Johnson Module 4 Blog

Thornburg defined disruptive technology as what happens when something is being done one way and something brand new comes along that “knocks it out” or replaces it (Laureate Education, 2010).  The new technology that disrupts the status quo meets a need more efficiently than the technology it obsoletes; costs less, and so forth.  Second Life is a disruptive technology because it is replacing what was previously done and how it was done with what it offers.

Rosedale said Second Life is making the web obsolete (TED, 2008).  The two main ways it is doing that is by replacing the web’s text and graphics (text to text) method of obtaining information from the Internet.  Second Life uses symbols or images rather than words, and it allows users to interact with each other in real-time.  Rosedale’s example of shopping on Amazon.com in the traditional web text to text sense does not allow for interaction with the millions of other shoppers who are probably on their website at the time.  With Second Life, users represented by avatars can interact with other users, thereby making Second Life more social than the web.

Second Life reminds me of the virtual war game my son plays with other players around the world via his PS3.  Though they are not literally fighting in a war, their avatars in Battlefield represent them as soldiers that move about and interact with each other in an exact simulation of actively fighting in a war.  Sometimes when I hear him talking on his blue tooth headset with his teammates who are logged on from within and outside the United States, I think he has company over until I realize I can’t hear who is speaking back to him.  Watching him interact and move about on the screen while planning tactical maneuvers with his partners is so lifelike and realistic.  A promotional description of Battlefield states “Battlefield 3 delivers superior visual quality. In this video game the player feels the massive destruction, the highest quality of audio and lifelike character animations. It is an action packed realistic game where you feel the bullets whizzing by, the walls crumbling and the explosions throw you to the ground. The battlefields of this video game feel more alive and interactive than ever. The player steps into the role of the elite US Marines and they experience missions and combat. There is also a competitive multiplayer option ranging across diverse locations around the globe” (Studica, 2012). 

From the date of Rosedale’s presentation (2008) to now, I think technology such as the virtual war game Battlefield, has already emerged that will eventually replace what Second Life was/is capable of doing.  Rosedale himself said that Second Life at that time was not a replacement for online games (2008).  I believe the game my son plays is a refinement of Second Life and that more virtual world technology has already emerged that will eventually replace it or refine it until it is unrecognizable in its original state.

The ability to interact with people from around the world in real-time in a virtual world would expand the reach of continuing and higher education for instructors and students.  Being able to share information or collaborate on projects or research in the same place, looking at the same tools or information using virtual world technology would benefit my students, but would also benefit instructors.  The possibilities are endless. It would make it possible to research a project, shop for parts to build a component or put a project together, look at the same things at the same time and discuss it just as if you were in the store or library together is a fascinating concept and presents endless possibilities for learning, research, and so forth.

Reference

Laureate Education, Inc. (2010). Disruptive technologies. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_967488_1%26url%3D

Rosedale, P. (2008). Philip Rosedale on second life. Retrieved from http://www.ted.com/talks/the_inspiration_of_second_life.html

Studica (2012). Battlefield 3 for PS3. Retrieved from http://www.studica.com/us/en/EA-Video-Games/battlefield-3/19728.html?utm_source=google&utm_medium=ppc&gclid=CIH74Lnlu7ECFUkbQgod7mYAig