Networks_Module+2+Discussion

Prompt:
===A couple of themes that came out of the 2011 Consumer Electronics show was the move to tablets, smartphones, and 3D TV. For more information about this you can see CNET's coverage at http://ces.cnet.com. With Apple's anticipated release of the next iPad (with rumors of textbook offerings),Netflix streaming movies and other content to your TV, Google's Android operating system poised to appear on all types of 4G devices, and the rumored move of the iPhone from AT&T to Verizon a lot is going on this year.===

===So, my question is how do you think these trends will affect our students and the role of computer networks in education. After all these systems are very dependent on the internet in order to get and deliver the data that the user will see. Make an initial posting giving us your thoughts on this and then return later in the week to react to one of your classmates posting and provide us with a link of your own that takes us to information about a trend you see as being important to instructional networks===

In his //Next Big Thing// presentation, CNET editor Brian Cooley gave a presentation (along with others who were in featured videos or on the live panel) that suggests that the next big thing after the PC computer is a type of computing device that is “always on” and “almost always on you.” Apparently, with PC-type devices, there is a wall between the user and the experiences sought, caused by slow boot up times, cumbersome hardware, and inaccessibility. Users are being drawn to the new devices, based less on what hardware they afford, and more on the design of experience and the fit with one’s own life in terms of social media, communication, and other media. Cooley says, “Form will truly follow function.”

The three devices that characterize the new shift (this year, anyway) to the “connected ecosystem” are the smart phone, the connected television, and the tablet. No one device, however, currently “offers it all.”

I think there is no doubt that a huge shift in personal computing is underway. I agree with some of the panelists that we presently have a lot of device confusion. Deciding which device to obtain can be more like betting than choosing, as Cooley put it.

Industry experts, folks who are intimate with the technology, are experiencing this confusion. They don’t know what the landscape is going to look like in 3-4 years. It’s all very interesting and it’s all very uncertain.

How will these trends affect students and computer networking in schools? Well, without changing a few things, the effect may be similar to what we've seen with last-generation computing: sporadic, inconsistent computing with uncertain results. Right now, schools have limited wireless connectivity. For such an innovation as these "next big thing" devices, there would need to be ubiquitous wireless connectivity.

Schools are confused about how to protect students on the internet. More comprehensive and consistent media literacy training is a must for both teachers and students. With a little training, folks can see that the internet is not quite so scary as they thought. I think there is still a need for filtering technologies as well, but if we could make school systems more responsive, giving teachers more control over lifting website blocks, that would go a long way towards making teachers feel like the use of the internet to support learning is a possibility. It wastes teachers' time when you have a protocol in place for lifting blocks on websites but never respond to them or take 2 months to lift the blocks (this happens in some schools). A lot of teachers would rather not mess with the internet when this is the treatment they receive. So, intelligent and teacher-responsive filtering, alongside better media literacy education are must-haves.

Educational priorities are constantly in flux, and funding is as pervasive an issue as it ever was. If spending money on a technological innovation means that cutting an arts program is necessary, who is making the call for this? How is this decision arrived at? Such decisions must be informed by the teachers themselves who will be guiding students in learning experiences that include the use of technology to support learning. Teachers must have a say, and they must buy in to the need. Otherwise, we'll see adminstrators fretting over why teachers aren't using all the fancy equipment they bought them. (And such failed attempts make it that much harder for legitimate technology acquisitions and uses.)

Because the industry experts are awash in device and platform confusion, I would advise school administrators and teachers to watch and wait over the next couple of years. The Roku rep on the panel, Anthony Wood, said that over the next few years there’s going to be a "shake-out" in the industry with a "small handful of winners." Most schools cannot afford to bet or take risks. For now, I think they ought to “lie low” and wait and see what the popular consensus of the marketplace is. But I'm kind of conservative, I guess. :)

In the longer term, over the next 5-10 years, schools will begin to make this shift to these more intuitive, natural devices that really function with the user in mind. There are many valuable learning tools that can be accessed through tablets and smartphones.

But how will they make this shift and what impact will it have on student learning? My own gut feeling is that the new devices will be introduced inconsistently across American schools, sometimes for the right reasons (pedagogical, instructional) and sometimes for the wrong (admins and technologists pushing it). Many of the issues above such as protecting students on the internet will remain issues due to the fragmented, locally-controlled nature of schools. Even if the confusion of the industry geeks settles down, I expect the confusion that swirls around technology integration will remain.

As more teachers and administrators begin using these devices for personal reasons (they say that smartphones will outsell PCs this year), I think we will begin to see are more widespread demand for them in schools. Why hasn't that happened in the generation before with PC computers where it has been said the many teachers used technology outside of home but not in schools (Larry Cuban...I can find a source if you need it)? I have a hunch that the more user-centered design of the hardware and software of this generation of devices will be a key difference that differentiates these adoptions from the last generation's PC-computing adoptions. How we use these devices will still be a central concern as it always has been. How does use of the device enhance learning in significant ways?