How is Second Life a disruptive technology?
According to Dr. Thornburg a disruptive technology is a new technology that comes in as a silence innovation that does the same thing as the technology, but takes the place of that technology by performing the technology better than the one that it replaces (Laureate Education, Inc, 2009). Second Life is an online virtual world, where people can meet and interact with one another. Second Life was developed by Linden Labs in San Francisco, CA and now has over one million followers. In the world of Second Life you can develop your own avatar, which can go wherever they want too, work any type of job and meet many new friends. As if this is not enough you can develop yourself a whole new life within a virtual world, which includes, shopping, going to school, buy land, and of course develop a romance with the right person. The only thing about Second Life that is not real is it is all virtual and no face-to-face is going on.
What technology or innovation did it displace?
When I think about what technology second life has replaced it is hard to say. What I do know is that I met my husband online with a social network site, but upon getting to know the person I ended up marrying, I had to chat with him and then talk to him on the phone and finally meet him in person. This was in 2000. Second life was introduced in 2003, which made it easier for people to meet within a virtual world and get to know each other without really meeting them in real life.
How many years do you think Second Life has left before another emerging technology or disruptive technology replaces it?
Like all disruptive technology another will come along and replace it, but no one knows how long this will take. I know as technology evolves it will be replaced with another new innovation. The technology I feel will replace it will be the virtual holograph.
What are the social benefits of Second Life, and what might be the social implications of virtual worlds in your industry?
There could be many benefits for Second Life in my job, but working in the school system does not make it easy to get permission to use this type of program. If this program could be allowed in our school, it would wonderful for students to meet other students across the globe. The students could meet other students and become friends as well as epals. I really feel as if Second Life would be a wonderful program to use with my middle school students.
References:
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). Disruptive Technologies. Baltimore: Author.
Second Life. (2011, October 23). Retrieved October 27, 2011, from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Life
Hi, Lou!
ReplyDeleteIt is always exciting to learn about the impact of technology on people's lives. If it wasn't for the social networking, you might not have met your husband, and your life might be different now.
You mentioned access as an obstacle for using Second Life with your students. Have you tried persuading your school leadership of the educational value of this technology? Perhaps they might reconsider for not allowing it on campus. Do you see Second Life as having a disruptive effect on traditional pedagogy?
Lou,
ReplyDeleteDo you think that in order for Second Life to be more usable in schools, it would need to offer some sort of protected access for students to ensure that they are safe when they use it? I think it would be great for students to use Second Life (or something similar) to interact with other students in other parts of the world, but I could see how safety might be a concern since you could be talking to just about anyone on Second Life.
Hi Lou,
ReplyDeleteI agree with Sara that some kind of protection would have to be in place to protect your middle-schoolers from predators. I teach at the university level and there are some nursing programs that use Second Life as part of the curriculum. One school teaches maternity nursing utilizing the maternity ward on Second Life and Avatars give birth. Pretty cool, but these are college age individuals and non-traditional students. I don't have time to utilize Second Life just yet, but I can see where the technology could be utilized to teach students of all ages.
Neena
Lou,
ReplyDeleteI also found it difficult to determine what technology Second Life is to replace. So, if we were to apply Dr. Thornburg's definition it may not truly be a disruptive technology. What do you think?