EDMOOC Week 2 Reflections

 Productivity Future Vision

This video was confusing. If the woman was able to hold a meeting online in real time why was she even travelling? And, couldn’t the daughter have searched for a recipe without her mother’s help? The man seemed very relaxed and leisurely, almost as though his only role was to help with the cooking. Best of all, just how dated was that frying pan!?

It was definitely meant to be Utopian with all its smooth, white, clinically-clean surfaces, smiling, happy, attractive people who seemingly had all the time in the world. But there was very little humanity. The man and girl barely shared a word, let alone a conversation or a hug…. The home was stark and soulless. Sorry Microsoft, sitting in a hotel room wired into my tablet devices is not my idea of a better use of my time…

A Day of Glass

Definitely highly utopian influences. Suggesting that learning could happen anywhere, anytime, that access to info is at fingertips 24/7. That learning can be recorded and shared later. I was disturbed by classroom uniformity and teacher-directed learning. PLEASE let the future be more learning-centric. Field trip was exciting but felt more like a 3D computer game. Not sure any of my students would take time searching for elk’s hoof-prints if they could go hunt down 3D dinosaurs instead!

Communication seemed to revolve around common experiences, or common interest.

Definitely technology-centric

Charlie 13

I can’t really see past the bleakness of this predicted future. I wonder what the perceived danger of the old ways was and, if this is such a positive and balanced community of tagged people, why do they have to lie about those who choose not to be tagged? To me, it is like the current practice of tagging prisoners but in reverse. Instead of the bad guys being tracked, now the innocent are rounded up and branded like cattle. The police officers conversation with the mum could be interpreted as supportive and friendly or, in my case, disturbingly invasive and personal. I don’t want some complete stranger knowing that I live by myself and taking pity on me!

There did seem to be only a very minute hint of choice but, at what cost? Charlie would have to abandon his mum, break her heart, and live behind a wire fence. It suggested that Charlie could tow the line or be excommunicated. Of course, Charlie’s the hero so the video does lead us to want to back his revolt.

Many people argue that Big Brother is already watching our every move and I don’t remember being consulted on whether that was OK with me. Having said that, it is actually OK with me so long as it is only used to catch “the bad guys” and not misused.

I wonder why the society waits until the kids are 13 to tag them. If this were ever a reality I find it much more realistic that they would be tagged from birth, before they could have an opinion.