The focus of this week's lesson was how the Internet is a powerful tool for learning, and I agree that there are many ways in which the Internet can help us. The most obvious example would be the use of videos in our com125 class. Some things are better learnt visually, and the commoncraft videos we're exposed to in class really engage me in learning and make me understand the various Internet tools better than if I had to listen to a lecture or read about them. Videos in the form of online lectures are helpful as well. Unlike a classroom environment where one might miss a point of two, online lectures allow a student to repeat the entire video or certain points which he or she finds important.
Online groups such as the com125 Google group also make learning effective, because of its convenience. For example, I remember trying to take down notes/urls in class, till Dr Abel casually mentioned that "these will be posted on the group". This made me relieved because it is so much easier to sit at home and slowly read through important stuff than to try to catch up with everything that's being said in class. The Google group is also effective in reaching out to all the students, as anyone who needs extra information can go to that page and get it. It also saves me the hassle of verbally asking everyone for their blog urls!
Microsoft Surface is a product launched in April 2008, which, as its name suggests, allows users to touch the surface of the product (which can respond to 52 touches at a time!) in order to manipulate digital content. This product works on four components:
1) Direct interaction - eliminating the need for a mouse or keyboard when using the product
2) Multi-touch contact - allowing contact at various points for simultaneous use of the product
3) Multi-user experience - rather than one person click on a mouse to navigate, people can position themselves around the 76cm table-form product and use it
4) Object recognition - ability of the product to recognise objects placed on it
The 4th component is the one that awes me the most. What this means is that if you place an object, say a mobile phone, on Microsoft Surface, it will be able to recognise the phone and give an overview of its features. Put two phones side by side on the product and it will even compare them! Users of this technology currently include hotels, retail stores, public entertainment companies, and the military. According to Mian Li, the product isn't available for home use as yet. However, I think that when it is released in the future and at an affordable price, it would definitely be successful because of the many features that it allows, and above all, it is an exciting innovation that people would want to find out more about.
Watch this video for a better understanding of the product!
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