Take a look at this video and comment on some aspect of it. If you are not sure where to start, think about what statistic was most surprising or interesting, or what impact these changes might have on your future career or educational plans.
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18 Responses to “Discussion Post #1-Shift Happens”
The figures in this blog is mind blowing. I think that the blog just tells how small the world would be in the next few years. It illustrates how advancement in technology and communication is making disparation of information and details easier and effective. It also states the fact that schools, industries and companies are equipping students, staffs for such a time.
I agree with the video, which asserts that “we are living in exponential times.” That the number of text messages sent and received everyday exceeds the world’s population reveals the ways in which the our world is changing. Students of the 21st century must be cognizant of the rapid nature of change in the modern world. One must be one step ahead, becoming prepared for the advent of new ideas like facebook, myspace, and ebay. Accordingly, schools must be training their students to think in terms of 21st century advances. In doing so, we will be training the population to think in terms of tomorrow and not in terms of today.
For me, what this video did best was illustrate how fast the world is becoming connected through massive improvements in technology. The fact that there we 2 trillion 700 billion Google searches in the past month is a staggering number that is totally believable. Considering the fact that so much of my work, habits and everyday needs are met purely through the use of a computer or the Internet, it makes me wonder what life would be like with the absence of such technology. I think the thing that stuck out most for me was the fact that it had a real positive feel to it through the music choice, maybe claiming that these advancements are a good thing for everyone, which I liked.
The statistic that by 2049, a $1,000 computer will exceed the computing capabilities of the human race was the icing on the cake for me, and I find it kind of scary. Viruses and Hackers with today’s computing capabilities (which are primitive in comparison to what this statistic predicts) have a detrimental affect on us. What sort of dangers will be possible in 2049? If technological capabilities are this vast, aren’t the potential dangers equally vast? This is the world my kids will be growing up in, so I’ve got to say that it legitimately frightens me. Awesome video.
wow the figures provided in this presentation were simply crazy. i could not have ever imagined that we are moving that fast. whereas the countries like India and China are concerned, they are the biggest upcoming powers in the world today and i would not be surprised if they do one day take over the whole world.
I enjoyed this clip because it emphasized just how much technology is bringing the world’s populations closer, and how reliant we are on people that may be very different than ourselves. Fortunately, technology has become a portal for culture, ideas, news and money to flow with the touch of a button throughout the world. Business executives and teenagers can sell and buy products abroad without ever stepping foot in the country. The idea that myspace could be the 8th largest country in the world in front of Russia and Japan is truly astounding. The other fact that I was blown away by was the amount of English speakers in India. We are rushing to learn Chinese in the United States but why is no one dying to learn Hindi?
This clip is sending a message to parents about the educational shift towards technology and how important it is for them and their children to keep up. This is a very important message, as most everything runs on computers and the internet today. I found the fact that the English language actually has more words than it did during Shakespeare’s years very interesting because English Professors and teachers have been telling us the opposite for years. Though all of this information is interesting to think about, I am a little skeptical of where the author found all of their predictions.
What I found most interesting was the section discussing the large percentage of college majors that did not exist 10 years ago. They then asked, “What will they be studying 10 years from now?” To me, this is the million dollar question.
I think, to me, the most interesting points were regarding labor. The fact that on average, students today will have between 10 and 14 jobs by the age of 38 is staggering. For some, this statisic may bring peace because it somewhat eliminates the pressure of “you are deciding now what you will do for the rest of your life,” but part of me wonders if that is a positive quality. In my opinion, schools should be encouraging students to truly find their passions and pursue them, instead of shifting between jobs that may leave them unsatisfied (especially if it is because they chose the job because it had a higher paycheck, but they did not love.) I know that it may seem comforting to some to not have that pressure of choosing the course of their lives as college students (or high scool graduates as the case may be), but I feel that maybe their would not be as much dissatisfaction with jobs if people were pursuing those activities they are passionate about and are gifted to do. I think part of the problem is perhaps that our generation is infatuated with the “quick fix” as opposed to the long term solution. I think the statistics about the period of time most employees have been with their employers also reflects this standpoint, that 50% of employees have only been with their employer for less than 5 years.
