Good questions First off I guess the important distinction to make is not that there is no relevance or value in emerging technology, but rather there’s no clear consensus – and particularly no hard and fast rules. The relative value of a new tool depends greatly on the context in which it’s used – including how it’s used, the objectives of the people using them and ultimately the outcomes (as well as many other things).

Therefore one of the key areas of importance for research of emerging technology, I think, is to start contributing to the pool of literature on the subject (good, bad or indifferent) through experimentation, use cases and pilots; identification of potential uses; and ultimately evaluation and documentation of the results.

Another important role is that of consultant. The subject matter is very specialised, and most schools, departments and individual staff aren’t resourced to tackle it effectively. Researchers do the trailblazing so most everyone else has a starting reference point.

As far as how I ‘stay on top’ of things, I spend an amazing amount of time (some say too much) plugged into something electronic, read countless blog posts and papers, and experiment with virtually everything I can get my hands on.

Despite all this though there is always the knowledge that I’m only scratching the surface, but such is the value of having such an extensive network. If I don’t come across something, there’s a pretty good chance one of my online colleagues will.

Cheers,

Mike

How do you ‘stay on top’ or do you simply accept that you cannot ever be totally on top given the nature of the beast?

Presently listening to Estimated Prophet by the Dead… is this emerging technology singing to you and I…

“Don’t worry about me, nah nah nah, don’t worry about me, no
And I’m in no hurry, nah nah nah, I know where to go.”

Cheers, John.