Aaron Schram
Assignment08
1. what did you find (articulate the answers in your own words)
1.1. interesting about the article?
The entire concept of the article was very interesting. He raises a very valid and not very often heard point.
1.2. not interesting about the article?
His examples towards the end were not very interesting.
2. what do you consider the main message of the article?
The main message is that technology is great but it is not the cure all for everything. It needs to be integrated with everything else in order for humans to take full advantage of it. This fact should also be reflected to everyday technology users.
3. Please comment on the following claim: “Despite the increasing reliance on technology in our society, in my view, the key to designing a different future is to focus less on technology and engineering, and far more on the humanities and the design arts.”
3.1. agree / disagree?
Neither.
3.2. which are the personal consequences which you draw from this statement?
I feel technology and design are equally important at this point in time. I don't feel that our technology is at the point where we can concentrate more on design or technology. We need very smart people doing work in both areas in order for either area to have strength.
3.3. are the educational programs you are involved addressing this claim?
No, most classes as well as industry stress strictly technology.
4. Please comment on the following claim: “Given the much discussed constraints on human ability, how can we expect an individual to maintain the requisite specialist knowledge in their technological discipline, while at the same time have the needed competence in industrial design, sociology, anthropology, psychology, etc., which this essay implies are required to do one’s job?”
4.1. agree / disagree?
I agree.
4.2. which are the personal consequences which you draw from this statement?
I feel like there is a lot of pressure from school and industry put on you to be not only an expert in your own field, but any field you need to draw knowledge from also. The impression given is that the more completely well rounded you are the better. However, most fields are too in depth today to be a general user in the field and succeed. Today experts are highly sought after over employees with a large but shallow knowledge base.
4.3. are the educational programs you are involved addressing this claim?
No, I feel we are being trained to be experts in our fields.
5. Do you feel that the “Design, Learning, and Collaboration” course addresses these two claims?
I do feel that this course addresses these two issues. In this course we see a very broad range of technologies and their interactions with the general users. This helps us to learn how to use these general users to our advantages. Which in turn helps not only us, but them by developing a better product.