When students are required to obtain the skills for the new century, the desire to further integrate technology into our classrooms is bigger. Whether it's a K-12 or college classroom, it's rare to find an environment that does not integrate technology in some form or another. In some cases, online learning has replaced the physical classroom altogether. As educators, we owe it to ourselves and our students to use these benefits. However, while technology offers significant advantages, simply integrating it as an alternative source of delivery or as another means for students to demonstrate their comprehension is not an effective practice.
We must remind ourselves that any form of learning technology should also be guided. These resources are just instruments and require high-quality guided practice from instructors. These instruments, combined with guidance, can afford good instruction, practice and motivation. While technology can positively impact learning outcomes, it may be even more effective for some students if it's instructor-led and integrated into a well-designed curriculum.
Technology is rapidly changing the educational environment and challenging students to adapt accordingly. It can frustrate students of different generations struggling to learn how to use a learning platform in addition to picking up the actual subject. Some may wonder, "Why should I waste time learning how to create a podcast(播客) when I could simply write the paper?"
It's a reasonable question. We must not assume students who were raised using technology are always comfortable learning with these tools. A study found that because of tools some students may not have experience using, they may need more direction on how to apply these tools. Students may struggle if an instructor neglects to teach the conceptual basis of the tools. Technology may mean little without appropriate objectives and goals for its use, structures for its application, and trained deliverers.
Educators are also tasked with providing students the skills they need to flourish in a highly competitive and technologically-based workplace. Many of the skills obtained through online classes are valuable professional skills. Students taught how to use multiple learning technologies effectively have a competitive advantage over those who are simply using technology as a method of delivery in the online classroom. Regardless of the subjects we teach, integrating technology gives our students the opportunity to not only learn the content, but also to develop skills useful beyond our classrooms. Technology, when integrated and balanced appropriately with the curriculum and with student needs, can make us more effective as educators.
There has been a lot of publicity recently surrounding 5G, the next generation of wireless technology for the world.But what is this technology and how might it change our lives?
5G stands for fifth generation, meaning the next step in the progression of technology to replace the current 4G system.4G was the replacement for 3G, which came after 2G, and so on.Earlier "G" systems were designed to improve mobile communication operations.Each new technology brought major improvements in speed and greatly increased network capacity(容量). The new 5G system promises more of the same.However, technology experts say there is a major way that 5G is different than the earlier systems.It will move well beyond mobile network technology to affect many more devices and industries than other "G" versions.
Wireless industry groups say 5G will help fuel future "smart cities" by connecting sensor(传感器) networks.5G is also expected to connect selfdriving cars and support new technologies involving virtual reality.Higher 5G speeds could also permit doctors to commonly perform remote medical operations.Factories and businesses could use 5G technology to increase automation and improve the collection of information.
Every coin has two sides.Much of the data could contain private details about individuals, businesses or government organizations.The increased data flow would give Internet attackers a lot more possibilities to steal and misuse data.In addition, the wider use of a 5G wireless network means any breakdown of the system would have more widespread and severe results.Such difficulties could affect public safety as well as world economic activity.
Facial recognition cameras are everywhere. Many people rely on this technology to unlock their phones open doors or make quick payments, but there is a problem :Everyone is wearing masks. What a hassle!
Now, tech companies have updated their software. Facial recognition technology can now recognize people even if they are wearing a mask. Beijing-based tech company Hanwang has announced a software that can correctly recognize 95% of people wearing masks, Engineering & Technology (E&T) reported. What's the secret? It's all about your eyes.
Marios Savvides, a professor at Carnegie Mellon University, US, studies facial recognition technology. As we get older, he said, our faces change shape, but not the area around our eyes. It stays the same -even if we put on weight. Another company, Geneva-based Tech5, has also been working on this kind of software. It has AI that measures the shape of your face. It also scans your irises(虹膜)and hopes to ignore all of the face below the nose. Japan's NEC Corp. claims an astonishing 99.9% accuracy rate when identifying people with masks. The UK's Metropolitan Police Service has been approved to buy and use NEC Corp.'s facial recognition technology, Forbes reported.
