Reflections...

There's so much to say, so I am just going to try to take it one step at a time.  The amount of immersion into the web thus far as impressed me.  We really are getting our feet wet in a lot of areas.  I am learning a lot.  I have been trying to keep track of all of the accounts I have created over the past few weeks for all of my courses and the number rings in around fifteen or so.  This course has a different setup than my other classes, which are more project based.  I like that style.  But, it isn't very applicable to this course.  If there is anything that this course has taught me thus far it is that the Internet is a vast universe and if we are serious about immersing ourselves into that world then we are going to have to do a lot of little things.  The great thing about it is that as we become more deeply rooted in the course we also discover more tools that enable us to handle everything more efficiently. So, the course set up really complements the material very well.

The videos and articles that we have reviewed have been extremely informative.  I have really enjoyed learning from D.I.'s resources.  Second Life is a new experience.  Unfortunately, I don't think that I will have the time (at least not now) to really immerse myself in that world and do everything I would like to.  It will have to wait until this course load is over and I have a little more time.  I really do think that virtual worlds such as Second Life are going to be the new Web 3.0.  Virtual reality is becoming a reality that will be here soon.  Real life immersion into video gaming software will be the first type (like the Wii).  This will lead to virtual reality in gaming, which will eventually make its way into the Internet, beginning with applications like Second Life.  At least, that's how I see it happening :)


I have also discovered a lot of tools to use in my personal life, such as blogging, doing videos on YouTube, etc...My brother and I are planning to start an online ministry utilizing our own web site, YouTube, Blogger (click for my profiles) Facebook and any other resources that come along in the mean time.  This course has introduced me to a lot of tools that I can take advantage of when working on this personal project.

My only negative comment about the class is the inconsistency on things like peer rating.  Even when I do peer rate, Moodle doesn't save the fact that you have rated something already, so I have actually rated the same thing more than once. It's hard to keep track of...I wonder if we could change the options in Moodle to only allow us to rate once (hint, hint, D.I.) :) 

All in all, I really enjoy the class.  I can't wait for us to dive into learning some of the Web 2.0 tools like Prezi.  We put together a pretty sweet list and I am itching to get started.  The Google group was a nice idea for the General Discussion Forum.  Replying by email does make it easier sometimes, especially when using a mobile device.  Also, it gives us a place to file-share and share photos (especially of Alana's new baby), as well as links, etc... Well, those are all of the comments I have for now.  Take care, everybody!

I Digg...

This social bookmarking tool, and others like it, really help to spread information on the Web quickly. This tool is useful for me because it allows me to access bookmarks on any browser and on any computer.  It also helps me connect with my friends and check out the sites that they enjoy.  The integration of Facebook, Google, and Twitter really give Digg a powerful database to work with. If you have a Yahoo account, I recommend Delicious as your social bookmarking app.  But, the ability to integrate my Google and Facebook contacts directly into my Digg account gives Digg the preference in my book.

Apple, 1984 Commercial

I took a look at the 1984 commercial for Apple computers introducing Macintosh.  The commercial was based on a book by George Orwell, called "1984."  It is reminiscent of the movie, "V," or even of Stanley Kubrick's "Clockwork Orange," where society is governed by a sort of mental dictatorship.  Orwell refers to this entity as "Big Brother." I believe it was Apple's intent to portray IBM as "Big Brother." Irony, it seems, has got the best of them. I read this comment by Steve Feinstein, "It's really a shame that Apple seems to have become the very thing the advertisement was saying they wanted to destroy."  This type of criticism comes from the fact that Apple's users have everything given to them.  While Apple's high level of integration among its products is convenient, one could also argue that its users have become the people in their 1984 commercial, simply accepting what is being fed to them.  I wonder who is going to bring down the next hammer?

Consumer Surveillance...

