jonesy2821-blog

[jonesy2821-blog]

Reflective Blog

This blog post is about my MDD 410 Emerging Multimedia Technology class.  It will discuss my experience, what I hoped to have learned, what I did learn, and what I can/will apply to my future studies or career.   Before I started this class, I did not know what an emerging technologies class would entail.  I assumed we would be learning about new and current media trends.  I figured that we would expand on the knowledge more of HTML, CSS, JavaScript and add what new technology was introduced.  Also, I figured we would learn about new technology that we could incorporate into the design process of these websites.  I will say, in going into this class, I kept my expectations low, but was pleasantly surprised on the knowledge I gained. So, what did I learn?  Well starting in week 1, I learned how to make a map in Google Maps.  I never knew that anybody with a Gmail account could do this and publicly share it.  Another first for me was QR Codes and 3D printing. I have always seen QR codes but never actually knew why and how it was created.  I didn’t even know there was a website that generated the code for you.  3D printing was pretty cool, and I would really love to explore that aspect some more.  It was interesting to read and see all what a 3D printer could do and help the world as well.  In week 5, I made my first online game of Tic Tac Toe with Google Drive.  We worked a lot with Google as I always used this interface daily, but I was taught how much more I could do with it.  We also discussed about AR (augmented reality) which is an emerging technology that continues to expand and grow and will most likely be 85% of our future.  With each week, I gained more knowledge of new and exciting technology around us. What helped me learn everything in this class was mostly being hands on.  I am a hands-on person, so having our weekly discussions helped me understand what were going to create and from there my creative side of my brain came out.  Each weekly project that we created helped me understand why we used certain technologies and what we could do with it.   In conclusion, class MDD410 Emerging Technologies was a huge success.  I was a first timer on many of the projects, but it helped me explore different avenues in technology.  This class showed me an expanded path I could take with my degree.  From week 1 to 8, all those lessons will be used and passed on to future classes and my career.  As I mentioned earlier, I would like to revisit 3D printing sometime here in the near future as this is another technology that has piqued my interest and seems to continue to advance each year.  All in all, I had fun in this class and learned a lot.

[jonesy2821-blog]

Resources for Keeping Current on Emerging Technology

This post will give you 5 different resources to stay up to date with emerging technologies.

1. W3Schools - W3Schools is an educational website for learning certain web technologies such as HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Bootstrap, and many more.  The website provides many tutorials and basic concepts to developers or anyone to keep current with their technical skills. https://www.w3schools.com/

2. YouTube – This free to use, video sharing service, where you can enjoy music or original uploaded content from its users.  This is a great resource as users can see what is trending and any new technological advances.  Also, YouTube, is where users can find many tutorials or answers to questions for different software and hardware in emerging technology. http://www.youtube.com

3. Adobe – The software that is used literally everywhere.  How many companies have you worked for that requires documents to be in PDF form?  Too many.  If you’re a creative person as well, Adobe Creative Cloud is one of their biggest products they have.  The Creative Suite has packages such as Illustrator, Photoshop, Dreamweaver, and many more.  Adobe will continue to advance and keep its users up to date. https://www.adobe.com/

4. TED Talks - TED is a nonprofit, devoted to spreading ideas, usually in the form of short, powerful talks (18 minutes or less).  These influential videos are from expert speakers on topics such as education, business, science, technology, etc.  Watching these video can help anyone gain a better understanding of new and upcoming projects in the works.  It usually explains the why behind the what and inspires many to continue to do great things. https://www.ted.com/talks

5. Wired - Wired is a monthly, print or online American magazine that focuses on how emerging technologies affect culture, the economy, and politics.  Though, I have not seen their print version, their online magazine editions include videos and articles written by many to share in the world of emerging technologies.  I feel like this magazine will continue to trend as technology and science will always amaze us which would many anyone eager to learn more. https://www.wired.com/

[jonesy2821-blog]

Autodesk

Autodesk is a leader in 3D design, engineering and entertainment software.  This software is for the many people who enjoy creating things from high performance cars to 3D animation and more.  Autodesk has already shown to be a continuing trend as many companies and people use this software to make various projects.  Working in construction, I see many companies use Autodesk as their most popular product is AutoCAD.  I personally would like to explore the Autodesk Sketchbook which allows you to sketch your drawings then import them into AutoCAD where they can be turned into engineer drawings.

https://www.autodesk.com/

[jonesy2821-blog]

Fad or Trend

In the world of technology, things always seem to be changing and advancing. What is trending now, may be not be so relevant in the near future.  It may feel impossible to stay up to date without breaking the bank by keeping up with every trend to hit the market. This blog will give you a little insight to what may be trending or what was a fad in emerging technologies Lets start with fads and what they are.  Fads are objects or behaviors that achieve short-lived popularity but quickly fade away.  It is often seen as sudden, quick-spreading, and short-lived.  A fad in emerging technologies would be 3D TVs.  In early 2010, the 3D craze was all the excitement.  Movies were coming out in 3D and you needed 3D glasses to enjoy the movie.  People were paying more money just to watch these types of films so when 3D televisions were introduced, many people ran out and bought these types of televisions that came with their own special glasses.  After a couple of years, 3D movies were still somewhat a big thing, but people had moved on from these tvs to buying televisions with 4K and HD capabilities.    Trends, on the other hand are a general direction in which something is developing or changing.  In technology, there is always something new or developing that needs or wants to stick around for a while.  The most popular trend in 2019 is augmented humans. In advancing with prosthetic limbs and improving on our cognitive performance, this trend will likely continue to stick around while continuing to advance beyond our imaginations.   

References:

https://campustechnology.com/articles/2019/09/16/5-emerging-tech-trends-impacting-the-enterprise.aspx

https://marketbusinessnews.com/financial-glossary/trend/

https://www.techspot.com/article/1321-tech-fads/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fad