TECHNOLOGY IN 2024BY: BROOKE BILLINGSLEY AND BROOKE O’MARA

WHERE WE HAVE COME IN THE PAST TEN YEARS• Wired to wireless • Dial up to high speed• Cell phones to smartphones • Desktops to laptops and tablets• Plug ins to Bluetooth connection

WHERE WE ARE GOING IN THE NEXT TEN YEARS• Wearable Technology • Education• GPS• Voice Command Technology

GLASS TECHNOLOGY

• Glass technology is just now beginning to get its big break with what is known as Google Glasses. This form of glass technology is wearable. Through the glasses you are able to send texts and make phone calls via voice command. You can check the latest news, take photos, play music, and even surf the web. This glass technology will eventually expand to so much more than just in eye glasses. • This Glass technology is going to expand to being used all over peoples homes, cars,

and work places. People (mostly women) can have this in their homes to display their daily calendar, news, and messages on their mirror as they get ready. This glass technology could even go so far as to be put into windows as an alarm to wake up and expose the sunlight. I have no doubt Glass technology is going to go viral in 2024, and we will see this being used everywhere.

USES AND GRATIFICATIONS THEORY

• Uses and Gratifications is an approach that finds the needs that are fulfilled by each different form of technology. Essentially it pinpoints why people would use a new type of technology.• In a society that depends on multi-tasking to be able to

accomplish all that is necessary in a day, glass technology is one way to meet this need. The use of this technology is to increase speed and convenience of completing tasks which will lead to greater productivity.

VOICE COMMAND TECHNOLOGY • Voice Communication Technology has been around for a short while now. Starting out this

was common when you dial a 1-800 number and hope the voice command understands your request.

• More commonly, we now use voice command technology with smart devices that allow us to send texts, make phone calls, and search the web with voice command technology.

• In 2024 not much of anything will need to be done manually. Voice command technology will be in full swing and will be used for things like telling your alarm clock when to wake you up, your lights when to turn on and off, and even commanding your car when to start. We will be able to tell our Televisions to turn on or to record our favorite shows rather than trying to explain to our parents how to use the DVR.

DIFFUSIONS OF INNOVATION THEORY• The Diffusion of Innovations Theory focuses on the ways that new

communication technologies will be communicated to others in order to allow for the trend to catch on.• Just as each new technological innovation has caught on in the past, so would

voice command technology. One way that information of this innovation would be spread would be through interpersonal channels. The use of voice command in iPhones has already allowed members of society to see the benefits of this technology, being able to witness first-hand that this new innovation is compatible with other technologies that they use. • Other ways that members of society would find out about voice command

technology would be social media and advertisements.

EDUCATION

• In 2024 our classrooms will be completely transformed to the virtual world. I think that traveling will become even less of a barrier, making it much more accessible for individuals to get an education no matter where they are geographically. All one will have to do is simply log onto the internet to participate in your class- much like this course operates now. If the face-to-face classroom setting is a must, the teacher may even teach the class from a projector or hologram-like display while being able to see the class through a video on her end of the connection. • Textbooks will also be completely paperless and accessed digitally. There are

many courses now that have e-textbooks available for use and I think this will continue to grow, eventually weeding out paper books completely.

THE HEALTHCARE INDUSTRY• The Healthcare field has made tremendous strides through the use of technology in the

past few years and is going to continue to grow. • Currently it is extremely hard for people in certain parts of the country and world to

receive the proper treatments that they need to live a healthy and happy life. Where they live may restrict the options of treatment and care that they can receive for their specific problems. • In 2024 this will no longer be a problem. This barrier will be broken with the use of video

technology. Doctors will be able to assess and diagnose a patient with the help of nurses. • This barrier will also be broken by the use of robotics. This basically means that a Doctor

will be able to control a robot and tell the robot what to do from a computer somewhere on the other side of the world.

SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY/ SOCIAL COGNITIVE THEORY• Social learning theory/social cognitive theory explains how people learn by

watching and modeling the actions of someone else.• The innovative technologies that are created in order to improve education

and the healthcare industry both use this theory. • In the case of education, students would learn from their professor. Even

though the professor would no longer be teaching them face-to-face, they could observe the lessons and learn from videos, projections, or holograms. • Healthcare would also implement this theory by allowing people from

across the world to mimic the actions of doctors who are better trained to deal with the situation at hand.

CONCLUSION

• Technology has made great strides in recent years, and it will continue to do so in the future. What we see as a new innovation may be completely replaced by improved, more efficient forms as new forms of technology are discovered.• With the use of these theories and several others, we will

continue to create modern communication technologies that allow us to meet the needs of our ever-changing society.

BIBLIOGRAPHY • Grant, August E., and Jennifer Harman. Meadows. Communication Technology

Update and Fundamentals. Amsterdam: Focal/Elsevier, 2014. Print.• http://

www.business2community.com/tech-gadgets/10-places-google-glass-banned-0675931• http://

www.appletreetraining.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/Virtual-Live-Border.jpg• http://

www.scoop.it/t/san-jose-auto-body-shop-dent-repair/p/1945200575/2012/06/12/gm-honda-toyota-confirm-interest-in-apple-s-siri-voice-command-technology• http://techfanas.com/blog/all-you-need-to-know-about-voice-recognition-and-siri/• http://wiredcosmos.com/2012/04/23/robotic-telesurgery-in-space/