Learning in New Media Environments

I heard Michael Wesch speak earlier this year at the Cengage Technology Conference in San Antonio.  It was basically a repeat of this Ted talk.  I'm really glad I had a chance to relisten to this, because it brought to focus a few more things which I've been paying attention to more and more professionally: the need for Critical Thought.

I really liked his segment where he bulleted the following observations of  current trends, stating that there will be:

 

• ubiquitous networks
• ubiquitous computing
• ubiquitous information
• at unlimited speed
• about everything
• everywhere
• from anywhere
• on all kinds of devices

Michael then went on to and the word "almost " to the beginning of each statement .

The word "almost" creates the need for for voracious learners.  I really think the terms that might even be more applicable here , are those capable of thinking critically.  With the upcoming release of Google's Glass next year and the augmented realities that it will herald, puts the point on Michael's concerns.  I'm worried that an entire populace will be spoon fed information without thinking critically about its contents.  Will be in such a rush to gain just-in-time information, that we won't pause to think about it, to consider whether we should use it or concern ourselves with the source or its accuracy or inaccuracy.  Will learning actually occur in this type of environment, or will there be stagnation in its place?

Visitors and Residents-The Video

Some news from the home front…literally! My family and I just moved into a new place and as a result lacked Internet connectivity for a while.  It took quite an effort, and I'm exhausted, but please to at least make this blog post prior to my evening class time! I have to say that Dr. White has really done a wonderful job putting a lens on an issue I've often suspected: that there is a sort of continuum between the people who are always online: the Residents and those who really see no point in using it unless they have to: the Visitors. I would be interested in exploring each of those categories more closely.  It would be interesting to see how Visitors break down into different member groups.  What common features are shared between groups and what are unique to each.  The same with the Residents.   I suspect that within both groups there are people more technically savvy, and those who are less technically savvy, but I also suspect that the Residents group will contain more of those who are less technically savvy of the two.  In fairly qualitative study I recently conducted for my Qualitative Research course, one common theme of those who would've fallen within the elderly visitor category , was the reluctance to try something new.   Part of it was due to a perception of lack of adequate return on time invested, and part of it was a frustration of expressed on their part of the large number of new software programs in existence on the web that may or may not ultimately be useful to them . Finally, it would be interesting to compare the location, type, scope (what does the software accomplish? ) and depth of the software programs in use by both groups.   Some of the residents may be highly accomplished within social networking programs, but feel out of their depth in others. 

With of reverse be true of Residents?Where do I fall? I'm more the Visitor, who sees the usefulness of blog posts and Twitter use, but never really saw the need in my life to actively use them, other than through searching for information I was interested in finding at a particular time. I'm hoping to shift more along the continuum towards  the Resident in this course.