The Now Big Thing

"Online learning is not the next big things, it is the now big thing." - Donna J. Abernathy

E-learning is defined as learning that is facilitated by the use of digital tools and content. Typically, it involves some form of interactivity, which may include online interaction between the learner and their teacher or peers.

This phenomenon is very much prevalent in today's society. We see people uploading videos teaching others how to play a type of instrument, we hear students having a week off from school "because it is e-learning week".

As can be seen, e-learning has now become part of the classroom activity.

There is now e-learning even on Second Life, an online virtual world in which people interact using avatars. A "3D virtual world that can provide and deliver a unique educational setting", "Second Life is being adopted as a platform by more and more institutions of learning". It allows users to be imaginative, without any physical boundaries.

Second Life users, also known as residents, can practise role-playing and "interact with other characters". There is virtual replica of history too. Residents can learn while playing as well, using the concept of scavenger hunt to locate information relevant to their field of study". Students can even go into the "inside of a Dell computer". Language barriers are also broken down with the use of a language translator. And this is just some of the many educational experiences Second Life provides.

One video states that in Second Life, "you can take what's difficult or impossible to do in real life and recreate it here". Examples are defying gravity - flying and creating cities in the clouds. This is certainly "a wonderful place to experiment" should one be teaching astronomy, physics, atmospheric science or even geography. It works users' creativity and imagination and perhaps even brings them to a higher level. Obviously, activities are designed for other aspects of education too - computer science, multimedia, business, marketing, accounting, and architecture among others.

As the narrator mentioned, Second Life has a platform and potential of allowing educators to create a "truly experiential opportunity for students". They can interact with one another, collaborate and to show their knowledge and expertise with one another.

I would agree with this. And from the above-mentioned, Second Life definitely is a totally different type of learning experience from the traditional methods of teaching. However, in a century which is seeing increasing numbers of people being dehumanized by the virtual world, I'm not sure if this is the best method to encourage learning.

As one YouTube user had pointed out, "second life is ok, as long as you remember it isn't your 1st life".

Videos used:

Education in Second Life: Explore the Possibilities

Educational Uses of Second Life

As important as breathing

"Any company, old or new, that does not see this technology as important as breathing could be on its last breath." - Jack Welch, US former chairman and CEO of General Electric.

E-commerce, as we have learnt in lecture, involves digitally enabled commercial transactions between and among organisations and individuals. This would mean the exchange of value across organisational or individual boundaries in return for products or services mediated by digital technology.

More simply put, 'e-commerce is the function of creating exchange (i.e., buying and selling) over digital media." (Kalakota and Robinson, 1999)

As of 1995, the growth of business to consumers (B2C) e-commerce has increased almost exponentially. The same can be said for business to business (B2B) e-commerce since 2001. Many companies have certainly been drawn to e-commerce.

So, how do we ensure success in e-marketing?

I think the most important factor would be search marketing, either via Pay Per Click (PPC) or organic search marketing (Search Engine Optimisation - SEO). Now that near to everything is digitalized, almost everyone uses the search engine. With search marketing, a list of websites appear with the click of a button. Of course, they are things to take note of even with search marketing. Keywords and content should be chosen wisely so that they are relevant. Especially with PPC, each click by consumers costs a certain amount of money. Companies definitely do not want to spend money on those who do not want to buy their products.

Customization is also important. This is one of the 6C's of customer power. Just as most of us want personalisation, customers want things to belong uniquely to them as well. This applies even to e-commerce. If customers are able to specify product categories of interest and are exposed only to those categories, this saves them a lot of time which makes their shopping experience a lot more enjoyable.

Navigational structure should be convenient and easy to use as well to ensure the well-functioning of the site.

Details about their companies should be included so that consumers know that they are trustworthy. "Allow customers to like you by knowing more about you."

There should be contact details too, so that consumers can contact the companies should they have any queries. This would mean office numbers, email addresses and even physical addresses. Include the time that you're able to take calls so that customers do not call at inappropriate times.

