Human Development: The Peel

Please see our presentation on The Peel in the video below.

Text Material, explained:

The Good

"Perhaps the most ubiquitous technology in children's lives today are mobile devices--tools such as cell phones . . . Research has shown convincingly that students thrive when curricula incorporate mobile learning devices"
- Larry D. Rosen, Ph.D. from Rewired, Chapter 9: Rewiring Education

According to Rosen, children understand mobile technology very well. Depending on the age of a child, most children do not understand the concept of numbers very well. It is much easier for a child to recognize a picture of their favorite TV series, than to try to remember the number of the channel and how it corresponds to the show he or she wants to watch. So by using a cell phone coupled with The Peel's technology, children could more easily watch what they want to watch, with their parent's consent.
 - Jared

The Bad

"Young children often respond to the unrealistic quality of television in very real ways."
- Rosen,  Rewired, Chapter 7: Media Literacy among 21st Century Kids

Research has shown that children think that what they see on television is an accurate representation of reality. For example, children who watch Batman probably think that they can have Batman's abilities, which can be dangerous on the playground. Due to The Peel's ability to pull up different shows and visually consolidate them into one app makes it easier for children to discover shows that their parents may not approve of, especially violent shows.
- Dieu

cellCONTROL- Not Cool

To view our overall Prezi presentation on cellCONTROL, please follow this link: http://prezi.com/w84jljyvlk03/copy-of-cell.

Scosche's cellCONTROL is expensive ($130), likely to be ineffective, and only increases our reliance on technology. If we turn to this technology to solve our problem of using technology while driving, what message are we sending to our posterity? As Nicholas Carr discusses in his book, The Shallows, children and teenagers are already growing up with a nagging compulsion to check email, texts, and other cell phone notifications. When we turn to new technology to curb our technology use, it shows our lack of self-control. Do we not have the capacity to put down our cell phones for a fifteen minute drive to the office or school? And if we can't trust ourselves, then how can we expect to trust children or teenagers not to do the same thing? We should think of a better solution than to put our trust in yet another technology. We should put down the cell phone. Yes, it may take some work and retraining our brains, but it is worth it to drive safely. Let's put down the cell phone without this expensive, unnecessary technology.

Proton Ion Sequencer- Not Cool

The Proton Ion Sequencer is a machine that uses new semi conductor technology to turn genetic sequencing from a process that was expensive and took weeks into one that is cheap and takes less than day to do. It can sequence the genome of any organism and has already been extensively used. It sounds great but is it really?

The first problem is that there are hidden costs associated with it. It does cost $1000 for the initial sequencing but should something worrisome show up you then have to pay for a specialist or genetic counseling, of which the latter may cost around $150 per hour. Other cost may include treatment for whatever is found.

Another problem is privacy. One's genetic code is a large amount of personal data that has been made easier to access. s of now, there aren't any real problems. But seeing as it is so personal and virtually unchangeable, genetic codes may become an identification system in the future and thus this opens up a way for identity theft. It also allows for someone to infer your medical history and future if they have the right additional information. For anyone other than a doctor, this may not be a good thing.

The next point is one that has followed society through each major science and social achievement, discrimination. The first think you think is old fashion racism and that is an issue. With this technology becoming cheaper, more people will be able to use it. Some will use minor variations to perpetuate ideals of superiority. Imagine if this technology appeared amidst the Holocaust, what Nazi propaganda would hit the streets about genetic and racial superiority?
Another discrimination is a more professional types and could come from two places. The first is the insurance company. When this technology began rolling out many states had to pass laws specifying how insurance companies can use it. Those laws vary state to state and some still offer loop holes. The Proton Ion sequencer may require for more unified standards and practices from insurance companies regarding coverage and predisposition to diseases. The second place you'll find it is at work. Some jobs require certain skills, as we all know. Skills you can gain, earn and control. If you are denied a job then you likely need to gain the skills or experience and very well can. However, what if you got turned away for a job for something you cannot control, something your born with? A easily accessed genetic code will allow for employers to turn you away if you have a predisposition for something that may hinder your work or cause them to need to pay more if they hired you. One's genes do no always mean one is destined for something, the environment plays a big part too. The genetics just say what can or is likely to happen, not what will. So you'd basically be turned down on a "what if?" scenario.

