I saw on the news the other day where people are putting surveillence videos exposing theives stealing from their home while they are away. They hope that putting these videos up will increase awareness of how these criminals are getting into the houses and hoping that they might get identified. This is just one of the many things that are popping up every day challenging our previous notions of what new media can do. This seems to open so many doors. Could we put these videos up on local news or community/neighborhood sites? That will make it easier to identify the person because they likely live nearby and will likely hit other houses nearby.
This is a possibility that has always been out there. Youtube has been around for years, surveillence cameras for even longer. How many other possibilities are just sitting in front of our noses? New media seems to present endless possibilities to make our lives easier, safer, and more enjoyable. I just think it is interesting to see what all will come out of this and see how people will use new media in innovative ways in the future.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Monday, October 13, 2008
Video Games and Learning
I once had a professor that said video games are the novels of the 21st century.
According to the Merriam Webster Dictionary, a novel is "an invented prose narrative that is usually long and complex and deals especially with human experience through a usually connected sequence of events."
I am not very familiar with video games, but I once saw a friend play a game called "Assassins Creed." In this game, he was given several objectives and upon reaching each checkpoint, he learned more information and was given new tasks. The "story" of my friend's character was definitely made up, by him and by the creators of the game. It was a long and complex story, it took him a couple of weeks to finally win the game. It dealt with humans: he was a paid assassin living in medieval times who dealt with people, either by saving them or killing them. It dealt with social issues. It was depressing and revealing about human tendencies.
It is a lot like a novel, just different. Many people don't consider games like Assassin's Creed and Grand Theft Auto to be like novels because they lack a central plot, are full of rotten characters, and the protagonist is not an appealing person. At the same time, these people herald novels like The Sun Also Rises, never thinking about the fact that it lacks plot, is full of selfish characters, and has a very unhappy and unfulfilling ending. Like the important novels we love, these games CAN BE an exploration of human's actions and consequences. The developers write the story for you, and you live it through the controlers. Just as readers live it through the text.
Another game I find particularly helpful in education are the war games. Another friend of mine loved "Call of Duty." I wouldn't mind watching him play it: he'd turn off the lights and turn the volume way up, and it was almost like watching a movie. Although, we were much more invested in it than we would be a movie. We participated in the story by pushing the controls. When people read, they feel more connected to the story because they are participating: they use their imagination to create the surroundings from the novel and to decide what people look like. Games draw people's emotions in the same way. When they take an active stance on a story, they are more invested and learn more about the situation. It is like Holly McLaughlin said in the New York Times article, "The Future of Reading." At first she failed at the game because she made leadership decisions that led to the demise of her colony. Playing helped her gain a deeper appreciation for why leaders made certain decisions.
Both novels and video games give people the ability to truly experience emotions of people in different situations. Video games just have a greater capability of reaching out to children.
According to the Merriam Webster Dictionary, a novel is "an invented prose narrative that is usually long and complex and deals especially with human experience through a usually connected sequence of events."
I am not very familiar with video games, but I once saw a friend play a game called "Assassins Creed." In this game, he was given several objectives and upon reaching each checkpoint, he learned more information and was given new tasks. The "story" of my friend's character was definitely made up, by him and by the creators of the game. It was a long and complex story, it took him a couple of weeks to finally win the game. It dealt with humans: he was a paid assassin living in medieval times who dealt with people, either by saving them or killing them. It dealt with social issues. It was depressing and revealing about human tendencies.
It is a lot like a novel, just different. Many people don't consider games like Assassin's Creed and Grand Theft Auto to be like novels because they lack a central plot, are full of rotten characters, and the protagonist is not an appealing person. At the same time, these people herald novels like The Sun Also Rises, never thinking about the fact that it lacks plot, is full of selfish characters, and has a very unhappy and unfulfilling ending. Like the important novels we love, these games CAN BE an exploration of human's actions and consequences. The developers write the story for you, and you live it through the controlers. Just as readers live it through the text.
