This afternoon's session served as a continuation from last week's lesson and was again dedicated to group presentations. The lesson was especially memorable as it signalled the end of the module, reminding me of how quickly time flies especially when we are enjoying ourselves and benefitting from the course. From a student attending her first class of the semester, knowing almost no one from this pre-assigned class, I have made many good friends and brought home much insights by the end of the course. It has been a joy working with my group mates and after weeks of preparation and countless late nights spent discussing, compiling and refining, we finally completed our presentation today! The immense sense of satisfaction as we showcased our website to the class could not be better expressed from the smiles of relief on our faces as our presentation concluded the end of the lesson. Like the previous session, the efforts of my classmates were applause worthy and I really had fun in the experience of being both a presenter and an audience. Good job everyone for completing this module! We have worked hard :)
Presentation 1: Mind-controlled prosthetics
This group gave us an insight into a very useful technology, mind-controlled prosthetics, which is currently capitalised on to help the physically disabled with their daily activities. With this advanced technology that serves to replace a missing body part, the physically disabled are now able to enjoy greater mobility and convenience in activities that were a challenge to them previously as a result of their disabilities. In the field of sports for example, the physically disabled are now able to pursue their passion and even participate in the paralympics with the aid of these prosthetics. Notably, mind-controlled prosthetics has given its users the ability to control the movement of these artificial limbs simply with information from their nervous system and this has opened doors to new applications such as the possibility of a permanent cure for paralysis. It is heartwarming to witness how technology has been harvested in the right direction to provide utility and benefit to the less fortunate, giving us an optimistic view into the potential for the world to have greater equality. In conclusion, I felt that both the presentation and the website were holistic in providing us with more information on the development, the current applications, the implications and the future of mind-controlled prosthetics, where the full coverage of content has facilitated our learning process. Well done :)
Presentation 2: Transhumanism
The next group presented on transhumanism, which focused on the use of technology to benefit Man both physically and mentally by changing the biological aspect of our physical makeup. This is a very desirable technology as it allows us to potentially surpass fundamental human limitations and become a step closer to improving human condition. The group covered the various technologies in achieving transhumanism, some of which I found rather interesting. The exoskeleton, for example, struck me as a particularly useful technology. This mobility tool gives those that are wheelchair-bound the renewed faith in being able to stand up, walk and enjoy activities that were previously hindered by their disabilities. This technology slightly differs from the one introduced in the first presentation because the exo suit makes use of four electric motors in the hips, knees and back to create four moving components instead of just one seen in prosthetics. The group also introduced other technologies such as the flex-foot cheetah modelled after the leg of the fastest animal in the world, the cheetah, which is created for the purpose of addressing challenges faced by man in order to increase the quality of life. These new and improved innovations make the use of prosthetics seem clumsy and incompetent in a world where technology is constantly evolutionising to become more efficient and more productive, radically revolutionising the way we live. Overall, I found it an interesting presentation and I really appreciate the diverse range of examples given to explain the idea of transhumanism (Bionic eye, brain pacemaker, cochlear implants, robotic prosthetic arm etc.).
Presentation 3: Food Of The Future
This presentation started off with a comical skit to introduce the idea of genetically modified food and other ways to alleviate global poverty and starvation. It is interesting to see the different ways that biotechnology is currently being harnessed to provide solutions to the problem of world hunger. However, I feel that the effectiveness of these solutions are not guaranteed since there are other more pressing factors that need to be addressed in order to bring about a radical change to the issue of food shortage. One major factor includes the political stability of the country. Without political stability, changes to agriculture, food preservation, food distribution and other methods raised during the presentation might not be carried out successfully to create a significant impact on the people suffering from hunger, poverty, malnutrition and even starvation. Hence, I would think that these food alternatives are not tackling the root issue that has led to Yali's question of a racial inequality between the whites and the blacks with regards to the amount of "cargo" each possesses. Nevertheless, what the group has presented is a set of viable solutions that with proper guidance, leadership and the appropriate changes to the country's political and economic situation, can help to achieve the world millennium goal of alleviating world hunger.
