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.
HI Sandra,
ReplyDeleteThat was a thorough and informative post. I would even venture to say, however, that the communication tools rhyme with an even more distant culture such as that when communication by drums were used to send messages from one location to another. Do you think it is possible that your selection had an even more distant "rhyme?"
Hi Debra,
ReplyDeleteIt really amazes me the way communication has changed. One thing that Walden has introduced me to is the fabulous world of Skype. It is so amazing to be able to talk to and see my husband when he is away on business. Talking on the phone is fine, but actually having the ability to see him during the conversation makes it feel like he is actually there. The best part of all is it's free. How wonderful is that? BV
It's really a magic that we are able to communicate with people through video. Technology has been growing and is still on the same track of growing with much competitions and much interesting features being involved in it. It's commonly seen now a days that normal friends are bored of chatting and they switch on directly to a video conferencing and start speaking to each other without the need of typing each word. This simply can explain how useful is this technology. And other than this there are some providers who provide a
ReplyDeleteVideo Conferencing Software service for communicating which is of high quality and loaded with many new features for better collaboration between the business people.