The new age has brought about a new way of living; a new way of thinking. But what
we call new is also what we know to be normal*.
Our normal is the product of past efforts by people who once thought they were creating solutions for a world they once knew needed solving.
But our normal today is not a reflection of the normal that people of yesterday pushed for. Our normal today is the product of the future they envisioned and worked towards. Meaning, whether or not this is what they wanted to achieve, the choices they made and solutions they created brought about this norm. This supposed new age; this new digital age.
But what I find interesting about humans is that what is normal is considered mundane; boring; nothing thrilling. It becomes a routine; a daily occurrence that receives no special attention. The challenges that come along with these new normal also becomes normal. They become part of everyday life so much so that we adapt to them; creating more solutions for them without remembering that they are a product of the past. They did not always exist.
Where does this lead my thoughts then? I've observed that the pattern is that humans love to solve problems. We create solutions and we have grown accustomed to believing that technology is our best bet at solutions. But my question is if the new challenges we face today did not always exist, do we need to create solutions for them or, to put it in the simplest possible way, can we just remove them?
A Digital Tomorrow and Sight are two short films which explores alternative futures catapulted by today's increasing technological advancements. Both films visually represent a reflection of how today's society might try to answer more challenges and what the outcome of this will be. From tiny issues such as machines unable to recognize complex human pronunciation (think Siri just not getting your accent) to larger ones where people are unable to engage in honest and sincere interaction ("How am I supposed to know that when it's not on your profile?"). Many a people may begin inventing new technology to address these issues. New programs that understand variety in accents and inflection of tones may find its way into the market soon. Studies, books, workshops, or new Apps may be invented to re-shape human ability to interact and understand other people. Or, alternatively, people could just pick up the phone and punch in the numbers themselves or log off their Facebook accounts and engage in real conversations with peers.
Create new technological solutions or eliminate the challenge?
Using this perspective while reading Stephen B. Balfour's Assessing Writing in MOOCs: Automated Essay Scoring and Calibrated Peer Review™ as I read through the many challenges presented by Mr. Balfour in his analysis of two scoring systems used by MOOC (Massive Online Open Courses) hosts such as EdX and Coursera, I couldn't help but think that, as this new form of mass education is continuously searching for more innovative technological ways to improve its efficiency and effectiveness, these new challenges may not need to exist from the very beginning. This is not to say that I do not appreciate MOOCs, what they are capable of providing, or the new technology that has been invented and currently being developed. Participating in MOOCs myself, I think they do wonders. However, I found myself asking the question, "Can't we just eliminate this challenge?" The challenges presented in the paper all had to do with whether new assessment methods for essays in MOOCs are effective, credible, fair, and improves student learning. It explains a new process where teachers are no longer solely responsible for grading essays and have been replaced by either computer-based assessments or peer assessments. I do not subscribe support to either at this moment in time. I limit my thoughts to only one thing, as we approach this new digital age and become accustomed to new norms that have breathed life to new challenges, should we rely on technology to create solutions or would we be better of just discarding the challenge altogether?
I welcome your thoughts and end this post here.
*Merriam-Webster defines normal as:
· according with, constituting, or not deviating from a norm, rule, or principle
· conforming to a type, standard, or regular pattern
we call new is also what we know to be normal*.
Our normal is the product of past efforts by people who once thought they were creating solutions for a world they once knew needed solving.
But our normal today is not a reflection of the normal that people of yesterday pushed for. Our normal today is the product of the future they envisioned and worked towards. Meaning, whether or not this is what they wanted to achieve, the choices they made and solutions they created brought about this norm. This supposed new age; this new digital age.
But what I find interesting about humans is that what is normal is considered mundane; boring; nothing thrilling. It becomes a routine; a daily occurrence that receives no special attention. The challenges that come along with these new normal also becomes normal. They become part of everyday life so much so that we adapt to them; creating more solutions for them without remembering that they are a product of the past. They did not always exist.
Where does this lead my thoughts then? I've observed that the pattern is that humans love to solve problems. We create solutions and we have grown accustomed to believing that technology is our best bet at solutions. But my question is if the new challenges we face today did not always exist, do we need to create solutions for them or, to put it in the simplest possible way, can we just remove them?
A Digital Tomorrow and Sight are two short films which explores alternative futures catapulted by today's increasing technological advancements. Both films visually represent a reflection of how today's society might try to answer more challenges and what the outcome of this will be. From tiny issues such as machines unable to recognize complex human pronunciation (think Siri just not getting your accent) to larger ones where people are unable to engage in honest and sincere interaction ("How am I supposed to know that when it's not on your profile?"). Many a people may begin inventing new technology to address these issues. New programs that understand variety in accents and inflection of tones may find its way into the market soon. Studies, books, workshops, or new Apps may be invented to re-shape human ability to interact and understand other people. Or, alternatively, people could just pick up the phone and punch in the numbers themselves or log off their Facebook accounts and engage in real conversations with peers.
Create new technological solutions or eliminate the challenge?
Using this perspective while reading Stephen B. Balfour's Assessing Writing in MOOCs: Automated Essay Scoring and Calibrated Peer Review™ as I read through the many challenges presented by Mr. Balfour in his analysis of two scoring systems used by MOOC (Massive Online Open Courses) hosts such as EdX and Coursera, I couldn't help but think that, as this new form of mass education is continuously searching for more innovative technological ways to improve its efficiency and effectiveness, these new challenges may not need to exist from the very beginning. This is not to say that I do not appreciate MOOCs, what they are capable of providing, or the new technology that has been invented and currently being developed. Participating in MOOCs myself, I think they do wonders. However, I found myself asking the question, "Can't we just eliminate this challenge?" The challenges presented in the paper all had to do with whether new assessment methods for essays in MOOCs are effective, credible, fair, and improves student learning. It explains a new process where teachers are no longer solely responsible for grading essays and have been replaced by either computer-based assessments or peer assessments. I do not subscribe support to either at this moment in time. I limit my thoughts to only one thing, as we approach this new digital age and become accustomed to new norms that have breathed life to new challenges, should we rely on technology to create solutions or would we be better of just discarding the challenge altogether?
I welcome your thoughts and end this post here.
*Merriam-Webster defines normal as:
· according with, constituting, or not deviating from a norm, rule, or principle
· conforming to a type, standard, or regular pattern
RSS Feed