About Me

Hi and welcome to my blog!
My name is Debbie Morris.
I am currently a Career Technology Coordinator
at our local high school. I am a Walden University
student. This blog was created as part of my
coursework for Walden University. I hope you
enjoy my blog!







Thursday, April 26, 2012


Debra Morris

Blog Post

Module 4



How is Second Life a disruptive technology?



I feel Second Life is a disruptive technology. Second Life was launched in 2003.  It allows users to interact with each other through avatars.  You become a resident, meet other residents, socialize, participate in activities and even trade and create goods.  It has about one million active users. Second Life allows users to take on an identity in which they may fantasize about in real life.  I believe this could have some serious, negative effects on some people.





What technology or innovation did it displace?



I feel this technology displaced some of the earlier computer games that allowed you to create equipment and objects.  These previous technologies did not include the avatars and realistic interaction that Second Life does.  I also believe it may displace many of the social sites our society is currently engaged in online.  This fantasy socialization may become more appealing because of the lack of commitment it requires and the control it offers.





How many years do you think Second Life has left before another emerging technology or disruptive technology replaces it?



From the information I have researched online, Second Life has many followers.  I believe it will continue to grow.  Society today is attracted to the fantasy world it allows without breaking the law or being guilty of doing something wrong.  It will be at least ten or fifteen years before another emerging or disruptive technology replaces it.







What are the social benefits of Second Life, and what might be the social implications of virtual worlds in your industry?





Perhaps the attraction for members is a sense of getting by with things, personalities etc. that they may not be able to in our world.  This technology takes the user a step beyond “game playing” with X-Box or PlayStation.  It expands the engagement you would get in playing PlayStation games and controlling the actions of the games characters.  It also takes you a step further in controlling the environment’s sounds.  It allows you to create a world outside of yourself and your realistic world.

I have concerns about this engagement placing the user outside of reality.  To me, it seems to be a form of drug without drugs.  You leave your world without any chemical use.  However, this could be seen as a social benefit.  It could be a safe alternative for those who wish to escape reality.  As with anything in life, one has to be careful not to become obsessed or lose their concept of what is real and what is not.  I work with high school students and my view is that it could have negative effects on their socialization.  Teens are already withdrawn and distracted within socialization situations.  They are engaged with their cell phones and I pads often separated and oblivious to what is going on around them.  Additionally, I personally don’t see how anyone could have time to create a second life.  I need more time in my real life!







Thursday, April 12, 2012

Module 3 Debra Morris



Module 3
Rhymes of History

In Dr. Thornburg’s video, Rhymes of History, he references Mark Twain’s statement of how history may not repeat itself, but how it does rhyme.  He adds that the impact of some new technology may rekindle something from the distant past.  It meets a human need that has always existed.  However, the new technology changes the approach in order to meet the existing need.
The technology I think about when considering Rhymes of History is the many tools we have of connecting with one another as though the person is right there.  When communicating with one another, we previously had access to a voice only. The standard telephone was eventually replaced by video conferencing.  Video conferencing made its grand introduction at the 1964 World’s Fair  held in New York.
Now we have the ability to see the person, hear the person and see all the surrounding objects in that particular location.  This need and desire to see the person we are talking to did not just develop.  Many years ago, people had addressed this need by drawing pictures on whatever means were available.  Then, many years later man created the video camera.  Although this delayed the time at which you could see the people speaking or displaying objects/scenery, it did address the need.  Today we have many technology tools that allow us to see the people we wish to communicate with or the items we wish to see.  We have global access to this.  We utilize tools such as Skype and webcams.  Within the classroom, teachers can present a virtual field trip.  They can communicate and visually see classrooms across the globe.
In the speech presented by Kevin Kelly (The Next 5,000 Days of the Web), Kelley presents our dependence on the Internet.  This certainly is true in regards to our society.  I experience this on a daily basis, as I know most of society does.  Just this week at work, I made the statement that I might as well go home if my internet was going to be off.  We really don’t realize how dependent we are upon the Internet until we are unable to log on.  It is an eye opener as you ponder what you can do with your time while waiting for it to come back up.  I had several thoughts of “oh I can do this”, only to realize “no I can’t, I need the internet for that”.
References:
Kelly, K. (2007, December). The next 5,000 days of the web [speech]. Speech delivered at the EG 2007 Conference, Los Angeles. Retrieved from http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/kevin_kelly_on_the_next_5_000_days_of_the_web.html
Thornburg. D. (2009). Rhymes of History. Laureate Education, Inc. Retrieved April 12, 2012 from http://sylvan.live.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn? http://www.nefsis.com/Best-Video-Conferencing-Software/video-conferencing-history.html
Multipoint Video Conferencing:
 
I have responded to Tameka and Sandra.