 I have just been served a dose of "reality" when it comes to "virtuality" (that will be added to the dictionary by the way with me as its creator :)  ).  A recent interview conducted on NPR opened my eyes to the exposure that we incur every time we log onto the Internet.  I had always known that you could be tracked with the cookies stored by your browser, but I had no idea as to the extremely high frequency that it occurs.  Something like 400-500 trackers were attached when visiting a few of the top websites.  The winning website for highest tracker activity was actually dictionary.com.  You may be wondering, How do people track users that visit Internet sites? Or, Why they would track you?  To where is all of this information going?

Well, there are three main ways that trackers attach themselves to you:

1. Beacons - these are invisible bits of code that stream live to the tracking source relaying information about you.
2. Cookies - These are attached simply by you visiting a website.  Many times they are embedded in an advertisement.  Many cookies give you an ID number, and a file is created with your information in it somewhere in virtual space. This file is constantly updated every time your ID number is tracked.
3. Flash Cookies - similar to cookies except that they attach themselves through your flash video player

The age-old answer to everything is, "money." Why would someone track you? Money.  They want as much information about you, the consumer, as possible so they can use it to "better their business." True, but not quite. These businesses go one step further and they hunt you down on the Internet and flaunt the very item you are looking for on your screen.  See, your information is actually stored so that it can be sold.  Data markets are places where consumer surveillance companies sell the data they have collected from trackers on Internet sites.  This transaction only takes a matter of seconds.  So, if you have been looking for a new mattress, don't be surprised if you stumble upon one while innocently searching the web for something else.  This is all orchestrated by the invasion of your privacy.  I encourage you to listen to the interview.

Google has launched EPIC, a personalized web for you, using your information from blogs, websites, profiles,etc... to filter your search results, shopping results, etc...It has partnered with Amazon.com and created the largest advertising network in existence. Please watch this video.

Besides my feeling of being violated in some way, I see this is as scary.  Not that a company knows that I wear a size 11 shoe, but the ease of them obtaining that information.  What other information are they obtaining?  How else is it being used?  Does the government operate similarly?  In this virtual world where we can carry any identity we want, where we think that we are anonymous, where life starts and stops with the opening and closing of our browser, where some hold comfort in the fact that they are just one more faceless user, do we really have any privacy?  Indeed, we may have held more privacy when life was simpler, living in small towns, where everyone knew our names because in the end, at least we knew their names too.  Out here, in this world, anyone could be watching...

Wordle me this...

I really enjoyed this exercise.  Focusing on key words forces you to examine the main points of topics.  And, this was a fun way to do that.  In that sense, this would be a wonderfully creative way for students to brainstorm any kind of topic, and then have something to publish from all of their effort, either in digital or print form. It could serve as a starting point for research, leaving a digital identification print along the way, of how the research began.

On a personal note, in order to complete this exercise, I really had to reflect on why I am in this Master's program.  The end result..? Well, I really began to take a serious look at the immediate future of technology. I am hoping that my degree will still be relevant in ten years, no, even five years from now. Still, I am very excited to be a part of it all ("it all" meaning the revolution of Web2.0 and what will be Web3.0 one day).  I realized that I am helping shape the world by my contributions to the web.  I am excited to have all of you in my class and to have D.I. as a professor. I am really looking forward to embracing the virtual world in any way I can.  I can't wait to start looking at some of the apps you guys have posted :)






Thanks, everyone, for taking a look! See ya' on the next post...

Human Computation...The Web as training grounds for AI

Step through the looking glass to see where human computation could lead us...

The whole idea behind human computation is intriguing.  The premise is that our technology is only as smart as we make it, and I quite agree.  It is time to step away from using the web as simply a time-sucker from our daily lives.  We need to stop filling it with the same garbage and refuse that fills our streets and the millions of acres of landfills around the country...and the world.  Can we make the web better?  Can we make it more efficient?  Are you motivated yet?  Probably not, knowing most busy-bodies in the world today.  Well, the good news is that you may be doing your part already, totally unaware of your active participation in this process known as human computation. Designers have produced games that are geared towards developing computer algorithms which would be used, in turn, to develop better programs, search engine results, etc... Although the game designers do not try to trick you into playing, many of you may not have known (if you're like me and you just dive in without reading) that the games you have played are producing such data. 