Facial recognition software is about more than just unlocking your phone. It's about public safety. For example, you don't need to present an ID card, which can be lost or stolen. It also means that germs aren't spread by touching things, said has NEC's Shinya Takeshima."Touchless verification(验证）has become extremely important due to COVID-19,"he said to Reuters.
"We hope to contribute to safety and peace of mind."
More than that, facial recognition can be used to fight crime. "It can detect crime suspects and terrorists,"said Huang Lei, Hanwang's vice president. Hanwang's technology is used by the police in high-security settings, Reuters reported. This means places like government buildings, subway stations and airports. Similar technology is used by the United States Air Force and other governments.
Huang Lei admits one big weakness of this technology: It fails when people wear both a mask and sunglasses."In this situation, all of the key facial information is lost, "Huang said to E&T.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a technology that lets machines do things that require "thinking”. It is a hard term to define (下定义) because AI isn't actually one thing. Rather, it's a group of technologies that help machines acquire, understand and use information to perform tasks. The range of technologies is one of the reasons people use so many different terms when mentioning AI.
Recent developments of AI have received a lot of media attention. Although some have welcomed the technology because of things that AI makes possible, the attention has also produced a lot of fear and caution. In particular, many are concerned about the effects AI could have on people's jobs.
Unfortunately, the media excitement is often a distraction (令人分心的事物) that causes people to miss an important point. Since AI isn't just one thing, we aren't waiting for it to be invented. Rather, the technology is experiencing a long development process. AI isn't coming. It's already here. We aren't living in a world controlled by computersyet. But we are living in a world that relies more and more on AI for better efficiency.
Newspapers, design companies and film studios are all making use of the technology. Often the technology is used to do the heavy lifting of repetitive tasks so that professionals can work more productively. Admittedly, the tasks AI does are often the things done by low or entrylevel employees. But that hasn't necessarily spelled the end for human workers.
In recent years, for example, AIdriven translation has dramatically increased the amount of material a human translator can process each day. But the easy availability of translation has also led to an increased need for translators. As a result, the industry and its human translators often struggle to keep up with demand.
There is no doubt that AI is changing how we live and work in very complex ways. That makes AI an important trend to watch, but not to panic about yet.
Zea Tongeman, a 14-year-old student, who is-crazy about the Internet, applied technology to create an application that encourages people to recycle while having fun.
Zea was really inspired when she attended "Little Miss Geek Day", an event that aims at making technology more accessible and appealing to young women and inspiring them to consider technology careers. Soon after, she entered "Apps for Good", a competition that encourages students to create positive change through technology. Teaming up with her friend, Jordan Stirbu, she laid the foundations for "Jazzy Recycling".
The "Jazzy Recycling" application is designed to encourage young people to recycle more, which wins the favor of the youth. It turns waste disposal into a game and helps you find places to recycle. Then you scan what you need to recycle, share it, and get rewards such as shopping vouchers (代金券) and games to be unlocked for what you have recycled.
Tapping into the teen enthusiasm for sharing every little aspect of their daily life on social media like Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, recycling efforts can be shared too as a fun game among friends, which makes more people take part in recycling activities.
Zea explains why she is addicted to the Internet and how technology has changed her ideas about the future, "I used to think technology was just fixing computers and using smartphones; I have become very tired from just using what is available. I have discovered another side to it and that I can make technology of my own."
In fact, Zea Tongeman has taken the idea of recycling seriously and hopes all her fellow beings would give it a serious thought. This teen girl from the United Kingdom has made use of computer programming to create her own app that would encourage people to go recycling for a better world.
The metaverse(元宇宙) may be headed to a Disney theme park near you. Disney got a a "virtual-world simulator" patent shortly before the new year. The new technology could be used to project(投射) 3D images on real-world objects to create interactive guest experiences throughout its parks without the need for a wearable headset or mobile device.
