Update on Emerging Communications Technologies
I've been pleasantly surprised by the reading for my ECT class. I've already mentioned The Death of Distance, but it's Communications Technologies Update that has really surprised me.
It's a large book with lots of statistics and graphs. It's updated every year or so in an attempt to keep up with the latest technological innovations. For each technology, it gives you a history of it, an update on its current use, and a "what to watch" section predicting the future based on recent advances. From telephony to broadband, it describes technologies that are literally all around us but about which we know very little. It even throws in a few public policy issues by mentioning relevant legislation surrounding the technology, something that I think would make for great class discussion.
The best part about this book is that my husband knows all about the subject. So when I ready something about multiplexes, I can specifically ask him more about it.
For instance, I read a chapter on Home Networking a few weeks after Yoav had set up a network in our home. So I could think back to what he had gone through and by reading the book I could understand it more in detail. Then I could talk about it with him.
If at all possible, I recommend reading this book while sitting next to a Computer Engineer.
My only complaint about the book is that we don't discuss it in class. We have to read 3-5 dense chapters about radio, telephone and internet before class, then in class we spend 2.5 hours discussion only radio. And the lectures are planned out in advance, so it's not just that we run out of time for the rest.
While I'm getting a lot from the book, I worry that by not discussing it in class, I simply won't retain the information. And I think we have the time to discuss it, if only briefly. If I could suggest a format, I would recommend that the instructor start each class by asking for everyone's thoughts on the reading, which would prompt us to discuss what we'd learned.
It's a large book with lots of statistics and graphs. It's updated every year or so in an attempt to keep up with the latest technological innovations. For each technology, it gives you a history of it, an update on its current use, and a "what to watch" section predicting the future based on recent advances. From telephony to broadband, it describes technologies that are literally all around us but about which we know very little. It even throws in a few public policy issues by mentioning relevant legislation surrounding the technology, something that I think would make for great class discussion.
The best part about this book is that my husband knows all about the subject. So when I ready something about multiplexes, I can specifically ask him more about it.
For instance, I read a chapter on Home Networking a few weeks after Yoav had set up a network in our home. So I could think back to what he had gone through and by reading the book I could understand it more in detail. Then I could talk about it with him.
If at all possible, I recommend reading this book while sitting next to a Computer Engineer.
My only complaint about the book is that we don't discuss it in class. We have to read 3-5 dense chapters about radio, telephone and internet before class, then in class we spend 2.5 hours discussion only radio. And the lectures are planned out in advance, so it's not just that we run out of time for the rest.
While I'm getting a lot from the book, I worry that by not discussing it in class, I simply won't retain the information. And I think we have the time to discuss it, if only briefly. If I could suggest a format, I would recommend that the instructor start each class by asking for everyone's thoughts on the reading, which would prompt us to discuss what we'd learned.
posted by Allison at 9:49 AM
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