Another game I find particularly helpful in education are the war games. Another friend of mine loved "Call of Duty." I wouldn't mind watching him play it: he'd turn off the lights and turn the volume way up, and it was almost like watching a movie. Although, we were much more invested in it than we would be a movie. We participated in the story by pushing the controls. When people read, they feel more connected to the story because they are participating: they use their imagination to create the surroundings from the novel and to decide what people look like. Games draw people's emotions in the same way. When they take an active stance on a story, they are more invested and learn more about the situation. It is like Holly McLaughlin said in the New York Times article, "The Future of Reading." At first she failed at the game because she made leadership decisions that led to the demise of her colony. Playing helped her gain a deeper appreciation for why leaders made certain decisions.
Both novels and video games give people the ability to truly experience emotions of people in different situations. Video games just have a greater capability of reaching out to children.
- from October 6th -
The iPhone: can it solve America's healthcare problems?
This weekend, I held the iPhone for the first time. I was finally able to use the touch screen and explore the Apps store.
Because I only had a little time to play with it, I was only able to look at the applications for one category: Health and Fitness. I know we've been talking about how the iPhone is changing the way we interact with technology, but after seeing the types of things it can do for health, it reached a whole new level for me.
First off, the "jump rope" app is pretty neat - who knew you could exercise with your phone? Another thing I found interesting was the fact that there were several ways you could use the phone as a type of health log. You could track what you ate, how much you exercised, and how your body was changing and the phone would give you feedback on what you are doing right, what you're doing wrong, and tips to make it easier. There were dozens of different programs you could get on, most between $3 and $10, that promised to help you become more proactive in your health. They were like personal dieticians and trainers that designed diets and workouts just for you and your lifestyle, and they fit in your pocket! There was an application on there that linked you to a database that housed caloric information about food served in popular chains. So if say, you were at Arbys and you were trying to decide between a roast beef sandwhich or one of their turkey melts, you would know just how many more calories the turkey melt had. You could even find out what percentage of the sandwhich is protein, what percentage is carbohydrate, and what percentage is fat. Find another application, and it could tell you the possible ways you could exercise to work off just that amount of calories.
With all this information, is it possible that the iPhone can help cure the overweight epidemia in America?
And what other health benefits could this device hold for us? How can apps help people not only stay healthy, but how can it help some who are suffering from some type of disease? Tons of information is now at our fingertips at all times. I think it will be incredibly interesting to see how devices like the iPhone affect us down the road.
This weekend, I held the iPhone for the first time. I was finally able to use the touch screen and explore the Apps store.
Because I only had a little time to play with it, I was only able to look at the applications for one category: Health and Fitness. I know we've been talking about how the iPhone is changing the way we interact with technology, but after seeing the types of things it can do for health, it reached a whole new level for me.
First off, the "jump rope" app is pretty neat - who knew you could exercise with your phone? Another thing I found interesting was the fact that there were several ways you could use the phone as a type of health log. You could track what you ate, how much you exercised, and how your body was changing and the phone would give you feedback on what you are doing right, what you're doing wrong, and tips to make it easier. There were dozens of different programs you could get on, most between $3 and $10, that promised to help you become more proactive in your health. They were like personal dieticians and trainers that designed diets and workouts just for you and your lifestyle, and they fit in your pocket! There was an application on there that linked you to a database that housed caloric information about food served in popular chains. So if say, you were at Arbys and you were trying to decide between a roast beef sandwhich or one of their turkey melts, you would know just how many more calories the turkey melt had. You could even find out what percentage of the sandwhich is protein, what percentage is carbohydrate, and what percentage is fat. Find another application, and it could tell you the possible ways you could exercise to work off just that amount of calories.
With all this information, is it possible that the iPhone can help cure the overweight epidemia in America?
And what other health benefits could this device hold for us? How can apps help people not only stay healthy, but how can it help some who are suffering from some type of disease? Tons of information is now at our fingertips at all times. I think it will be incredibly interesting to see how devices like the iPhone affect us down the road.
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