Principles of iMedia Class - Week Four Conference

Today, Manu and Fabiano led our group in a discussion about Mobility and its implications. Again this week, the class turned out to be a really positive experience and they did a great job. So first of all, well done guys! This semester we are learning in a very different way - through blogging, Moodle etc and even our ‘reading’ for these weekly conferences have included watching a film, clips from youtube etc. We are learning in a very creative and diverse way and as there are different people leading the discussions each week, i think we will find even more ways to do this. In Manu and Fabianos preparatory paper they had asked some questions such as the pros and cons of being mobile, how is mobile technology changing human behaviour can mobile learning substitute conventional learning and a lot of interesting points were made in response to this.

One of the things I found interesting while we were discussing this topic, was that everyone used personal example to help get their point across. People seemed to be more inclined to use their own personal experiences of topics to help get their point across to others and it helped to ground the topic in a more real life sense.

I don't necessarily think that the innovations in technology will necessarily make our lives more nomadic, I think that people will always find a way to be nomadic if they want to be nomadic. For me, it is not necessarily dependent on technology. People have been nomadic for centuries in both their work lives and other aspects and I don't think it is attributed to one factor, such as technology. I think that technology gives us more options to choose from on how we want to live our lives. There will always be people who will choose to be not tied to a a specific life / place and there will always be people who base themselves in one place as it may suit their lifestyles, personalities and wants. 

Personally, I don't feel that mobile learning can ever substitute conventional learning. I think it is a good option as an aid to learning or perhaps for people who do not have access to the resources required for conventional learning. It’s another dimension that can help education but I don't think it can ever replace regular face to face contact. All factors such as eye contact and body language can have a significant impact on whether someone will learn or not. For instance, in a classroom situation where people are physically present, a teacher might be able to spot that a particular student is struggling and be able to address it or students might be able to ask questions that help them relate the information to their own lives thus, helping it to stay in their memories. 

I think mobile learning can be very useful in certain situations such as distance learning but in these situations i think teachers become more like facilitators than actual teachers. This can work very well to encourage people to think for themselves and form their own opinions but it is important that the students are given the proper tools and background to help them benefit from this kind of situation.

During the discussion the idea of dead time and being able to turn it into working / learning time came up and the ability to turn any place into a working environment. While I do see the positive in this situation, I also see the negative impact that it can have. I brought up the idea that this dead-time could also be considered as downtime. We are constantly being bombarded with technology etc, sometimes it can be hard to switch off and differentiate between our work life and our personal life. It is important that there is a balance in these and that people create their own area of personal space that is not to be invaded and overcome by the other issues. One of the things that I use to really enjoy about going on holidays was that, it was in fact a holiday - a holiday from everything. You left the name and number of your hotel with people at home so that they could contact you in case of emergency but that was it. You then had solitude for a week or two, you had time to enjoy another culture, relax, catch up on reading or whatever it is you wanted to do on holidays without being pulled back into your life over small things.

Other point that I found interesting was that the technology created might not be used in the initial way it was intended. Sometimes its other uses and functions can prevail when it is actually used by human with practical needs and wants. For instance, the mobile phone was originally invented for the purpose of being able to make phone calls while not being fixed to a specific location. But how many of us actually use our mobile phone for that primary purpose. Personally, I do use my phone for staying in contact with people but i don't use it for phone calls, I use it for text messaging. This would be its primary function for me while I also use it as a day planner, a calender, an address book, a photo album, a calculator etc. I would probably say that only a very small percentage of my time is used on making actual phone calls. Ye mentioned that she uses it as a dictionary and Fabiano mentioned he used it for emails. 

Another of the points that was brought up, was the air nonchalance that mobile phone can give. Plans are never quite set in stone and people can break them easily by sending a text . The element of having to deal with the consequences is taken away and people can change their mind at the last second. One of the things I had been thinking about to do with the idea of too much technology is to do with social networking. While it’s great that you can get in contact with friends /acquaintances you haven’t heard from in years or talk to strangers about your shared interests does it not in a way take away from the time you spend talking face to face with your friends etc? There are only so many hours in the day to do all these things and you end up socializing with people you mightn’t necessarily normally do and you miss out on spending time with the people you actually want to talk to.