Book discussion The Big Switch by Nicholas Carr

Sometimes a good non-fiction book can be even more engaging than a good fiction and such was the case for me when I read Nicholas Carr’s The Big Switch, Rewiring the World from Edison to Google. Nicholas Carr also wrote Is Google Making us Stupid?

This book provides an analogy between the development of electricity to the development of internet, computer applications and technology as a utility. Based upon this analogy we are on the precipice of seeing computer and internet services as ubiquitous. It is a new age that is both exhilarating for information junkies like me and can be extremely frightening as we consider the data gather capabilities and the privacy that we are giving up as we create a “web based” identity.
In Carr’s comparisons he views the Internet as follows:
1. As utility
2. As disruptive technology
3. Change to how we work
4. Change how businesses operate
5. Change in business models
a. What previously took 1000’s of employees now may only take a handful
b. Advertising—revenue is generated by clicks on ads not by content or service
6. Web content is not generated by “experts” but by users and amateurs and peer reviewed by users for credibility.

When Carr wrote this book Cloud Computing was not the buzz word of the day . Today there are many variations of defining this term:
Wikipedia: Cloud computing is a style of computing in which dynamically scalable and often virtualized resources are provided as a service over the Internet.[1][2] Users need not have knowledge of, expertise in, or control over the technology infrastructure in the "cloud" that supports them.[3]

IBM: Cloud computing focuses on the user, and offers highly efficient acquisition and delivery of IT and information services. Cloud computing is defined and characterized by massive scalability, superior user experience, and new, Internet-driven economics.

Martin McBrown’s Blog: Grids and cloud computing share many of the same features - large sets of computers that can be used to handle 'work'. The distinction between grids and clouds is that in a grid you tend to have a huge array of computers working on a single tasks or purpose..
whereas in a cloud the computing power is a general resource that we can use for pretty much anything.

Carr gives a fascinating illustration of how companies such as Flickr, YouTube, and others handle millions of videos, photos, and other media with relatively small staffs, accessing resources of companies such as I BM and Amazon, and demonstrated how these companies welcome their use. Second Life uses services from Amazon to manage their log-in services.
Reading this book you begin to notice a trend though. This means your activities in the “cloud” are not anonymous, not just with Flickr, YouTube, or Linden Labs. These service providers may be accessing and storing data on user activities in a variety of areas.

The world is changing, it seems at a quick pace, however it started with Edison and electricity as a utility.

Merlot Conference

I am attending the Merlot Conference in San Jose this week. I have been involved with Merlot for the past year, it is related to my job in coordinating the online programs and services for the six public universities in South Dakota/
Merlot provides an avenue for faculty to peer review learning objects. According to the Merlot.org website:
Merlot is a leading edge, user-centered, searchable collection of peer reviewed and selected higher education, online learning materials, catalogued by registered members and a set of faculty development support services. MERLOT's vision is to be a premiere online community where faculty, staff, and students from around the world share their learning materials and pedagogy.
MERLOT's strategic goal is to improve the effectiveness of teaching and learning by increasing the quantity and quality of peer reviewed online learning materials that can be easily incorporated into faculty designed courses.
A learning object is a resource, usually digital and web-based, that can be used and re-used to support learning.
Wikipedia offers the following definition of learning objects:
Learning objects offer a new conceptualization of the learning process: rather than the traditional "several hour chunk", they provide smaller, self-contained, re-usable units of learning.[1]
They will typically have a number of different components that range from descriptive data to information about rights and educational level. At their core, however, will be instructional content, practice, and assessment. A key issue is the use of metadata.
Learning object design raises issues of portability, and of the object's relation to a broader learning management system.
As a member of the Merlot leadership committee and someone who has an interest in virtual worlds, specifically Second Life I saw a connection between the services that are offered by Merlot, the learning environment offered by Second Life and learning objects/ In essence the learning experiences offered by Second Life are learning objects or a series of linked learning objects.

Because of the conference, my experiences with a virtual conference in Second Life I thought it would be a great experience to offer a virtual conference for Merlot, or some type of virtual world experience. As I started to put out some requests for information I learned that others, specifically Jonathon Richter at the University of Oregon was actively involved in developing resources and a link between Second Life and Merlot. With Jonathon’s help, and the assistance of individuals from Dakota State University, and Front Range Community College we toured and reviewed sites for the conference.