Presentation 4: Sex Advertising
This group conveyed a fundamental message on how we should not abuse technology. The accessibility of technology to almost anyone of all ages makes it even more important that we do not use media and advertising to manipulate and taint the minds of children and young adults who are likely to absorb and emulate the acts depicted through advertisements. Responsible advertising should thus be practiced in consideration of how quickly and how widely the information released can be disseminated. Moreover, I felt that what the group highlighted on the effects of media defining both male and female's perceptions of what they should look like or what the opposite gender should look like is crucial as this is an issue that is currently taking a toll on society, creating generations of girls and boys who are excessively concerned with their appearance. Such advertisements that instill in its audience the image of a perfect body can lead to a series of problems including low self-esteem, depression, anorexia and bulimia, which needs to be managed. Thus, I felt that this has been a useful albeit somewhat explicit presentation.
Presentation 5: Virtual Reality
My group presented on virtual reality and covered the history, current developments, implications and future considerations of this topic. We really had fun creating the introduction video which illustrated the concept of a virtual world and the ability to interact with it. It was also interesting to find virtual reality applications so accessible to us such as the IKEA and LAYAR applications that can be downloaded easily into our smartphones at zero cost. The incorporation of virtual reality into our lives has brought about much value and utility by providing more information on the object of interest in real time, saving us the effort, time and money required to acquire the information otherwise. Nevertheless, our group also recognised the potential implications that can stem from the use of virtual reality, which drove us to research and include the various possible impacts (social and economic) within our website and our presentation. Lastly, we also took into account the future considerations of this application, which consists of Second Life and Google Glasses. We hope you have enjoyed and benefitted from our presentation as much as we have done in the process of completing this assignment(:
Overall, it was an interesting session with some eye-opening innovations introduced by the presenters. The effort and thought invested into the content and creativity of the presentation and the websites were also evident. I would rate this lesson a 9/10! Well done all :)
While this session marked the end of our learning journey in this course, the friendships forged, the lessons learnt and the knowledge received will be held dear to me. Thank you prof for leaving us with much insights from this module. It has been a fruitful and definitely memorable semester under your wing. Many thanks too to the classmates who partook in this journey with me! All of you have contributed one way or another to the fun we had in class, thanks for being such a joy to work with!(:
All the best,
Glenda
P.S This is not goodbye. Another post awaits (;
This group gave us an insight into a very useful technology, mind-controlled prosthetics, which is currently capitalised on to help the physically disabled with their daily activities. With this advanced technology that serves to replace a missing body part, the physically disabled are now able to enjoy greater mobility and convenience in activities that were a challenge to them previously as a result of their disabilities. In the field of sports for example, the physically disabled are now able to pursue their passion and even participate in the paralympics with the aid of these prosthetics. Notably, mind-controlled prosthetics has given its users the ability to control the movement of these artificial limbs simply with information from their nervous system and this has opened doors to new applications such as the possibility of a permanent cure for paralysis. It is heartwarming to witness how technology has been harvested in the right direction to provide utility and benefit to the less fortunate, giving us an optimistic view into the potential for the world to have greater equality. In conclusion, I felt that both the presentation and the website were holistic in providing us with more information on the development, the current applications, the implications and the future of mind-controlled prosthetics, where the full coverage of content has facilitated our learning process. Well done :)
Presentation 2: Transhumanism
The next group presented on transhumanism, which focused on the use of technology to benefit Man both physically and mentally by changing the biological aspect of our physical makeup. This is a very desirable technology as it allows us to potentially surpass fundamental human limitations and become a step closer to improving human condition. The group covered the various technologies in achieving transhumanism, some of which I found rather interesting. The exoskeleton, for example, struck me as a particularly useful technology. This mobility tool gives those that are wheelchair-bound the renewed faith in being able to stand up, walk and enjoy activities that were previously hindered by their disabilities. This technology slightly differs from the one introduced in the first presentation because the exo suit makes use of four electric motors in the hips, knees and back to create four moving components instead of just one seen in prosthetics. The group also introduced other technologies such as the flex-foot cheetah modelled after the leg of the fastest animal in the world, the cheetah, which is created for the purpose of addressing challenges faced by man in order to increase the quality of life. These new and improved innovations make the use of prosthetics seem clumsy and incompetent in a world where technology is constantly evolutionising to become more efficient and more productive, radically revolutionising the way we live. Overall, I found it an interesting presentation and I really appreciate the diverse range of examples given to explain the idea of transhumanism (Bionic eye, brain pacemaker, cochlear implants, robotic prosthetic arm etc.).
