The On Demand revolution has impacted society and myself in
ways only imagined just a few short years ago. Education, access to information,
entertainment, and social interaction has changed significantly. In fact, much
of what we do each day is directly tied to On Demand media.
For example, internet access to TV, movies, books and social
media video has allowed me to read the best books and watch my favorite shows,
movies, and videos on my own time, not on broadcast time. I can then better
schedule my homework, volunteer and leadership activates.
My classroom is enhanced by On Demand media. The content is
much richer than just a text book. The teacher can access up-to-date
information and we can virtually travel to anywhere in the world. Classrooms
can even talk live to astronauts in the space station. Some students can even
attend school using on-line classes. Studies indicate that classroom learning is
enhanced with On Demand media due to the fact that many students of my
generation learn best through visuals and audio.
On Demand media also lets me search and find more and better information for my school reports. My parents for example, had to spend
hours in the county and school libraries in order to find just a few reference
sources for their school reports. Today I can search the internet and the whole
world is available for me to research. I can search such noble institutions as
the Library of Congress, The British Museum and the Louvre, or more obscure
sites such as A Taste of France for recipes for my French classes.
However, we need to be careful. One wrong click (intentional
or otherwise) can send us to dangerous sites as well. Content filtering helps,
but no filter is full proof. People need to beware and be careful of what media
they might be using.
I believe that On Demand media will move more to streaming media rather than to DVR and other personally recorded media. I
don't think people want to have more devices, but instead more access to
content. Commercials can be annoying, but they are the sponsor of the content and
that allows for more and varied content. That in turn allows me to better pick
and choose what I want to see and when I want to see it.
In fact, On Demand media has already allowed me to enhance
my future college education. I can research colleges and universities like
never before. I can watch their videos, see maps, view on-line testimonials,
research costs and apply for scholarships to help fund my education.
On-Demand media is opening up whole new worlds to me!
