Week 1 Group Task --- Yao Ruyan(Abby)

·         Identify a specific application of a technology in the workplace

·         Is this use innovative?

·         Is the technology leveraging change?

·         If so what kind of change: Sustaining or disruptive? 

I worked in an advertising company as an intern.In the company,every staff has a worker card-just like student card in HKU which contains personal information.We need to put the worker card into the machine everyday we arrive and leave the company.It is a machine that helps the executives to record the attendance of all the staffs in our company.

I think this is quite a innovative technology applied in the workplace.In old times,executive had to record everyone's arriving and leaving time artificially which cost and wasted lots of energy.This kind machine can help executives work more effective and save lots of money for the company.

I believe this technology is innovative in company management area.It not only save lots of labour power and money for other management , but also makes the record of attendance more accurate.

For the changes mentioned above,this technology is sustaining.This technology proves the progress of the world in saving time ,making work more effective and more accurate.

Nowadays there is a new machine for keeping record of the attendance by pressing fingerprint.It is a great process in this kind technology.Much more companies are using this machine instead of the machine my company used.

Week 1 Group Task-----Jiani Hu (Janey)

1.Identify a specific application of a technology in the workplaceI have done an internship in a Japanese IT company.This company has own website to do researches for customers,such as Toyota , Panasonic and so on. It has a big panel in Asia , and has its own research system and technology. My work is designing appropriate project for customers and work out unique promotion ways.

I don't have any experience in education, but I think it is attractive area, the students today have too many hard assignments, how can we make study more effective and attractive,this is the question I really want to find the answer.

2.Is this use innovative?
Yes ,I think so. We did surveys and research face to face years ago, but now , we created research system,website and technology. The panel is becoming bigger and bigger and results are becoming more and more rational.

3.Is the technology leveraging change?
Yes. It makes people's life more comfortable , and let people's work more effective.

4.If so what kind of change: Sustaining or disruptive?
I think most of the Changes are sustaining . We use moodles to support our study, useful library system to help us find the resources we really want,we use iPad , smartphone and other inventions to study conveniently . But we should control ourselves well and choose the right resources.

Week 1 Group Task --- Huang Luyi (Louise)

·         Identify a specific application of a technology in the workplace

·         Is this use innovative?

·         Is the technology leveraging change?

·         If so what kind of change: Sustaining or disruptive? 

I didn't have working experience ,but I use to work as an internship teacher in one high school. In that high school , it just introduced lots of electronic whiteboards into the classroom . Teachers as every discipline should use the electronic whiteboard for the class.

Whether it's innovative or not , I guess it depends. Some teachers used them just for present the ppt . In that way , I don't think it's an innovative usage. It would be just a change of presentation tool. Nevertheless , some teachers are so good at use electronic whiteboard, they explore the function of it and  design a specific class for a whiteboard based course. They designed games and activities based on the support of electronic whiteboard. That's substantially change the style of traditional class. I think that should be an innovative use.

In my opinion, technology itself can't leverage change. But people can use technology as a leverage .  The development of technology is fast , so how to properly use the technology would be a big question to discuss. Just to analyze the example above, whether the technology leveraging change, it should depend on the user how to use it.

I thought no matter the teacher used the electronic whiteboard for presenting ppt or used it in an more innovative way. It still would be sustaining . Unless the teacher used it really bad that totally disrupt the whole class.

Week 1 Group Task --- Wu Hao (William)

·         Identify a specific application of a technology in the workplace

·         Is this use innovative?

·         Is the technology leveraging change?

·         If so what kind of change: Sustaining or disruptive?

A specific application of a technology in workplace is the wireless phone (unlike the personal mobile handset, the wireless phones connect to the office LAN and make office people easy attached without extra charges).  Rapidly as the development of technology, the elaboration of wireless technology, no matter Bluetooth, Red ray or WLAN, stimulates the interaction in the workplace. Wireless phone is a perceptible instance that keeps people connected wherever they are working.

Innovation is the development of new customer value through solutions that meet new needs, unarticulated needs, or old customer and market needs in new ways. It’s not just doing something for the very first time. In my point of view, the wireless phone is an innovative use:

      1.     As an application in workplace, wireless phone provides positive changes in convenience. For instance, during office hours, one single employee may receive hundreds of emails and tens of phone calls. A wireless phone would set free his/her hands and reply to those emails while talking to a person on the phone. Important phone calls won’t be missed even if he/she is not at the office table.

2.     Another innovative function of wireless phone is integrating the audio and video (with a camera) despite of distances and Time Constraint. For business, teleconferencing can be conducted at any time of the day. Time differences between countries do not matter when people adopt this method of communication because they save money and time for attending cross-world meetings. For educational institutions, mainly long-distance education programmes, have reaped enormous benefits from teleconferencing and video conferencing. Professionals and students are able to listen to lectures, analyse shared materials, and hold group discussion and even one-on-one talk with the instructor.

      The technology is leveraging change. Changes may come out when problems occur. There are a few disadvantages of wireless phone technology, for instance, technical problems and comparative high cost of setup etc. Each disadvantage may indicate a further solution in the future. 20 years ago, it was seldom to see telephones in Chinese families, due to peoples’ demands, the manufacturer and communication carrier cut down the fares and telephones become very popular in China.

      Similar to the example, wireless phone may have problems, but it is the vast international environment that boosts the demands. There is no doubt the functions of wireless phone will be enriched in the future with other hi-technologies. Since the basic function of wireless phone never changes, and the changes to wireless phones are mostly positive, meanwhile it will influence other technologies to change, therefore, the change is sustaining.

References:

http://www.buzzle.com/articles/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-video-conferencing.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Innovative#Business_and_economics

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Innovation

      http://green.sunnylandstrust.org/Conferencing_Pictures/Forms/DispForm.aspx?ID=31&RootFolder=%2FConferencing_Pictures%2FPhoto2010-03-19(USC)

Week 1 Group Task---Qi Yang (Carol)

·         Identify a specific application of a technology in the workplace

·         Is this use innovative?

·         Is the technology leveraging change?

·         If so what kind of change: Sustaining or disruptive?

One of the specific applications of a technology in school library is online searching. In old days, when going to library and looking for a book, we need to ask librarians for help or search it all around the whole shelves—to check the title, IBSN number, publish date, etc on the book cover. Moreover, it caused inconvenience when looking for a book without understanding its content in advance. However, these issues can be resolved by online library/ searching. It allows people to search information of one specific book through searching engine. All book information is stored in the library database to make searching convenient and efficient. Consequently, before we pick up the book, we get enough information of it thus avoid borrowing the inappropriate one. In addition, each book’s location in the library can be easily checked through computers. When typing in key words of the book, a map is showed up to indicate where it is in library together with several similar books for you in order you can make more choice. Readers can easily borrow any books they want via electronic card which contains their personal information.

It can be regarded as innovative as transforming library searching and borrowing into electronic way.

By using the online system of library appropriately, it can act as leverage. It helps to save time on book searching, make information searching efficiently and stimulate people’s interest. Every action of book borrowing can be undertaken through the Internet.

Online searching/library make sustaining change or innovation. However, it still has threats, which is, what will happen when central database is violated, how to protect copyright, and the like. This poses new issue for us to make further discussion and investigation.

Session 1--MITE6310 Expectations

Expectations from the course

·         Become more creative and innovative

·         Learn how to use some models and theories to construct something new

·         To understand the basic concept about ‘innovation in education’ and make our teaching and learning more active, effective and attractive