Presentation 3: Food Of The Future
This presentation started off with a comical skit to introduce the idea of genetically modified food and other ways to alleviate global poverty and starvation. It is interesting to see the different ways that biotechnology is currently being harnessed to provide solutions to the problem of world hunger. However, I feel that the effectiveness of these solutions are not guaranteed since there are other more pressing factors that need to be addressed in order to bring about a radical change to the issue of food shortage. One major factor includes the political stability of the country. Without political stability, changes to agriculture, food preservation, food distribution and other methods raised during the presentation might not be carried out successfully to create a significant impact on the people suffering from hunger, poverty, malnutrition and even starvation. Hence, I would think that these food alternatives are not tackling the root issue that has led to Yali's question of a racial inequality between the whites and the blacks with regards to the amount of "cargo" each possesses. Nevertheless, what the group has presented is a set of viable solutions that with proper guidance, leadership and the appropriate changes to the country's political and economic situation, can help to achieve the world millennium goal of alleviating world hunger.
Presentation 4: Sex Advertising
This group conveyed a fundamental message on how we should not abuse technology. The accessibility of technology to almost anyone of all ages makes it even more important that we do not use media and advertising to manipulate and taint the minds of children and young adults who are likely to absorb and emulate the acts depicted through advertisements. Responsible advertising should thus be practiced in consideration of how quickly and how widely the information released can be disseminated. Moreover, I felt that what the group highlighted on the effects of media defining both male and female's perceptions of what they should look like or what the opposite gender should look like is crucial as this is an issue that is currently taking a toll on society, creating generations of girls and boys who are excessively concerned with their appearance. Such advertisements that instill in its audience the image of a perfect body can lead to a series of problems including low self-esteem, depression, anorexia and bulimia, which needs to be managed. Thus, I felt that this has been a useful albeit somewhat explicit presentation.
Presentation 5: Virtual Reality
My group presented on virtual reality and covered the history, current developments, implications and future considerations of this topic. We really had fun creating the introduction video which illustrated the concept of a virtual world and the ability to interact with it. It was also interesting to find virtual reality applications so accessible to us such as the IKEA and LAYAR applications that can be downloaded easily into our smartphones at zero cost. The incorporation of virtual reality into our lives has brought about much value and utility by providing more information on the object of interest in real time, saving us the effort, time and money required to acquire the information otherwise. Nevertheless, our group also recognised the potential implications that can stem from the use of virtual reality, which drove us to research and include the various possible impacts (social and economic) within our website and our presentation. Lastly, we also took into account the future considerations of this application, which consists of Second Life and Google Glasses. We hope you have enjoyed and benefitted from our presentation as much as we have done in the process of completing this assignment(:
Overall, it was an interesting session with some eye-opening innovations introduced by the presenters. The effort and thought invested into the content and creativity of the presentation and the websites were also evident. I would rate this lesson a 9/10! Well done all :)
While this session marked the end of our learning journey in this course, the friendships forged, the lessons learnt and the knowledge received will be held dear to me. Thank you prof for leaving us with much insights from this module. It has been a fruitful and definitely memorable semester under your wing. Many thanks too to the classmates who partook in this journey with me! All of you have contributed one way or another to the fun we had in class, thanks for being such a joy to work with!(:
All the best,
Glenda
P.S This is not goodbye. Another post awaits (;
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