Many of you may have seen Google's new Image Labeler or perhaps you have heard of the ESP game.  These two particular games use human input to label images on the web. There are other games, as well, that go a step further and label particular objects within images.  Such data, given by humans, can then be used to train computers to recognize certain objects within any given image for which it has data.  Other projects include the input of "common-sense" knowledge, which could help computers, for instance, filter data in order to return more applicable results in search engines.  But does it stop there? Of course not! 

The future applications of such methods are obvious.  If we can develop programming languages that center around the human intellect, then we can pass human intelligence onto machines, thus creating AI (artificial intelligence).  Images are most important, at first.  If we can develop digital libraries that can teach computers how to "see" on the web, then the ultimate step would be to create a robot in the physical world that can see (of course this would take a continual evolution of these human computation methods and the refinement and application of the data it produces to computers, as well as the development of other algorithms needed for other robot processes).  After all, images are simply snapshots of our world.  Combine these snapshots, along with some "common-sense" knowledge and movable parts and a robot can cross the street without getting run over by a car.

The implications of human computation are truly fascinating because it opens the realm of the web.  The web can be seen  as a a singular, living organism, throwing out data left and right.  Programs developed with human computation in mind, simply harness this data and organize it into usable training data for new programs.  The continual refinement of data and programming will undoubtedly foster the first truly intelligent AI.  We already have programs that refine themselves...programs that teach themselves is one way of putting it.  Of course, the best thing about robots is that we can program them to be the way we want them to be.  Or, can we...?

Since I am an educator, let's talk education. The immediate implications of human computation research for educators could result in higher efficiency of student research on the web, interactive learning programs that respond to a student's previous answers in a very specific way, thus enabling the program to teach the student based on cognitive infrastructures already in place within the student's brain, maps that can talk about history, plant life, animal life, etc... that are common to the area specified on the map (including map search functions; search for "monkey" and you can be shown every place in the world where monkeys live and all about them), and calculators that can verbally explain computations and help students with common errors in processing (more complex than a help menu like the one in "Windows").  The applications are endless because human computation opens the window to redefining the web to a living, breathing, human computer that can eventually program itself, meaning humans can develop programs so computers can eventually map enough data that comes from humans to program an infinite number of human processes in binary form using algorithms (or maybe some new type of processing yet to come).

Whatever comes of human computation in the future, one thing is for ceratin.  It's going to be interesting. Kudos to Dr. Luis von Ahn and his team!

First update to this post:
I found this video online which actually shows the development of a tool that will lead to cyborgs.

Thoughts on Wesch & Anonymity

What a guy!  I love the way that Wesch teaches.  As a teacher, I have always felt that I don't like the system.  I try to be innovative, but usually the system doesn't allow it.  Maybe I am a true teacher, just not a true teacher meant for the current system.  I am hoping that my education at ASU will open the door for me to teach in a capacity where I can explore. The video that caught my attention was the Vision of Students video. I guess I liked it better because it left a lot of unanswered questions and issues just floating there, creating a sense of necessity to act inside of me, but leaving me without a means to carry out any such task.

The way he structured his class (the one that dealt with anonymity) kept the students engaged and motivated.  It's funny that, many times, schools want innovation but under the same old rules.  I like Wesch's class, particularly the way they took a chance and got their hands dirty during the learning process.

It's not easy to see where you are going if you are inside a box.  If web-based learning is going to become the new normal, then educational institutions are going to have to loosen their grip every once and a while and let us roam.  While I strongly advocate Wesch's style, I firmly believe that it is a style that needs to remain at the High School and University levels.  The level of self-control and accountability needed for liberated online courses and research is much too high for elementary students.   

If you haven't seen it, check out the video from anonymous about the Church of Scientology.  Just type "anonymous" into Google and you will find it.  I did a little research on Scientology.  While I don't agree with this group on very many levels at all, I can definitely understand their frustration with Scientology in particular.

Anthropology applied to the web is cool! Thanks, Wesch!