Working Smarter

Something that is common enough to have major difficulties is working in a group setting, in an online set up. While it makes collaboration among members from all over the country easier, it also makes it more difficult by adding communication complexities. The biggest item that online technologies take away is that personalization of face to face contact. In first person communication you see every detail of expression, you can feel the inflection and deflection of voice, and you are free to respond in kind to any and all of these variances. Many times the student will skim what their cohorts type instead of reading it with interest, actually studying what is being said and using critical thinking skills.

This doesn't mean it occurs with the majority of people using online interactive technologies and it could very well be isolated to small segments. Yet even if this doesn't pose the larger threat, "Time" is the factor that affects the majority of people who use online technologies. Twenty-Four hours exist every day all across the globe and for some it's plenty of time to get tasks done, however for others, there couldn't be enough of. As the technological world continues to drive forward there has been a larger push for mobile technologies. This is where the smart phone has come into play. Seeing there needed to be more mobility and in an effort to make time more efficient tablets and net books arrive on the scene. As we continue forward in the advancement of technology, how can we make time even more efficient? How do we maintain connections across distances? And finally can we eventually be able to just beam the information or complete something by simply thinking?