Soon nothing will be secret and sacred, so why bother having passwords or locks, everyone will know everything about everyone!
I can understand how anyone reading this may think I am cynical and ‘living in the dark ages’, however I don’t believe I am. There are advantages and disadvantages with everything, however the more I have become aware of the digital and cyber world the more disadvantages I see, both from an everyday living perspective and an educational one, especially in terms of our privacy and security.
This is my final posting on the tutorial, however I have one final one to post and that is my overall reflections on this topic and my blog. I don’t have the time to do it now as I am very tired and unable to concentrate. Please return in a few days time to read my final post for the blog. I will try to make it entertaining for you………………………….
