e-class

As we had discussed yesterday, electronic mail has been such a groundbreaking invention that has practically rendered letter-writing obsolete. Similarly newspapers and other print media is disappearing due to the fact that everything is available online. I thought it was interesting that these hypertexts are created online to simulate flipping through a magazine or book; a very literal form of remediation. Gibson contemplates this idea of hypertext ultimately replacing books, as being an inevitable shift. Particularly in a classroom setting, the need for books would diminish, but the effect of reading one can still be achieved in utilizing this hypertext. Furthermore, virtual reality poses an even greater question of whether or not classrooms, in the literal sense, will continue to exist.

Although virtual reality may be viewed as serving merely entertainment purposes, it has many practical applications as well and may be an important tool in educational organization. It is an immersive learning experience that would be able to be tailored to individual needs. it would allow students to not only utilize a more fun, interactive environment that can simulate real world situations, but according to Levinson, it gives on the opportunity to participate in class without the constraints of geography or time, which is pretty remarkable, and quite appealing. I particularly agree with the potential result of this in which he describes that people will "tend to participate at their best, when they are likely to derive the most benefit from the experience." In a way it is similar to a class like this, in which we are able to blog and share our ideas as we think about them on our time, or we stumble upon something that provokes a relevant thought. Although there are some constraints due to the timeline of a course and assignment deadlines, I believe that this form of education could really be conducive to a more productive, effective, and importantly, a desirable learning environment resulting from the freedom that it provides.