Disney already uses AR technology for large entertainment at its theme parks such as using projection mapping to bring its characters to life on storefronts, waterfalls, and other real-world structures. But this new technology would be significantly different: it would track each park visitor to personalize the projections they see on nearby objects and walls. For example, a family walking by a storefront could see Mickey Mouse greet them as they pass.
"We are excited about the possibilities related to this type of technology," said a Disney spokesperson, adding that "there are no current plans to introduce this technology, into an upcoming experience." The spokesperson also said that Disney "files hundreds of patents each year as we explore developing technologies."
However, combining the metaverse into its theme parks would certainly be on track with Disney's goal to tell stories to guests through a "3D canvas(画布)." CEO Bob Chapek said, "Our efforts to date are only a prologue(序幕) to a time when we'll be able to connect the physical and digital worlds even more closely, allowing for storytelling without boundaries in our own Disney metaverse."
It's worth noting that Disney has a history of securing patents just to keep competitors from getting them first, which may very well be the case here. "It's possible that they may never use it, but my sense is this is very much something they are going to commercialize," said Ed Khalili, a patent attorney with Founders Legal.
Virtual reality is quickly becoming the new technological frontier. Tech companies everywhere seem to be racing to get their foot in the VR door. However, Virtual reality has a set of challenges and hurdles that it must overcome in order to work well. It should be noted that VR is heavily dependent on being very fast, very accurate and very good-looking. If it isn't, the viewer will feel motion sick or disconnected from the world that VR is trying to create.
Now that we can actually build VR headsets that begin to meet these requirements, we are seeing a rising interest in VR. As it rises, so does the interest in creating new media to be experienced in using virtual reality. Journalism is a medium built on relevance. Journalists should always be finding new ways to tell stories and deliver content. It is a goldmine for storytelling. What better ways to tell a story to someone than to put them right in the center of it?
Virtual reality is a powerful tool for journalists. The consumer isn't just reading or watching something play out; they're experiencing it. The immersive nature of VR allows for people to connect with the subject matter on a much deeper level than just reading about it. The experience is emotional, speaking more to our instinct than our intellect. The possibilities for storytelling here are legion, and any storyteller wanting to do something more interesting than their peers should surely be considering the sheer power of VR.
The question of virtual reality, though, is not how powerful it is. That is immediately apparent. The question of VR is one of viability and availability. Telling stories must be easy to do, and access to those stories must be readily available. This is the biggest challenge that VR faces. If the tools to tell a story with VR. aren't easy to pick up and learn, VR will fail. If VR technology isn't both top-of-the-line and affordable, VR will fail.
Accessibility was one concern for Thomas Hallaq, assistant professor of journalism and mass communications, who said that current VR technology, is pretty exclusive right now. Despite that, he said he doesn't think the exclusivity of this technology will be a problem in the long run.
"I think it's very promising, " Hallaq said. "We're seeing more technology become accessible, and more people having access to that technology. Just look at smartphones." Like radio, TV and the Internet before it, virtual reality will change the way we tell stories.
The technology that connects us has revolutionized (彻底改变 ) the world over the past decade, changing how people interact and in many ways changing our lives for the better. However, some say the most significant development in tech is its unexpected consequences.
Robert Scoble, the chief strategy officer at the spatial computing agency Infinite Retina, said that the "biggest change over the last decade is how technology has appeared in almost every part of our lives." Everything from smartphones to TVs to daily items like barbecue grills has become available with the Internet connected. But with many of our devices "always on", a certain mistrust of technology has appeared. The FBI just issued a warning about smart TVs, saying there is the potential that "TV producers and app developers may be listening in on and watching you" via an internet-connected TV.
Meanwhile, over the past decade, a new social rule has been formed that remains almost impossible to escape: If you participate in most of the online world, your activity and data will most likely be monitored and stored somewhere, by someone.
"It's a fact of our digital life now, that everything we do online now is monitored and someone will find a way to make a profit on it," said Santo Domingo, a reporter.