Four Second Life sites have been selected for tours for the Merlot conference, these include Virtual Ability Island, Montclair State University’s Theorist Project, Sci-lands, and Merlot CLIVE.
Merlot Clive is, according to the website;
The Center for Learning In Virtual Environments (CLIVE) is a collaboration between The Center for Advanced Technology in Education (CATE) at The University of Oregon, Sun Microsystems, and MERLOT to create two complimentary spaces - here on the World Wide Web and also within 3D space - for comparing, contrasting, and informing educators about the potentials and challenges for learning and teaching in Multi-User Virtual Environments. CLIVE is partnered with The Media Grid's Immersive Education project - an initiative to develop a universally accessible open source interface and repository for educational learning materials developed in 3D Virtual Worlds.

Virtual ability also has a website and from their website they:
Virtual Ability, Inc. helps people with these kind of challenges (disabilities) get into, and become successful in virtual worlds like Second Life.
The Theorist Project is:
The Theorist Project is a learning area and working classroom currently focused on Counseling Theorists. Current exhibits include Adler, Gestault, and Rogers (content provided by students) and Freud's Office and Iceberg.

SciLands is a science related sim that is comprised of 32 islands with a science focus:

• Island reservations in a pure Science region, with shared resources and other Science-based organizations, initially centered around the Space Industries and the acclaimed International Spaceflight Museum.

The Merlot Conference is rich in information, not only on Second Life but also information on initiative in education and projects that are faculty are applying to b e effective in their teaching. Information on the conference can be found here http://conference.merlot.org/2009/ and more information can also be found here ttp://merlotconf.wordpress.com/.

Open course in Sustainable Development

I have been reading Curtis J. Bonk’s The World Is Open which covers the definition, application and implication of Open Education. If you believe in and advocate for Open Education he requests that you participate in 10 things as a call to action, while I won’t cover all of those in this entry today I do intend to follow through with one of his requests. Bonk asked that we find and index fee online courses in our areas of expertise. Following that request I have provided one such outline below. My dissertation research and interest was in Sustainable Development, therefore I found the following resources for informal/open education listed below. Some of the resources listed below may not be from accredited institutions of higher learning but may serve as resrouces/text materials.

Technology and Global Development (WM0903TU)

Companies and governments have to decide upon technological strategies, i.e. which products are to be developed and which processes and infrastructures are required for the future. Several tools to consider technological strategies are dealt with in this course.

Technics and Future (WM0908TU)

Companies and governments have to decide upon technological strategies, i.e. which products are to be developed and which processes and infrastructures are required for the future. Several tools to consider technological strategies are dealt with in this course.

Technology in Sustainable Development (WM0922TU)

Next to their master all TU Delft students can specialise in sustainable development. This course is one of the requirements for the specialisation. It consists of a full-time week of guest lectures and workshops which takes place on a boat, and a group assignment to solve sustainable problems.

Technology Dynamics for Sustainable Innovation (MOT1410

Conducting innovative research is working on the edge of the known and the unknown. In creating new technology the result is never guaranteed. Society faces a tremendous challenge in order to develop in a more sustainable way. What role is there for technology in this process of change? How could we stimulate innovations in technological systems?

Sustainable Energy

This course assesses current and potential future energy systems, covers resources, extraction, conversion, and end-use, and emphasizes meeting regional and global energy needs in the 21st century in a sustainable manner. Different renewable and conventional energy technologies will be presented including biomass energy, fossil fuels, geothermal energy, nuclear power, wind power, solar energy, hydrogen fuel, and fusion energy and their attributes described within a framework that aids in evaluation and analysis of energy technology systems in the context of political, social, economic, and environmental goals.

Education for Sustainable Development Toolkit

The “Education for Sustainable Development Toolkit” is based on the idea that communities and educational systems within communities need to dovetail their sustainability efforts. It includes action plans on which to base educational change and develop sustainability goals.

Cities in Space, Place, and Time:

Welcome to the UEP 252 web site. This course will introduce students to the history of cities and metropolitan regions, focusing specifically on the actions of planners and policy-makers and how these actions shape our communities. The course is required for UEP MA students.

Environment and Sustainable Development, Spring 2007

This course will examine policy responses to environmental problems caused by economic development with special attention to innovation. The central topic of the course is innovation for the environment, which is explored through a number of lectures and discussion meetings.

Sustainable Development: Theory, Research and Policy

This course examines alternative conceptions and theoretical underpinnings of the notion of "sustainable development." It focuses on the sustainability problems of industrial countries (i.e., aging of populations, sustainable consumption, institutional adjustments, etc.); and of developing states and economies in transition (i.e., managing growth, sustainability of production patterns, pressures of population change, etc.). It also explores the sociology of knowledge around sustainability, the economic and technological dimensions and institutional

The Sustainable Development Education (SDE) Network

The Sustainable Development Education (SDE) Network is the Scottish network for organisations and individuals involved in sustainable development education. Members are committed to enabling people to acquire the knowledge, skills and attitudes needed to build a fair, just and equitable society that is living within the environmental limits of our planet.