Convergence!

            Convergence is the old and new media interacting together in complex ways.  There are five types of convergence identified by Henry Jenkins and they are as follows:  Economic Convergence; Organic Convergence; Cultural Convergence; Global Convergence; and Technological Convergence.  The human is still the center of all technology but with newer inventions coming out, Convergence is the answer to it all.

            For example, taking pictures with a cell phone and surfing the web on a television are two of the most common examples of convergence.  Today’s high school students have never known a world where the Internet didn’t exist.  Such a cultural change can cause a generation gap between those who grew up with the media and those who didn’t.  Convergence has also made multi-tasking much easier.

            When I think of the word Convergence, I think of my International Marketing class where we recently talked about the topic of 3D printers.  There has been a prototype of an electric car that was made with a 3D printer.  The parts of the car include its front and back panels, door panels, bumper systems, side skirts, wheel arches and lamp masks, along with some small interior items that took a total of 44 hours to print.  The final version of this car has been reported to have a top speed of 62 miles an hour and is tagged around $10,000 - $12,550.

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=daioWlkH7ZI)

            Convergence is changing the way people live in this society and will continue to grow and change our future for the better.  My predictions for the future will be that 3D printers will be able to soon print our lunches and dinner with the 

A Reaction To Ender's Game

            I consider myself a “Gamer” and when it comes to choosing between reading a book and watching the movie, I usually end up picking the movie mostly because I am a visual learner and am able to understand more by watching the movie.  If there were a third option to play the game and be able to fully learn the material through it then I would choose that one.  The novel Ender’s Game was a novel that actually interested me because of the fact that the story talked about gaming.

            In this novel, a child genius named Ender is particularly chosen by international military-forces to save the world from destruction.  He also has a brother and sister who were being watched by the military but they didn’t “have the characteristic traits” to help save the world from the buggers like Ender did.  The reason I enjoyed reading this book was because Ender wasn’t born fully ready for the job, but was able to be trained into the person who could complete the job.  He was put in different circumstances where he was forced to do things against his will and even though he knew he was doing the wrong thing and hesitated to get it done, he ended up making the decision that had to be done and continued to learn.  This showed that Ender had the traits to become a leader and that’s exactly where he was positioned.  After Ender finishes battle school, he is transferred to Command School where he is successful against the buggers and won the battle.

            This novel brings out the aspect that virtual games are getting closer and closer to being able to mimic real life situations and make you feel like you (Your body) are in control of the character instead of just using a controller.  I am truly excited to see what future technology will be introduced in the gaming field and how life will change for children growing up playing those games.