As more people become aware of not only the benefits but also the threats of new technologies, Scoble said he has noticed "there's much resistance to new technology now". One example is the resistance many are putting up to facial recognition technology.
Some big tech companies have started to make changes after being faced with criticism, although some critics say it's still not enough, including lawmakers who blamed Mark Zuckerberg at a recent hearing for Facebook's ad policy. The major tech giants like Facebook, Google and Twitter have also strengthened their security and content moderation (内容审核) teams in recent years and do more to cooperate with each other about threats than they did before.
Last fall my class and I went through an exercise to help the students understand how the world might address the climate crisis. Several things surprised the students. One was that nuclear power doesn't help.
But many people think nuclear energy is going to be the climate solution. President Obama included federal loan guarantees for nuclear power in his energy plan, in the hopes of jump-starting construction and gain Republican support. (It did neither.) If I post something even faintly skeptical about nuclear power on Twitter, its advocates come out in force, accusing me of being a conservative, or worse.
What is it about nuclear energy that makes its advocates so determined in the face of what should be discouraging facts? After all, unlike futuristic, untried technologies, we have plenty of facts about this one, and most of them are discouraging. The first American civilian nuclear power plant broke ground in Pennsylvania in 1954, around the same time that physicist John von Neumann predicted that, within a few decades, nuclear power would be so efficient as to make energy "free--just like the unmetered air." That didn't happen. Today nuclear power remains the most expensive form of electricity generation in the U.S. --typically costing twice as much as a fossil-fuel-based plant.
Why then do so many people keep coming back to it? I think it's the same reason people turn to geoengineering( 气候工程) and nuclear fusion( 聚变) (which has been "just around the corner" since 1943): the promise of technological progress. For the past century or more, humans have been accustomed to technological breakthroughs that made life easier, more comfortable and more entertaining. But climate change throws future advancement into doubt. It breaks the promise of progress. No matter what we do, we are going to be paying for the costs of our historical and current use of fossil fuels.
So we turn to technofideism-- the faith that technology will save us. Perhaps it will. But perhaps it won't, and our long-standing patterns of behavior will have to change along with our technology. And that's a hard pill to swallow.
Although the weather is very hot now, the carnival of ice and snow is getting closer. The preparation work for Beijing Winter Olympic Games, which are expected to begin on Feb 4, 2022, has entered its final stage. In January, 2021, the ice-making work on the Ice Ribbon, a landmark venue for the Beijing Winter Olympics, was completed.
In the Winter Olympics, where races can be won or lost by a small-time gap, tiny imperfections in the ice can make a big difference. "It's not just a hunk of ice like you'd normally think of, like ice cubes sitting in your freezer," told Kenneth Golden, a US mathematician who studies the structures of ice. "It's a much more fascinating and complex substance than people would normally think."
The first step for building any ice rink is to purify the water to remove dissolved solids like salts and minerals. Such impurities don't fit in the regular hexagonal (六边形的) structure of ice that forms as water freezes. The purer the water is, the more consistent the ice surface.
In addition to the need for excellence in the raw materials of ice-making, technology is also very important. As one of the most advanced technologies for winter sports venues, a carbon dioxide (CO2) cooling technology has been applied on a large scale for the Beijing Winter Olympic Games. CO2 is not new when it comes to ice-making. However, it has been gradually replaced by the man-made refrigerant (制冷剂) like Freon.
With increasing attention toward climate change, the old refrigerant has come into use again. As an element of the atmosphere, CO2 doesn't damage the ozone layer. Although CO2 is a greenhouse gas, its greenhouse effect is much lower than that of other man-made refrigerants. The Winter Olympics venues adopted CO2 instead of Freon as a refrigerant in ice-making, which will reduce carbon dioxide emissions greatly.
"We believe these technological innovations will bring Beijing 2022 to spectators all over the world in a more impressive way," told Gao Bo from the Media Operations Department of the Organizing Committee of the Beijing Winter Olympic Games.
