The Disruptive Power of Second Life

“There are so many things that we would like to do in real everyday life, but can’t because of limitations.” – Philip Rosendale, creator of Second Life

Disruptive technologies are examples of emerging technologies that develop spontaneously and replace current technologies. These new technologies are often creative and exciting. They involve creators who take chances and do not think like the norm. In his video, Rosendale described himself as a person who has these interests. The concept of Second Life lives up to the definition of disruptive technologies as well. It is a cyber life that allows people to assume a new and different life that they create and control via the web. This concept takes people’s thoughts and ideals above and beyond normal perspectives of life. The limitations of the imagination are challenged and people begin to act on their perspectives.
One attraction to Second Life, is that people need a form of escape. If you look at the different ways people try to escape the realities of their lives, they can be negative escapes like drinking and drug abuse or they can be positive like exercise, meditation or vacationing. In the world of Second Life, there is no need for these things to be “forms of escape”, but simply parts of life, if chosen to be so.
Another attraction to a virtual life is the control that someone can have over their own life. Through creativity and imagination, a Second Life user can enter a world that they have dreamed of, but in reality are too afraid to venture.
In the Rosendale video, he spoke of the game “Dungeons and Dragons” as being a game that he played but needed more from. This could be one innovation that Second Life has replaced, however given the fact that it is a disruptive technology, I don’t believe that it has truly replaced any one technology. Another possible technology would be story writing: fiction, fantasy and science fiction for example. Here Second Life is a visual replacement. I would venture that like there are other types of virtual worlds in existence now, Second Life will be replaced quite soon, in the next 2-5 years, due to its popularity and the need to grow bigger and better.
Social benefits
A final example of an attraction to Second Life is that the users can also start again or do something again. Real life does not allow one to relive an event from the past and change it. In a virtual world one can do this. This could be a positive way that allows people to reflect on their actions and thus think about how they will interact with others in the future.
In the field of World Language Education, virtual worlds open up many possibilities for exploring countries and cultures. People can get a visual and auditory glimpse of what life is like. They could even get a chance to try out their new language skills and make mistakes without feeling intimidated by making mistakes with real people. San Francisco-based Linden Labs (which runs SL) leading the pack. Linden says more than 100 virtual islands have been bought within its world for education purposes. (Nuthall, 2008) All areas of education will benefit from the possiblities of virtual life.

My personal views of Second Life? I don’t have a lot of interest in virtual worlds. I can see the advantages, which I pointed out, but I have a fear that people will not use this responsibly and it will open the doors to many negative experiences. I can only hope that this won’t be true.

Suggested Link: www.simteach.com


Nuthall, K. (2008, January 20). US: A disruptive technology arrives. Retrieved July 26, 2010, from University World News: www.universityworldnews.com/article.phy?story=2008117162121373&mode=print

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

Thornburg, D. D. (2009). Disruptive technologies. Laureate Education, Inc. Retrieved from http://sylvan.live.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=4199715&Survey=1&47=5797856&ClientNodeID=984645&coursenav=1&bhcp=1

Rhymes of History Technology

The Digital Voice Recorder

 

The Digital Voice Recorder is a technology that is an example of the evolution of several technologies that shared the same theme in history, audio recording! Throughout history, there has always been an invention of recording voices and music for society to listen to repeatedly at their leisure. It could be used for note taking, lessons, or simply for the listening pleasure of stories and music.

 

Various technologies have been invented to be portable and capable of storing a lot of material. The technologies that I immediately think of that the digital voice recorder has evolved from are the 8-track tape, the cassette tape, and of course the LP. These technologies were evolved from the phonograph and the gramophone back in the 1800's. All share the theme of being able to record and to playback audio recordings.

 

Growing up, I remember that my parents had the 8-track tape player, (invented in 1965) in the car and we would sing along with our favorite music groups. (William Lear, 2010) This later became the cassette tape player. As a language teacher, I have used cassette tapes, audio CDs and MP3 players to play the audio lessons that support our text. My colleague still pulls out a record player and plays music in Spanish for her students! They just look at her in awe, questioning this strange contraption!

 

Today, the Digital Voice Recorder can perform multiple actions. In the example of the Sony Memory Stick Duo Voice Recorder, one can find features such as a voice recorder that organizes and edits recordings in 340 folders. This means that I can record my students during oral examinations. I can record myself to create podcasts for my courses, all on one device. There is even software for sending audible emails—with an attachment! A completely new and innovative idea! (Memory Stick Duo Voice Recorder, 2010) Some digital voice recorders offer the feature of MP3 players and recorders, I have one that does this and it didn't come close to the cost of this Sony Memory Stick!

 

The digital voice recorder can be added to the long list of technologies that have been produced to provide society with voice and musical audio recordings.

 

References:

Bellis, M. (2010). Photo Gallery - Gramophone & Emile Berliner. Retrieved July 15, 2010, from About.com Guide: http://inventors.about.com/od/gstartinventions/ss/gramophone.htm

DVD: Laureate Education, Inc. (2009). Emerging and future technology. Baltimore: Thornburg, D.

Emile Berliner: The History of the Gramophone. (2010). Retrieved 14 July, 2010, from About.com: http://inventors.about.com/od/gstartinventions/a/gramophone.htm

Memory Stick Duo Voice Recorder. (2010). Retrieved 15 July, 2010, from Sony Electronics, Inc.: http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10551&storeId=10151&langId=-1&productId=8198552921665927715

William Lear. (2010). Retrieved July 14, 2010, from About.com: http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/bllear.htm