CURRENT AND FUTURE TRENDS IN MEDIA AND INFORMATION

Imagine:
 Your doctor operating on your local hospital from his computer in
Australia
 Giving a speech while information is streamed to your eyeglasses in
real time
 Cooking food at home while you are at work
 A mirror that selects your outfit for today
Modern technology can give you all of these.

Today, we shall be discussing “CURRENT AND FUTURE TRENDS IN MEDIA

AND INFORMATION”

Media and other information providers play a central role in information and
communication processes. Nowadays, media become the common outlet of self-
expression and creativity. Its huge influence spreads speedily across the globe.
The connection between technological advances and people’s connectivity
created a huge impact on the lives of today’s generation.

Technology can provide both opportunities and challenges to humanity. The

internet itself can offer modes of empowerment and convenience, but it can
also promote digital divide and fraud.

Media offer a handful of functions to humans, a number of them were evident

in the various sectors such as in politics, business, economy, personal, and
social, most especially in the education sector.

To learn more about the benefits of media in education and other sectors and
aspects of the society, let us discuss few of the trends in media and
information

1. Massive Open Online Course

Media as one of the fastest means in educating people continue to
flourish and innovate. A known example is the Massive Open Online
Course, or MOOC. An online course that offers open access via the
Internet for free or at a low cost. With the continuous growth of
media, modernization is anywhere, learning becomes more
accessible.

In her work, “What’s A MOOC? History, Principles, and

Characteristics”, Amanda Rollins, 2018 emphasized that the
technical pillar of MOOCs is related to distance learning where
ideological principal talks about “Education for All”.
The first MOOCs date back to 2008 with online courses by David
Wiley, Utah State University and Alex Couros, University of Regina.
The term Massive Open Online Course was used for the first time by
George Siemens” Connectivism and Connective knowledge” (CCKO8)
course.

MOOC respects certain technical specifications and four

characteristics:
1. Using web formats -There are certain specific technical formats that
are to be used when creating MOOCs and shall be in accordance to the
terms and conditions in creating webpages and websites
2. Collaborative learning -MOOCs shall provide group activities to
ensure that students will learn from each other and be able to apply
them in real-life problem-solving scenarios
3. Assessing knowledge -As a way of distance learning, MOOCs shall
also provide effective and efficient assessment of learning in which
students and teachers shall be able to reflect on this.
4. Time limits -Unlike websites and webpages, MOOCs shall only
determine the time frame a discussion or module, assessment, activity
and performance shall be accomplished and submitted.
2. Wearable technology
Wearable technology is seen to be the up and coming technology of
the future. Wearable technologies today are smart watches. These
watches are worn as a typical wristwatch but do more than just tell time.
Modern smart watches perform the same functions as smart phones.

Smart watches as a wearable are developed for convenience, but its

inability to function as an independent gadget puts it at a distinct
disadvantage.

Another example is Fitness tracker. It is derived from smart watches in

form and physical design but serves health applications. Fitness
trackers aim to promote health and wellness among its enthusiasts,
unfortunately, issues in their accuracy have been raised in several
reviews.

Virtual Reality (VR) wearable technology is gradually growing in

popularity among enthusiasts. Oculus, a high-end VR headsets
intended for entertainment has been released to the public on March 28,
2016. This wearable technology takes users to computer generated
worlds and let them experience it as if they were actually there. Oculus
have so far received positive reviews among users. However, concerns
were raised about VR technology’s potential to cause a total disconnect
from the physical world.

3. The Concept of 3D Environment

3D or three dimensional in its literal sense refers to anything that
has width, height, and depth. The physical world is an example of a 3D
environment. The concept of 3D environment is explored to mimic the
physical world in media.

Films are among the most common media offerings that

incorporates 3D. 3D films make objects in their material appear
solid to the audience through the illusion of perception. Earlier 3D
motion pictures require audience to glasses with red and blue lenses.

Another notable development is 3D printing. This technology brings

digital data and design to the physical world literally. The concept of
3D bio-printing or 2D printing, using human materials like tissue ad
bones to create organs or body parts that can be theoretically translated
to an actual human body aims to solve that.

A hologram is a physical structure that diffracts light into an image.

The term ‘hologram’ can refer to both the encoded material and the
resulting image. A holographic image can be seen by looking into an
 illuminated holographic print or by shining a laser through a hologram
and projecting the image onto a screen.

4. Ubiquitous learning

Ubiquitous learning can be defined as an everyday learning

environment that is supported by mobile and embedded computers
and wireless networks in our everyday life (Ogata et al. 2009). It is
aimed to provide learners with content and interaction anytime and
anywhere (Hwang et al. 2008). The learning process includes the real-life
experience augmented with virtual information and is adapted to the
learner and learner’s environment. The content objects, activities, and
the interaction with the system and with other humans (including
instructors and peers) are customized according to learner’s current
goals of learning, interests and preferences, cognitive characteristics,
history and current state of competency in the subject matter in hand,
the characteristics and demands of the location, the technology being
used as the medium and facilitator for learning, and the context of the
situation in which the learning is taking place.