Second Life as a Disruptive Technology

I had not heard of Second Life until I started taking these courses. Even then, I hadn't actually looked at the site until now. It looks very fascinating. It has disrupted previous virtual worlds like The Sims. It is much more life-like and allows more interaction. I don't think it has much time though, before being displaced by something else. I believe virtual characters are on the way that will be able to sense your movements and emotions. Check out Xbox's Milo.
In the world of education, we sometimes offer cyberschool as an alternative to students who can't cope in public school for a myriad of reasons. I could see Second Life benefiting them by creating a better sense of real life interaction between the teacher and other students. However, thing like this always scare me a little because they give people a false sense of reality. In real life, you cannot be in control of the outcome of every situation, or just logout if you get uncomfortable.

Rhymes of History

One technology that rekindles thoughts from the past is something that I use on a daily basis-the copy machine. I usually take for granted the ease of making copies of documents I need for my students or for personal matters. The machines today are so sophisticated that they can copy on two sides, staple, collate, shrink, enlarge, and perform other functions that I haven't yet discovered.
Thinking back to when I was a little girl in elementary school in the late '80s-probably in third or fourth grade-being the teacher's pet that I was, I often had to make copies for the teacher. Back then it was not as simple as pressing a button. The teacher had to first hand-write or type (with a typewriter) the information that needed copying on this messy blue carbon paper. Next I would take the carbon paper to a big machine with a round drum. I remember ripping the top sheet off the carbon paper and laying it across the drum. Then the drum had to be rolled one time to make a master. The machine had to be filled with a smelly, clear liquid in order to work. Somehow, once the master was made, the machine was ready to roll. I would make copies, in blue ink, and you had to stand there and count the number of copies you needed. The earliest machines I remember had to be cranked by hand. I think we later got automatic machines. What a process!