Within the past four or five years, learning and productivity in the classroom have been enhanced by the introduction of the pen drive. Also known as travel drives, jump drives, flash drives, or thumb drives, these archival devices appeared in the year 2000 as portable memories and have been increasing in capacity and capability (while steadily dropping in price to become very affordable) ever since. They have replaced floppy disks as the archival standard for computers, and shown an ease of use not associated with recordable compact disks.
Some of the challenges that face the educational system concerning pen drives are slowly being resolved. The issues of cost, storage capacity, and the finite number of read/write cycles per unit in are being answered with cheaper, higher capacity, more durable and dependable devices. Still, students and teachers have difficulty with the drives. Although fairly durable, they are still subjected to very rough treatment at the hands of students. Many pen drives are damaged by having protective coverings removed or having the USB connecter bent, while others are lost or forgotten because of there size. Often, after continued use, the contact points of the USB wear thin and have to be “coaxed” into connecting with a computer. There are times when these devices just stop working (fail) due to a combination of situations. In these instances, the information contained on the drive is lost to the owner unless it has been backed-up in a different location.
Pen drives have allowed educators and students a greater degree of freedom as they share information, take notes, and communicate with each other. The concern over lost, altered, or plagiarized documents has been reduced significantly by the introduction of these memory devices. Further, documents produced by and for educators can now be easily transported and shared without the need to make and work with multiple paper copies. The
se devices are also becoming more closely integrated with the computers themselves, thus increasing their capabilities and functionality. With the current Windows Vista OS and the soon-to-be marketed Windows 7 (which should be what Vista was advertised to be prior to its release), a feature called “Ready-Boost” allows some flash drives to augment OS memory.Improvements to these archival devices are ongoing. One area that needs improvement is the factor of location or recovery of lost or misplaced drives. For a modest fee, a locator could be installed in the drive to provide the owner a means of location. Or perhaps the straps that come with some drives could be lengthened so that a drive could remain around the neck of the user as it is being used. Storing the added cord and drive in a shirt or pants pocket would be a small trade-off for securing documents important to the owner. As to the wearing thin of contacts, a replacement USB connector could be fashioned and available for purchase, to be attached to the original unit after removal of the old USB connector. Further, lost information could be retrieved by an application that would allow the owner to access the memory portion of the drive directly and draw off the desired information.
Having just finished writing and re-reading this information, I am reminded of what I have been telling students for years. That is, if humans can envision it, eventually humans can make it a reality. Reality check – it’s 2009 AD and I’m still waiting for my flying car that was promised to me by the year 2000AD.
For further information on this topic, visit:
http://www.ezinearticles.com/?A-Summary-of-USB-Drives,-History,-Benefits-and-Uses&id=2683103
John
ReplyDeleteYou bring up some interesting downsides to this technology. I do agree with you that all in all, its benefits far outweigh the risks. Oh yes, I am sure there are many of us whose first hard drive was leading edge at 10 mgs! The thought of a "locator" is a good thought and yet almost comical. It reminds me of losing your keys.
I do have one question. I am not clear on how these drives have helped reduce plagiarism. Would you please expand?
Also, yes, we chose the same colors, I think, because it is the easiest to read. Also, your flying car took a backseat (pun intended) to blackberries and pen drives. In other words, the focus now is smaller, not bigger, I guess.
Koh
John, I remember when I first saw and heard about this wonderful technology. I just wish they would settle on one name! It makes it difficult to train staff when no one is sure if we’re talking about the same thing. I agree with you that the small size of flash drives often leads to them being left in computers, and that an improvement should be made. I liked your idea of extending the cord to them so that they’re always attached to people, but that might get tangly and in the way. I was thinking that it might be handy if they were attached to those retractable spools that people sometimes put their keys on. I believe that the greater degree of freedom you attributed to them is one of the advantages of mobility made possible by cell phones, PDAs, laptop computers, notebook computers, and flash drives. The common feature is mobility, and I believe this is the most significant feature of the early 21st century innovations. Do you think there is something else, different from or in addition to this feature, that characterizes innovations of the past ten years?
ReplyDeletePS, I’ve been wanting a flying car ever since I watched The Jetsons on Saturday mornings in the 70’s!
Lisa
Lisa and John
ReplyDeleteI am not committed to the thought that mobility is a good thing. Yes it has its advantages, but times like these I feel that the technology industry is dictating the quality of our lives. I do not necessarily think that working on my laptop at Panera Bread while eating is a healthy lifestyle. I was in a meeting with a gal and her phone tinged every two minutes as she received emails. She was polite enough not to look at the emails, but in a normal situation, people at my work our constantly looking at their phones, while driving, while eating, while walking down the hall. Is that a healthy lifestyle? Do the long term benefits outweigh the risks?
Koh
Koh,
ReplyDeleteI think people need to learn safe, healthy behaviors and good manners. It's back to what we discussed before--education. I always turn off the sound on my phone in meetings, performances, or even meeting with a friend. It drives me nuts when people actually talk on cell phones in movies and other public places where they may disturb people. I think reading or sending texts while driving is stupid and I find it hard to believe that people actually do it!
I do wish my Blackberry had not been broken last Friday when I was sitting, parked with the engine off, on the freeway for two hours because there was a huge accident and they shut the freeway down. I really missed being able to read emails, send texts, and play Breakout! :-)
It will be a good one to get the maximum freedom for transferring data and get the portability. Pendrives has got the immense popularity because of its user friendly usage.
ReplyDeleteakku