The last point is plain ignorance to the technology. Many people don't understand it yet and have to have it explained to them (hence the genetic counseling). Some doctors aren't qualified to explain it themselves, leaving room for misinterpretations. If a woman finds out she does not genetically have a predisposition to get breast cancer then she may fore go mammograms when in actuality her chances of getting  breast cancer only dropped by about 10-15%. Before this becomes widely available, professionals and the public in general should be educated to interpret the results correctly or else the Proton Ion Sequencer may do more harm than good.

Wolfram|Alpha and it's impact on education.

So, first things first. Watch this video.



We were astounded by what Wolfram had said here. Especially because he's totally right. But, instead of reading about it, which Carr tells us our age is no longer capable of doing efficiently, we also made a video describing our take on it.



Also, here is a link to the site. Have fun!

Second Set

I'll try to move all the first set of blog entries to a "page." 

Remember, link all your work carefully and accurately to your text materials. According to my records, the next reviews will be:

Peel (Jared +, Dieu -)
The Cloud (Tyler +, Claire -)
Rock Prodigy (Joshua+, Wen-)
Proton Ion Sequencing (James+, Jennifer-)
Smart Cap (Anna +, Minhtrang Do-))
Lynda.com (Steven+, Nikki-)
Wolfram Alpha (Mitchell +, Amanda -)
Cellcontrol (Jocelyn, Kristina)
Instagram (Elaina+, Minhtrang-)
Google Wallet (Louis-, Andrew+)

SmartGlass

SmartGlass

The Technology:

SmartGlass is electrically switchable glass that is able to change its light transmission properties when voltage is applied. There are several uses of this technology. One of the applications would allow you "fog" or "frost" out a glass plane or window, changing the window from open and public to closed and private. Another application of SmartGlass is the SmartWindow by Samsung, a window that is not only a window, but can also be a computer or television when you might want it. Either using natural daylight or electronic illumination, the window has a touch-screen display similar to a SmartPhone and allows the user to browse the web, check the weather, watch tele, etc. To the outside, the window is a mirror. An interesting feature of the technology is the virtual set of blinds that the user can adjust for brightness.

Whats Cool

This technology is practical, pretty, and power-conserving. You can now use any window alternately as a computer and a television. Streamlined glass replaces comparatively bulky computer and television monitors. In the daytime, the sun provides the screen’s

illumination, thus cutting down power use.

Have you ever wished you were elsewhere? The SmartWindow, installed as the passenger’s window of your car, will bring you there. You can bring up the fleeting scenes of Barcelona’s busy main street, La Rambla, or a bumpy road in Cairo, right outside your window while driving down Perkins Road in Baton Rouge.

This technology represents another step closer to ubiquitous virtual reality. Instead of looking through windows at the scenery outside, we are going to be looking at the window itself to provide us with scenery of our choosing.

- Nikki

What's Not Cool

Having network access in essential parts of the home or office will likely continue the usability issues we already experience with our internet technologies today. Spam and viruses are all too common, and the SmartWindow is more opportunity for ads and propaganda to seep into our everyday life. The SmartWindow seems simliar to the telescreen in the book 1984, that continually broadcasted propaganda. The digital world brings a complexity of life that many find undesirable. The opportunities for social interaction become all too more of a distraction. Sherry Turkle, MIT professor of Social Studies of Science and Technology and author of Alone Together, believes that essential conversations have been lost to the social network. Having SmartWindows around will likely further increase the amount of time spent social networking, exaggerating the effects of having a digital social life.

