I am not a luddite. I love my computer, and I am grateful for technology and it plays an integral role in my life. So what should machines do and what should humans do when it comes to designing instruction? Where do we draw the line? Or should we? Grading multiple choice tests seems harmless enough when completed by a computer (indeed any teacher would welcome that!), but what about grading essays using word recognizing rubrics? While this would save a teacher loads of time, and it is very efficient, something is lost. This same conundrum crops up in many other industries. In pondering my filmmaking experiences and goals for the future I realize that many people are automating the filmmaking process by sending scripts and conditions to folks on the web and after a few days they get a nice animated explanation video slapped together with the help of preprogrammed templates and suggested music clips from a pre arranged library. I think these kinds of films are useful in their place. But is there a place they are useless? I think so. When it comes to videos, the authentic stories of a human being’s experience is unique to their personhood and can not be programmed or faked –at least that is what I think. Here are a few films I think capture some elements of humanity that simply could not be generated by an algorithm or robot technicians. Then again, the future is unknown and I could be eating my words. "Get Old" Anita, 59 from Variable on Vimeo.
1 Comment
David Williams
3/31/2015 12:08:29 am
Thanks for sharing those vids and thoughts. Sure loved the first one for obvious reasons!
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AuthorI am a graduate student in Instructional Psychology and Technology at Brigham Young University. I enjoy writing, hiking, and spending time with my family. Archives
June 2015
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