"I believe, Siri has the potential to change some corner stones in society and that Siri or software like Siri will have a huge impact on education and how people learn. Or better, what people are going to learn at all."
The latest iPhone, the iPhone 4S, comes not with a new design, but with new software. Siri, an electronic personal assistant, is voice activated and is linked into several databases allowing her to answer any question you might throw her way.
This article poses the question of what Siri and similar developments might mean for education and the way in which people learn. The exact impact at this point can only be imagined, but we read here a number of possibilities about the effects of the new software.
Siri's voice activation software is far superior to past incarnations which required the use of specified voice commands, whereas Siri will respond to natural questions. This ease of use obviously will have implications for how widespread the use of the software will be and if it lives up to the hype, users will be provided quickly and easily with the answers they desire.
In terms of education, shat implications does such software have for the role of teachers? Are students still going to ask their teachers questions if they can ask a hand-held device? And one that has more answers at that! As young people grow up in a culture of technology, many feel more comfortable in dealing with technology than with people, so for many a “conversation” with Siri may be preferable to asking questions of their friends, family and teachers. The skill sets that learners will have may also diminish as the use of the software increases.
But Siri raises perhaps more concerning questions about where the information is coming from, from which sources does she take her information and who is in control of these. If great numbers of people are relying on the same device to receive the majority of their information, concerns regarding censorship and control arise and it could become problematic to say the least.
Karen F commented
ReplyDeleteI am very interested in Siri’s capabilities as I have ordered an iPhone 4S. I have high hopes for Siri. Although I think I am looking forward more to trying something new and novel, not so much by what it can do for me.
In regards to the comment about the role of teachers, I have students who ask questions of hand-held devices and they often still need clarification from me to understand what information has been given. I had a student demonstrate a voice activation program on another phone to send a text message to someone. Approximately 40% of what was spoken was interpreted by the program incorrectly, so I don’t think that I am out of a job just yet. Accents and slang will be an issue for students. The more that people use the program the better it will be.
Learning is not just about getting answers to questions – there does have to be critical thinking, processing and understanding. There is only so much that a device can tell students without context, background information and full knowledge of the topic. I am also interested in where the information is going to come from to answer people’s questions. Will it be accurate and meaningful?
Karen D commented:
ReplyDeleteI agree Louise, we do need to question where the information is coming from. We also need to question what slant and bias it has, whether it is relevant, current and factual and whether it is telling the whole story or just a small part of it. We, as educators need to ask this, but even more importantly we need to teach our students these skills of critical thinking. In our information saturated world I believe this is one of the most important skills that we can endeavour to foster in our students to enable them to make good choices, identify points of view and distinguish between opinion and fact. Analytical and independent thinking through high level questioning of what they view and hear is such a vital skill to learn.
I will look forward to seeing what Siri brings to the world. It sort of reminds me of JARVIS, the computer assistant in The Iron Man series. Come to think of it maybe it would be good to have a Siri/ Jarvis who will remind me about birthdays, what I need at the shop, what time my appointments are and to do my assignments! Come to think of it, pretty soon I won't have to think or remember anything....I will just have to ask questions and respond to instructions!Hmmmmm...... who will be the robot then?