Second Life as a Disruptive Technology

Kassidy Hetzel’s Module 4 Blog Posting

Thornburg (2009) explained disruptive technologies as completely new tools that change how things are done, and are not gradual extensions of older technologies. Second Life fits this definition because of its very nature. Second Life is a disruptive technology because it has the strength and ability to obsolete many different technologies and institutions. Some of the technologies that Second Life could obsolete are the standard websites and current abilities of social networking sites. The virtual world of Second Life is replacing real world situations. No longer does a person have to physically be somewhere to see what they want to see Second Life is allowing people to virtually tour places and information with its technology that it is presenting a whole new way of communicating and “seeing”. Second life replaces traditional social networking sites and provides a virtual world where everyone has a physical meeting space even though it may only be a virtual one it still allows everyone to be on an equal and accessible playing field. I would not be surprised if Second Life eventually replaces the physical teaching environment and creates a new virtual institution based around student centered values.

In addition the avatars that users create allow people to replace/change things about themselves allowing them to present a new image or species that everyday life won’t allow them to do or be. Second Life gives people the opportunity to become their ideal selves.

Resources:

Rosedale, P. (2008). Second Life [Video]. Retrieved from http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/the_inspiration_of_second_life.html.

Thornburg, D. (2009). Evolutionary technology Vodcast: In Laureate Education, Inc. Emerging and future technology.

Module 3

I can remember when my father used to me to the University of Colorado's football games and he never left the house without his portable radio. The portable radio of then was mainly for AM feeds although on occasion you could reach one FM station. He would hall this huge radio into the stadium accompanied by an even bigger battery that would only last through about the end of the third quarter so that he could hear the radio announcer's calls of the play by play. I never understood why he needed to hear the announcer's comments while he watched the game, but never the less the contraption always made the trips to Boulder with us.
Now, as I think back to those days as I go to the Bronco games I am reminded of two things: One the people at the stadium don't get all the relevant commentary needed to see all the dynamics of the football game and two: I married my father. My husband now carries his Sirius player and headphones to make sure he can keep up to date with all the games in the division as well as any other pertinent information he may be missing by not having his NFL network on constantly. The path from hand held radios to MP3 players to satellite radio has been an innovation that has been transplanted through the generations. The capabilities of satellite radio began on the premises developed by those of the handheld radio, to the walkman, to cd players, to MP3 players to now the satellite radio. The possibilities of this innovation are endless.

Module 2 Blog Post

Kassidy Hetzel’s Module 2 Blog Posting:
Computer Hard Drive Tetrad

Enhances:
Computer’s working memory and the user’s ability to save information in one location. Increases the amount of storage possible for each individual machine. Each machine can have a different amount of hard drive space allowing computers to be customized for individual users and tasks.

Obsoletes:
The invention of computer hard drives has made many previous technologies obsolete such as the floppy or hard disk that used to save files and data. With internal hard drives file sharing has begun eliminating the need for as many printed copies of things.
Retrieves:
With the invention of computer hard drives came the revival of communication and sharing information. The computer hard drive allows for users to have a safe, reliable place to store necessary information. The hard drive allows users to have a library of the information important to their specific needs.

Reverses:
Computer hard drives are already being replaced with smaller less fragile devices that allow users to be even more mobile than they already are. Inventions such as the flash drive and internet resources such as google docs are eliminating the need for an internal memory device within computers.