We can learn a lot from our new president, Mr. Barack Obama.
If you haven't heard, when English prime minister, Gordon Brown, visited the United States, he gave President Obama truly wonderful gifts. In return, Mr. Obama gave Mr. Brown a collection of American classics on DVD.
Endgadget is reporting that Mr. Brown can't watch the videos because the region code is set for the U.S. and won't play in English DVD players.
How does this affect the future of video? Lets look the most recent video (blog, video) offering from Mr. Obama.
No one in the entire world will have a problem playing this video, as long as they have an internet connection. The video is available in .mp3, .mp4, or .mp4 with subtitles. You can even download the transcript.
What would you rather have? A collection of DVDs that you might not be able to play or an online video that you have access to anywhere and anytime. Me, I already have an internet connection and a computer. Makes more sense to have the online version.
In Teach Paperless fashion, we should be pushing to rid the world of CDs, DVDs, and all the plastic and paper that goes with them. We should also be pushing for computers and internet access for all. That, however, is a completely different blog.
If you haven't heard, when English prime minister, Gordon Brown, visited the United States, he gave President Obama truly wonderful gifts. In return, Mr. Obama gave Mr. Brown a collection of American classics on DVD.
Endgadget is reporting that Mr. Brown can't watch the videos because the region code is set for the U.S. and won't play in English DVD players.
How does this affect the future of video? Lets look the most recent video (blog, video) offering from Mr. Obama.
No one in the entire world will have a problem playing this video, as long as they have an internet connection. The video is available in .mp3, .mp4, or .mp4 with subtitles. You can even download the transcript.
What would you rather have? A collection of DVDs that you might not be able to play or an online video that you have access to anywhere and anytime. Me, I already have an internet connection and a computer. Makes more sense to have the online version.
In Teach Paperless fashion, we should be pushing to rid the world of CDs, DVDs, and all the plastic and paper that goes with them. We should also be pushing for computers and internet access for all. That, however, is a completely different blog.
You are completely correct. Why do we hold onto DVDs and CDs? DVD players and DVDs will soon be the outdated record players and records for the the next generation. They will ask, "What is a DVD?"
ReplyDeleteIt is amazing that until recently our world could not share a movie from one continent to another without buying a new device, the WWW has really taken away this inconvenience and truly created a globally community capable of sharing information in all forms. What an awesome accomplishment! Thank you for your insightful and well-written blog post.
Hi Tara, thank you for the kind words.
ReplyDeleteI love the new global-ness of the world, especially the possibilities for teaching and learning.