The human touch #edcmooc

 Now it's time to think about the sensitive aspect of being human.

1. BT: heart to heart advert



This short film induces the reflection of contact between people in modern society. Seems like the protagonist's choice is a "real" contact with his beloved. But what is "real" here? It's a conversation by phone.
 Actually I don't think this choice is perfect. At least why not to use skype if so? Even more contact.. )
But the topic is sure not about the choice for a contact. Here we see the problem called the human-touch problem which is pretty actual for e-learning for example. 
People plunged into the web and start to loose real contact turning to the text-contact. I can confirm this as mostly use emails and other web tools for conversation even with my family members.. At the same time we're still humans and need some sensitive way of contact. In this short video the human-touch contact is implemented by voice. But I think it's better to go far.
Steve Kolowich in his article "The Human Element" notes that on-line education usually more effective when some "presence" effect comes. It realizes in different video tools, skype, clips, conferences and so on. The presence-oriented education definitely more involving and motivating. I understand now why EDCMOOC staff pays so much attention to video tools like introductions, hangout and short clips for analysis. All this makes the presence effect and is more motivating than just text-oriented learning.

2. They’re made out of meat

Based on Terry Bisson's story. This not so bad screening illustrates the difference between possibly other lifeforms. As someone notes in discussion forum it can be compared with racial and other distinguishes.
But the same time our discussions about machines are often look the same: ah, they are not organic, just a technical equipments.. ))
It's a good point to think about humanity and what is it to be a human..

Some thinking on being a human is in my wordpress in Thinking about humanity topic

last snow

Finally we saw snow

 

The same view yesterday:

By the way I take part in the "One day - one frame" project.
This is my everyday view

Reality - Digitality #edcmooc

Some more videos from the MOOC course E-learning and Digital Cultures.
Now we're thinking about the humanity and what is it to be a human being. At first two videos the problem of virtuality and it's connection with reality is shown.

1. TOYOTA GT86: 'The Real Deal' TV Advert

2. World Builder

We see here two ways of representing the virtuality. The first one is obviously dystopic. It's a gloomy, limited digital world devoid of true colors and genuine feelings. Just man's will can break this dome, like John Truman did. It's pretty impressing seeing, and we see all advantages of the true real life.
But thinking about education we may change the attitude to the virtuality. The real life may be different and often not so welcomed.. But modern technologies now allow everyone to get education through the web. And not so bad education thankfully to the MOOC. That is what e-learning is.

Virtuality shown in the second video is utopic one. The builder demonstrates his amazing skill in building a fragment of virtual reality. He does a great job restoring the model of the real world down to the smallest details. Everything is for his sick wife who is in coma. We discussed all this in the forum and I guessed that she sees everything in her dream (like a lucid dream).
 As for me, I think this clip shows good example of interrelation between humanity and technologies. Ultimately medicine is the very field where human life definitely depends on technologies.

Dystopian future #edcmooc

1. A Digital Tomorrow

A Digital Tomorrow from Nicolas Nova on Vimeo.

2. Sight

Sight from Sight Systems on Vimeo.

These two videos show different view of future life than previous ones. Now we have not only useful tools around but people became kind of tools themselves.

I find it a bit scaring.. What if something's going wrong, if the inner system got a virus or some mad dictator start his mad campaign using people-tools?..

And one more thing that I noticed in the second clip. Using so much technological tools inside, a man lost some his human features. Playing games, deciding easy quizzes he start to convert himself into a kind of device, not a real human being. "Disgusting!" - told the girl to him. And she was right!

But this example in the second video shows my anxiety about possibility to correct human-tool's settings. That guy just hacked her and made a flashback, turning situation into some optimistic way. We have a winner! O-o...

Technology anf future #edcmooc

 These two videos show the close future with applying new media techologies in education. Both are bright and imaginating:

1. A Day Made of Glass

2.Bridging Our Future

Pretty magnetical picture, I wanted to get all this at once )

Some thoughts about the video.
- Education
In the first clip we saw the encyclopedic way of teaching. And media technologies are perfect here. In a short time the class got great deal of information with numerous variations and examples. And this technological teaching is not only presentation. Different touch-screen devices let children make their own projects in real time. So intensive and productive education..
The second video shows even more productive way of teaching. Students make their working project based on technologies only. They choose a model, upgrade it, print details with 3D printer then collect a real model of bridge. This real model shows how virtual technologies may become objective. And this is a good metaphor of technological future.

- Communication
Both videos illustrate the way of communication in modern society. It's not future already. All technologies shown in these clips are based on digital information which can be conduct easily from on device to another. People (and machines) are perpetually changing information - words, pictures, sound and everything converted into bites of information. And these information streams make a basis of the new digital culture.

- Utopia-dystopia
This glass world  look bright and surely utopian. It's a world with smart people using fast and useful tools. So why not to get such future, I don't object.. )

Utopia-Distopia. Analysing video for EDCMOOC. #edcmooc

Bendito Machine III 
Presented like distopia - such a cargo cult of machines. Actually it's an example of any other cult like moda in fashion, literature, pop culture and others.. People find something new and easily throw out recently adorable thing.
This video illustrates the power of influence from media technology on the whole socium. Technology gives idea how to look, to behave and even to think. So I think it surely shows the social implications.

Inbox 
Nice and touching story of using communication tool. I found it as utopia since it's pretty positive and shows the real use of communication environment. When two shy people find a way for acquaintanceship what is the better? ) I'm sure new technologies made a revolution in social communication and this example shows the very humanitarian way of modern technologies.

Thursday 
Frankly speaking haven't caught the essence of this video. Surely it shows a dialog between nature and technological world but the question of looses and gains here is still open for me. I think this poor bird is not so persuasive in concurency with technological world. And I loved the humanitarian plot in common - people still meet one another. Love rules! ))

New Media 
Short and very gloomy. Reminds "Matrix" very much.  Comparing with the first video we can find the main difference - in the first one people manage machines not avoiding their influence, and now they totally dominate making people to hide themselves in their corners. Want my opinion? - I don't think machines are so agressive and have some pleasure in treating people this way. Everything is not so scary.. )

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This post is a homework for the on-line course E-Learning and Digital Cultures EDCMOOC 
Teoretical thoughts of week 1 is in my wordpress in "Technological Determinism by D.Chandler"