The films 'Sight' and 'Future States' as well as the two advertisements for the future use of glass all set up a vision of a future where humans really have little choice about their interaction with technology. They show a vision of hard determinism and dystopian outcomes as consequences for humanities obsession with technology. Luddites or technology immigrants don't exist in these worlds where everyone must be technology savy or not be part of society.
Looking at the advertisements first. These both shared commonality in their vision. They both projected a world of interactive computerised glass, where information was at the fingertips for everyone, everything, everywhere, everyday. Transforming the way home, work and school environments function. Would it be as fabulous & utopian as the ads are portraying? From the MOOC discussions, many people felt this future was sterile and lacking original thought. These ads raise questions about programming control, information control and the quality of learning without first hand life experiences. Theorists supporting the notion of technology based learning through games, such as Pensky, seem to think this future is inevitable due to a changing in brain structure and hence learning styles. I am not sure I agree. There does appear to be a new culture evolving around technology and communication in the youth, however they still learn as humans have always learnt through hands on experience. A child learns to walk by getting up and falling over, the essence of learning a new thing hasn't changed. As a teacher and a parent these experiences, especially when enjoyable, still hold the greatest retention in a child's memory. However I guess only the future will truly tell us what will happen.
Secondly the two short films, Sight and Future States, both project a view of a world where there is some kind of nanny state embedded into the society. Technology has become so symbiotic with the expectations of life that humans implant computerised components into their bodies in order to function within the culture. In 'Sight' this computerisation has humans computerised via their 'Sight'. This film raises questions about the ethics of gaming, corruption and manipulation of personal identities, safety and data in a world where everything is connected to some massive information web. I feel this film shares similarities to the Matrix, humans living through some kind of computer system as well as the connections to gaming. 'Future State' was, for me, an anecdote to this world view. To belong in the society everyone was chipped. However Charlie, a 13 year old, defies the system. He acts as an individual and chooses his own future, free from the machine. I found this refreshing in comparison to 'Sight', because it showed there will always be the rebels, the questioners, the critical thinkers and those that resist following for the sake of following. Without these individuals, the world truly would be the dull and mundane existence projected in the future glass advertisements.
Questions I have been asking myself about the future raised this week are: How can these types of technology truly be used without manipulation or personal agenda, for authentic learning in the future? How can we as the creators of such technology minimize the potential negative consequences, such as dumbing down, or the censoring and manipulation of information? And can the use of extrinsic rewards and gamification really change the way the human brain learns or is it just a ploy by media investors?
Please note the films are in my resources pages if you wish to view them.
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