Digital Learning

I've read through the various articles on Nicholas Carrs book and have to say it sounds like it would make an interesting read. Are people panicking over nothing though?

The internet as we know it today is still relatively new and usage has surged to phenomenal levels over the last 15 years as can be seen from the graph below.

The shared resources, services available and social networking capabilities are also increasing all the time presenting users with a huge amount of information and stimulus that is constantly changing. Is it not just a case that we may need a bit more time to adapt to how to process all of this information effectively?

Carr seems to be saying that sitting down and reading is a more effective means of learning. His reasoning is that it forces us to focus the mind on the material in the book and therefore develop a deeper understanding of it and that while the internet may present the same information it also presents a myriad of other distractions at the same time which prohibits us from fully absorbing material in the same way.

I don't think this is necessarily evidence that it will ultimately make us 'dumber'. 15 years is an extermely short time in terms of human development, however the developments in terms of the web that have taken place in that time have been huge. People need time to come to terms with these changes and learn how to work effectively in a world that is constantly changing.

I do think it will be important for people and teaching practices to re-adapt their learning process  and theories in order to make the most effective use of the information the web now provides us with. The article by elearnspace.org discusses connectivism and how it will likely be the learning theory for the digital age. We no longer have the luxury of having the time to sit down with a book and learn all we need to know from it, nor will what we learn at school/college be enough to get us through our working lives but we do need to become more effective at sifting through the vast resources on the web to get to the information we really need.

Perhaps once all this discussion of how the internet is affecting our intelligence is done the focus will shift to how to train ourselves and new generations on how to deal effectively with information in the digital age!

Web Design

So I've spent the last week doing up wireframes for a project at work as well as the assignment. Here are a few links to sites I've come across that other people might find interesting/useful.

Spyrestudios is an online magazine focusing on web design magazine and development. Their article on the Dos and Don'ts of Usability on the Web is a handy checklist of things to consider in the design process.

SmashingMagazine has some articles that might provide some inspriration for navigation as well as a showcase of some creative sites.

Alistapart have an thought provoking article on responsive web design, something that is sure to become more important with the advent of the iPhone and android phones.

Illegal Filesharing

UPCs victory in the Irish courts this week in the action taken by four major international music labels has raised a furore in the media about how Ireland is not doing enough to protect the interests of Irish artists. An article in the Independent seems to suggest that Ireland has not implemented the EU laws governing internet piracy. In the same article Paul McGuinness calls on the government to implement this legislation as a matter of urgency in order to help protect Irish Artists. 


Interestingly an article on the same subject in the Guardian re-iterates much of what was written in the Irish papers on the subject this week. However, some of the bloggers who responded to the article have identified that there is no EU directive which actually enforces ISPs to implement a three strike rule at all.


Perhaps the Irish arms of the major record companies involved in the case should be looking to the solution recently floated by the French. Wired reported that the French government are planning to subsidise digital downloads with the introduction of "carte musique". Although, I can't see them being able to convince the Finance Minister to stump up the €50 million the French have estimated will be required.


A solution like this might in the long run be a better way to help Irish Artists, particularly if whatever method used to distrbute music allows support of musicians who don't currently come under the wing of the larger labels and currently rely on other means of promotion.

Web Browsers

Choosing a browser is not something I've ever given much thought to before now. I mainly use IE and Firefox at work and Firefox at home. This was never really a concious choice more one imposed by the operating system I'm using and the fact that the web-application the company I work for develop is only supported on IE and Firefox and I just went with it! I can't say there is anything I particularly like or dislike about either browser as they generally allow me to do what I need to do when surfing the net or doing my day to day work.

Statistics would seem to suggest that most people seem to generally just accept the browser shipped with their laptop/pc. Given that IE and Firefox are largely similar from a UI perspective to most windows apps in terms of menu structure etc. that most people are used to, it's understandable that people just go with what is already installed.

Looking at the list of the most visited sites in Ireland provided on alexa.com suggests that the top visited pages in Ireland include Google, Facebook, Youtube, Yahoo and RTE in the top ten. The most popular browsers IE and Firefox are more than adequate for this type of browsing.

I've taken a look at a few other browsers over the weekend just to see what was out there and here are some of my thoughts:

• Chrome promises a speedier response than other browsers and certainly seemed to load pages faster than IE or Firefox. The recently visited pages on the homepage when you open the browser is a nice feature and the settings are simple to use if you'd prefer to configure the browser to offer a more traditional experience.
• Opera seems to be aiming to be much more than a simple browser as it includes the ability to add widgets/apps to the desktop and write notes when within the browser. I think the additional functionality is something that will appeal to developers and other involved in the technology field but I don't think it will gain widespread acceptance with the general public.
• Safari is slick in terms of UI as you would expect from Apple. Having not used Macs myself it is a little different to what I am used to in terms of browsing experience but I'm sure you could get used to the simplicity of it quite quickly. Being a recent convert to the iPhone I found it the simplest phone I've ever used and would imagine the browser would be the same.

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I will be using this blog to share my thoughts and opinions on the course material covered throughout my studies in Advanced Digital Media.