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eLearning in the lounge In my early trials with eLearning, I was struck by comments from friends who were a solicitor and an accountant respectively. The former followed an eight-week course with energy and commitment; the latter (no less enthusiastic a Christian) struggled to keep up. Their use of ICT was the answer, I discovered, but not in the way that one might have first guessed. The accountant was highly familiar with computers and connections. The solicitor was a novice who did not use a computer at work at all; the accountant on the other hand spent most of his day in front of a screen and, once home, had little wish to go into the spare bedroom to go on-line. I suspect that this cameo of two professions will resonate with many as more and more people use computers intensively at work. For years there has been much talk of the ‘convergence’ of computing and media, and between education and entertainment. These would be welcome trends because they will help to bring interactive learning into the living room, much more attractive to my accountant friend. But what is the current reality? * A couple of years ago, Bush Electronics launched an “Internet TV”. The one I saw struggled to reproduce the fine print on many Internet sites and it appears no longer to be available. * In May 2001, Oftel reported that 4% of users accessed the Internet via digital TV, at the time more than through a broadband connection. * December 2003 Personal Computer World reviewed the Evesham E-Media 2.6. While the Internet TV concept seeks to take the TV on-line (but leave it firmly as a TV), this Evesham system takes the computer, with TV, DVD, CD and photo capability, into the living room. With an easy-to-use, consumer-styled interface, an attractive box and largely silent electronics, it shows the way things are heading if Microsoft has its way - as it usually does. £1070 without a screen is not cheap, but the first products of a genre rarely are. It may nevertheless be more attractive to many than a conventional home computer. * Then there's the Linksys Wireless-B Media Adaptor (circa £150), a device that allows you to stream content from your PC wirelessly to the TV and hi-fi that the adaptor is connects to. The review suggests some clunkiness, but notes that this is “the first of many forthcoming media adaptors”. * Finally, note how the price of laptops is tumbling. Dabs.com offer a Toshiba (top make) for £628. If you've got broadband, you can access the Internet from anywhere in the house with a wireless card (£18.50) and a wireless access point / ADSL modem (£52) - under £700 in total. I've gone wireless laptop - it's wonderfully liberating to be able to facilitate eLearning courses from the armchair. Next time: why businesses will encourage viewers to see the TV as an interactive device.
Yours in Christ, |
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