The prediction that a supercomputer in the near future will surpass the capacity of the human race overall is astonishing and hard to envision.
the effects of such a technological achievement on the positive side, will likely improve industrial and economic efficiency and expand global markets. At the individual level however, such an invention thwarts human growth and will likely lead to a dependence, only adding to the statistics of mass communication that already exists. There may not be a motivation for education if this master computer can “do it all,” so to speak. Therefore, while Education in foreign nations, whose national wealth is not as high like in the USA, is directly wedded to direct contact with peers in group collaborations, such advancements in technology often hamper the knowledge that is exchanged via direct interaction. This may produce a more “lazy” individualistic America with its youth education lagging behind other nations (in which this mass computer is not afforded) in their communication shills and overall intrinsic motivation to be challenged and to learn.
For me, the aspect of the video that hit me the hardest was not that there were 2.7 billion Google searches this month, but the question of where these questions were asked “BG:Before Google.” My family and friends tease me so much because my inevitable answer when I don’t know something is, “I don’t know; just Google it.” Sometimes I wonder what people ever did without it but at the same time I wonder if we are all being cheated by having access to this technology.
I thought the statistics about language were extremely interesting and demonstrates the need for the U.S. education system to develop its language programs. 100% of India’s college graduates speak English and my guess is that most are also fluent in Hindi. The fact that China will become the number one English speaking country is also alarming. While other countries are learning English, I think the move to a global economy will require more Americans to be fluent in at least one other language. It is easiest to develop language skills at a young age and thus we need to rework our education system to encompass teaching this skill.
The clip highlights several interesting points about the technological used around the world. As Americans we often consider ourselves to be superior in all aspects, including technological advancements. however the video makes a strong point in demonstrating that nations across the globe have be rising in their technological standpoints making countries more competitive in that respect. As a result of this the video emphasizes a need for people to become increasingly educated about technology in order to be successful in todays society.
One statistic from the clip that kind of startled me was the statistic on marriage - 1 out of every 8 couples married in the United States in 2005 met online. I think this number illustrates the Internet has greatly impacted society and has also impacted the way in which people form relationships. Although I don’t think I’d ever look to a site like e-Harmony for love, it’s nice to think that there is now another way for people to meet and establish connections all over the world.
Although I did think this video was very informative, I also think that they left out some very important aspects. The idea of an ever growing developed would and a future world in which everyone can communicate and have access to unlimited information at any point in time is very impressive, but what about the underdeveloped countries? Despite the growth in the Western world and countries such as China and India, the gap between the developed and undeveloped world is growing and not enough is being done to fill the gap.
To me, this video stresses the importance of a new kind of education. Students in this day and age must learn a variety of skills in order to keep up with an ever changing technology based society, and that while we will not be able to predict what kind of economic opportunities will be available in 10 or 15 years, by learning a variety of skills now, this generation and the next will be able to take advantage of these opportunities and push development to the next frontier.
Thank you for your thoughtful responses. You all made many good points. I appreciate your asking about the research supporting claims–you’re in the right class for finding out how to do that! Here is a little history of the presentation: http://shifthappens.wikispaces.com/History+of+the+Presentation Largely, we wanted to point out that with so much inevitable change, it’s hard to know exactly what you’ll need to know to be successful in the future. The one thing that is certain is that you’ll need to know how to find information, think critically, and be creative. Hopefully this class can help with at least those first two points.
The statistics in this video are both troubling and encouraging. It is scary to think about the prospect of a piece of technology becoming more powerful than the human brain. The fact that networking is happening across the planet is encouraging. “If Myspace were a country, it would be the 8th largest in the world.” This is my favorite quote in the video. It just goes to show you how people in the world, especially the youth, are spending their time these days.