The following is a look at one of our most popular articles from the April issue of the Edudemic Magazine. Written by our very own editor, Terry Heick, the piece looks at the past, present, and future of interactive technology. Terry examines what brought us to the point where we need information 24-7-365.
Google is a big part of the classroom experience and it would not surprise me to see students wearing Google Glasses so they could have a seamlessly integrated experience where education and technology blend together like never before.
But first, what exactly are Google Glasses? Terry has more:
They are what the name suggests they might be—Matrix-style glasses that allows Google to stream information directly to your eyes via a heads-up display on the glasses. From a general technological standpoint, it really isn’t a huge leap from existing augmented reality apps that offer a digital information overlay of a non-digital, physical environment.
In the past, augmented reality apps like Layar used camera viewfinders to identify locations for users. You’d hold up the camera and pan around, and little digital icons would pop up telling you where coffee was, the phone number of the closest bookstore, or even the average customer rating of that restaurant across the street.
In the mid-to-late 20th century, you might ask someone where something was, or where to get a cup of joe in an unfamiliar city.
Phone numbers were in a phone book.
Ratings were in the Saturday Post next to Normal Rockwell paintings.
Information access was not only active (as opposed to passive), but it was fragmented–in bits–everywhere. If you trace the evolution of that kind of information, streaming the information right to your eyes (in lieu of being able to beam it straight to your subconsciousness) makes perfect sense.
Google Glasses is simply the continuation of that process. Information has moved from singular places (here and there) to infinitely plural realities. Data is now entirely decentralized and fragmented, then re-aggregated and socially forged through apps. Then, through apps, they are re-packaged for personalized delivery to users. And with it not dropped on your doorstep, stored at the local library, or out of the mouth of inaccessible experts, that data’s retrieval is now more passive than ever before.
Streamed right to your eyeballs.
In and of itself, this kind of movement will not make an individual any smarter, nor society any more productive. But given the right kinds of needs for information, and the right kind of authentic opportunities for the application of information that’s persistently accessible and consumable, suddenly there is opportunity for actually improving the planet through highly-consumable data forms–taking real-time facts and statistics and improving basic human interdependence.
Read The Full Article
Want to read the full article? It’s chock-full of insight, history, and predictions for education. Click here to view the Edudemic Magazine in the iTunes Store.