With the digital age, the gap is wide and growing between people who know how to use the technologies, and the people who make them. Therefore, there are unknown implications of relying on technology to perform normal daily functions like closing your blinds. Who will fix it when it goes broken? Many people will know how to install blinds, however they will not how to fix their broken virtual blinds. People against this technology may argue that there

is something very natural about interacting with the 3D world without the use of a digital interface. The blinds and other features are simulations of reality, and some may see a SmartWindow as an extraneous, faux filter, rather than a tool.

It's purpose is questionable. We want a window, yet we get a computer. Are we looking out into the world, or into a digital interface? Why do we have windows in homes and buildings? The applications of SmartGlass are ones that need careful consideration. SmartGlass may not belong in a car for obvious safety reasons.

This technology is very expensive and still in very early phases of mass-production, but can expect to see it used more in the future. However, once SmartGlass is common, they may be able to attach a film to preexisting glass planes in order to cut down the total cost of the glass once it hits the mainstream market, increasing the availability.

- Steven

The Ups and Downs of the Playstation Vita

The Playstation Vita represents the next generation of portable gaming.  Already on the market in Japan, this game system will hit the American market on February 22.  This revolutionary product features dual analog sticks, front and rear cameras, a high-resolution screen, a quad core processor, and is touch sensitive on both the screen, and a rear panel. 

            Having two analog sticks pleases the Playstation fans because it allows for game play similar to that on the home console, which improves the quality of first-person shooter gameplay.  However, being a Nintendo fan myself, I prefer the camera’s point of view to adjust automatically so that I only need one analog stick to control the character’s movement. 

            The front and rear cameras allow for augmented reality gaming.  Needless to say, this is a mind-blowing development in the world of entertainment. To see why it's so cool, check out the youtube video below.



           Augmented reality games allow the player to manipulate the world around them through the game, essentially morphing the real world into a digital, playable platform.  However, the cameras do not record at a very high resolution in comparison with cameras of similar sizes on portable, multi-purpose devices.  This is especially disappointing because the Vita is manufactured by Sony, a company that also makes professional-grade cameras.

            In most reviews, users find the rear touch pad to be instinctively easy to use, despite not being able to see where your fingers land.  The front touch screen is bright, clear, and sensitive.  Nothing less should be expected from a Playstation product, because their selling point from the beginning has been superior graphics.  The Vita delivers on this front. 

            The graphics do come at an underestimated cost, however. Now that games are becoming more life-like, they are becoming more immersive. This can be both a good and bad thing depending on a game’s audience. There is substantial research, which shows that violent games resonate with children more than with an audience mature enough to understand that the world in a game is not the same as the real one. Better graphics and more violent games are not a problem unique to the Vita, but there isn’t much that Sony or anyone else is doing to inhibit children from playing games outside of their age recommendation.

            After demoing the Vita myself in a GameStop, I can attest that it feels light, but substantial enough to not seem terribly fragile.  However, the analog sticks are too far apart to be comfortable on the thumbs.  This is an understandable drawback because to have them closer together would sacrifice some of the ever-popular, giant screen.

            The starting price is $250, not cheap, but not unreasonable either… until you look closer.  It is more expensive than its Nintendo brand counterpart, the 3DS.  Also, the memory cards are proprietary, meaning that only Vita memory cards can be used on the Vita, and they can be used for no other purpose.  This is an annoying and expensive inconvenience to consumers.   Another expensive addition to this device is portable Internet, which is locked into AT&T if you choose to have it.

            Another awesome aspect to this new gaming device is the continuity it will provide to the gaming experience.  If Playstation follows through on what they have promised, a gamer can be playing a game like Madden (football) on their PS3 at home, pause, save, and resume from that checkpoint on their Vita from anywhere. 

As with any product, the Playstation Vita has its upsides and downsides.  Overall, this product will have a positive impact on furthering the technology of the entertainment industry.  The social implications are another issue entirely. Perhaps providing a more immersive gaming experience will prevent children from forming real-world social connections.  Alternatively, using Playstation’s own social network, Near, could connect gamers in new ways that would not be possible without this technology. 

Co-written by Mandy and Mitchell.

Prezi presentation available here:

Playstation Vita on Prezi