Walden course 10 week 2 application

An Application of McLuhan’s Tetrad
According to Thornburg (2008b), there are four laws of media, “Extension/Enhancement… Closure/Obsolescence… Retrieval… Reversal” (p.2). The four components are linked together and are not independent of each other. Thornburg (2008b) goes on to state,
We can phrase each of the four laws in the form of questions: For a new technology, What does it do that is new? What does it obsolete? What does it rekindle from the past? What does it flip into when pushed to the extreme?
I will look at virtual worlds and massively multiplayer educational gaming (MMEG), one area of technology, which I believe to be of utmost influence in education’s future. I will try to expand on the importance of this new technology by reflecting on the previous four questions.
What does the technology do that is new? It moves learning away from the physical structure of a classroom which is teacher driven to student led learning. According to Serim and Schrock (2007) “Virtual worlds hold significant potential for a learner-led-rather than an outcome-based-model of exploration and knowledge development” (p.14). When combined with (MMEG) the learning opportunities are endless. In South Korea where I work, students hang out before and after school at computer arcade rooms called P.C. bongs. There is even a T.V. channel dedicated to gaming professionals who can make a good living playing computer games in virtual worlds.
What does virtual learning and MMEG replace? Simply, the need for schools as we now know it. According to Serim and Schrock (2007) “the smooth operation of virtual worlds requires robust hardware and fast internet connections. With steep technology requirements also comes a greater burden on support staff to ensure the infrastructure can handle user demands” (p.14). With the virtual worlds being hosted by private P.C. bongs, there is no resource pressure on the education system to service and upkeep the latest supercomputers. Why pay tax money to send children on a bus across the city to a physical building when they can attend a P.C. bong of their choice next door.
What do Virtual Worlds and MMEG bring to mind from the past? They remind me of children leaving home at a young age to become an apprentice. Students could go online and play to learn how to become a fighter pilot, doctor, lawyer, or a million other endless possibilities. Learning would take place from experts who created the worlds. Students would get intrinsic gratification of learning and pushing themselves in an area of their choice. The students would also receive extrinsic gratification of learning a new skill that they could apply in the real world today, and not wait 12 years until they have completed their degree.
What might Virtual Worlds and MMEG cause to occur? This is difficult to say, but I believe the physical structure of a school building, as we know it, will no longer remain intact. Children will continue to take music, art, drama, and physical education but this will happen at the club level, similar to how Boy Scouts and Girl Guides work now. Students will have more say in what and how they learn. Education will not become obsolete, but it will change to become more exciting, meeting the needs of more students at their individual level.







Reference

Serim, F., & Schrock, K. (2007). Nailing digital jelly to a virtual tree. Learning and Leading with Technology, 35(4), 12–16. Retrieved from the Education Research Complete database.
Thornburg, D. D. (2008b). Emerging technologies and McLuhan's Laws of Media. Lake Barrington, IL: Thornburg Center for Space Exploration. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License