It would be best if testimonials from existing customers are provided so that they act as "proof that you deliver". This is very useful to a company's reputation. Guarantees, price matches and free returns can also be added so that consumers do not have to compare the prices with other websites manually.

Legal information is important so that terms and conditions, and privacy policies are reflected in black and white. Should there be any legal disputes, such information act as back-up.

Facebook Yay Or Nay

"Social networking sites like Myspace, Friendster, Facebook have literally exploded in popularity in just a few short years" - Mike Fitzpatrick

While the above sentence may have been true a few years back, Facebook is probably the only most-used social networking website today. Myspace, as many might have heard, has already lost its "space", and Friendster is so yesterday. Will Facebook users ever lose their interest in Facebook? Afterall we were once users of Myspace or Friendster, or other networking websites, and have since migrated over.

Just last lesson, we were showed the video on "25 things I hate about Facebook" by Julian Smith. Among them are "poking", "pillow fight requests" and "gifts", which I honestly do not understand their purpose. Like Smith said, "great, it's a lollipop, now what am i supposed to do with it?" I find no meaning in sending virtual gifts at all.

While I do appreciate that Facebook allows me to connect with my friends as mentioned in my previous post, I find that privacy is becoming more of an issue. At least for me. Every activity you do, even if it were just a comment on someone else's status or photo, is updated on your wall. And it isn't just "Caitlin wrote on ____'s wall". Even the littliest details are given. Like what you've written. And the worse thing is you don't even know who is viewing your profile. What if he/she is someone you feel uncomfortable with viewing your own profile but because of friendship issues you let that individual remain your "friend" on Facebook?

I'm not sure if anyone is facing the same problem. Many a time when I've decided to do a Facebook spring cleaning I don't carry it out eventually. For fear of removing mere acquaintances that are friends of friends, and it may seem bad to delete them off, and you should be friendly... and the list carries on.

Of course, I can cease all activities and just use Facebook as a platform to check out how my friends are doing, but then what would be the fun? I prefer the old version. Sure, activities were updated, but they weren't too detailed. At least there was a certain amount of privacy.

Or maybe it's time to create another social networking account - Path.

Also known as the anti-Facebook, Path allows users to add only a maximum of 50 friends. This is based on the scientifically-proven fact that an individual can only have at most 50 friends. "The idea here is that you always control who you're sharing with and you can tell the story of your life to your closest friends and family." (Los Angeles Times)

I quite like this idea.

Connections made so much easier

"We have technology, finally, that for the first time in human history allows people to really maintain rich connections with much larger numbers of people." - Pierre Omidyar

Indeed.

Designed for social interaction, social media use highly accessible and scalable publishing techniques, and web-based technologies to turn communication into interactive dialogue. As compared to traditional media, it is rich in content and its reach spans across the globe. Because of the user-generated nature of social media, it is very much interactive, perhaps one of the reasons for the richer connections with so many more people.

Also one of the reasons I disagree that social media is a bad idea. While it may have caused a little bit of invasion of privacy, I must admit that it has allowed me to "be in contact" with a larger number of people, something I might not have been able to do without it.

For one, social networking websites such as Facebook and microblogging ones like Twitter have made it all the more easier for me to keep myself updated about my friends. I don't necessarily have to call them to ask how they are, because the moment I log onto those websites all information is spread before my very eyes, right down to the littlest details. The sheer amount of people on Facebook certainly highlights the important social need: people need to connect. And they want to connect.

Furthermore, you get to comment on almost everything, from the status updates to photos and even videos and sometimes you get instant replies - communication made faster and easier without having to meet each other physically. Which brings us to Skype and webcams that allow you to even see each other in the comfort of your own home. What's not to love?

Such functions just underscore the sheer efficiency "for people to communicate, get information and share information" (Zuckerberg, n.d.)

But this again brings us to the question: as much as we may all embrace social network with open arms now, will we ever get burdened by the information overload?