Article #8: Second Life (Part 2)

I have started this class research with Second Life, I shall end it with Second Life.  Enough can not be said about this wonderful virtual world that I have become a part of.

Summary:

This article takes a peek at the educational aspect of Second Life (SL).  Whereas businesses left a short time after joining, education in Second Life hasn't left the scene.  As such, land purchase is a common thing amongst Universities such as Harvard, Texas State, and Stanford for educational purposes. Teachers around the globe take advantage of tools in-world and outside (which is brought into SL) to share and utilize inside virtual classrooms.  Educators collaborate and share ideas to which is then shared inside their real life classrooms.  Once members join (aka "residents"), they will find a wide array of anything anyone could possibly imagine that may or may not relate to real life.  Whether it is designing structures and applying it in real world, or teaching a second language to another part of the world, Second Life offers educational opportunities to teach others about anything they want to learn.

Educators offer opportunities to learn to build, create, design, collaborate, communicate, and share their talents which gives others a chance to literally have a second life inside Second Life itself. One such group that teaches multiple facets of anything and everything is Second Life Education (SLED).  It is a group of teachers who share their knowledge and talents with others around the world, so they, the residents may build on their individual knowledge and skills in learning. 
   

My Opinion:

I am a member in the SLED group and have attended meetings and visited lands relating to the educational realm.  I have taught several classes on how to navigate around Second Life.  I have also served as a tourist guide a few times to show newbies around my favorite places in SL.  At one point, I have taught a beginners class in building and moving objects.  It was a wonderful way for me to communicate with many diverse people around the world and to share ideas.  The majority of my experience has been a positive one and there's nothing more than to encourage others out there to try it.  The down side to having classes in SL is the lag (slang term for slowing down the computer).  It can be difficult to rez (build/create) objects when there are too many people in the same sim as I am.  To prevent this from happening, I make sure that my students have instant messenger -- Yahoo or MSN -- so I could communicate with them in case we crash inside the game.  The "crashing" has been a constant thing for years ever since SL opened its doors; there really isn't anything to fix that problem. However, they are improving as time goes on. Another thing I really love is the ability to speak to others in-world.  By simply owning a headset with a microphone, one can easily hear my lectures and/or speak to me (if I choose that feature).  I highly recommend Second Life to educators and educational institutions to teach classes.  I really think it does work and it's probably much worth than having to leave the comfort of your home to attend classes (and find parking!).

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Harrison, Denise (February 18, 2009). Real-Life Teaching in a Virtual World. Campus Technology.  Retrieved from: http://campustechnology.com/articles/2009/02/18/real-life-teaching-in-a-virtual-world.aspx

=This concludes my research for IT 442=

Article #7: Unplugged -- Cable-Free Connections

Summary:

Russell Fortmeyer starts his article off with the positive use of a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) inside a classroom which is typical for 3rd graders. What he found through Robert Bogan, a consultant with Technology Plus, in Aurora, Colorado, installation becomes a huge problem in schools when re-wiring or upgrading internet cables. Many schools have thick walls that make it impossible to for installers to keep wires hidden inside these problematic walls. Many (old) schools have accepted the aesthetic predicament by simply allowing the cables to be physically exposed. Although this is a huge obstacle, what is most important is the accessability that students are able and should receive for their learning. As we live in today’s technological world, that access is seen through many items such as the PDA mentioned above, smart phones, and Blackboard. Russell explains the advantage between each one and the positive uses he has observed inside classrooms. He has also briefly explained the use of laptops that students utilize both at home and school. Technology is moving forward and the constant adjustment inside the schools is an ongoing process to help students easily have access to their educational needs and learning.

My Opinion:

The article seemed a little confusing at first, as I made the assumption that the author spoke mostly about the difficulties of wiring cables. To me, it seems more like an article for IT personnel. However, after reading the entire article, I did find that halfway through, he gave brief explanations of different technological tools that are being used inside the classrooms. This article, in my opinion, will not serve as a great resource when researching advantage and/or disadvantages on technology in a classroom. On the plus side, I did find a very familiar reading in this article: Blackboard. Being a WWU student, this is what we use a lot to keep track of our progress in school, as well as other useful information such as financial aid, class schedule, etc. This article should be approached very carefully as it does not provide complete information on what educators need to know in our world of technology.


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Fortmeyer, Russell (2/2/07).  Education, Unplugged: Schools Make Cable-Free Connections. Edutopia.  Article retrieved from: http://www.edutopia.org/school-wireless-devices-networks

 

Article #6: Preserving Culture, Heritage, and Diversity

Summary:

The author writes about how students relate and connect to their community’s diverse cultures by researching and interviewing different people around the area. She starts off with a lumber community in Libby, Montana that closed down in 2003. In order to preserve its history and culture, Libby High School and its students built a research project for the town which they presented as their final product. As a final closure to the research project and the closing down of the lumber yard, the entire community celebrated. The author provided more examples of other schools using the same idea revolving around heritage, cultures/diversity in their respective communities. One school uses a system, called “ALERT” ( ), which guides the students in the direction that they need to go in order to be able to present it to the community as their final projects. The ideas presented in this article are all about preserving heritage. It gives educators ideas on what to present inside their classrooms when designing a curriculum around diversity.

Opinion:

As a means for preserving a community’s heritage, albeit historical or evolving, I am a firm believer in cultural and diversity awareness. I have done a very similar project in high school when I lived in Hawai’i. After doing my research on my father’s employer, HC&S (Hawai’i Cane & Sugar Co.), I have found out a lot of information about the company like no other. Just the historical aspect, alone, opened my eyes to how our community (and economy) evolved due to HC&S’s contributions through history. I highly recommend the suggestions made in the article that the author spoke about and do more research on planning and designing a curriculum for students surrounding heritage/cultural/diversity awareness. It is a positive learning experience for all.


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Ball, Ashley (8/5/2003). Logging History: Students as Archivists. Edutopia.  Retrieved from:  http://www.edutopia.org/montanaheritage

Article #5: Mistakes in Blogging

Summary:

This particular article, by Ruth Reynard explains the nature of blogging in a point of view meant for educators. Five common mistakes are discussed to help teachers have a better understanding of integrating blogs in their curricula: 1) ineffective contextualization, 2) unclear learning outcomes, 3) misuse of the environment, 4) illusive grading practices, and 5) inadequate time allocation. The author warns the teacher that if not careful,ineffective blogging will hinder a student’s learning and his learning process. Suggestions have been made to curve around problems associated with blogging. For example, by reflecting on an assignment the student will benefit from and enhance his/her knowledge about the subject or unit of concentration. In order for that to happen, the instructor must provide adequate information for the student to which he must reflect on. Along those same lines, analyzing, synthesizing, and forming new ideas become consequential in a student’s learning process.



The author explains how blogging is a one-way process and not essentially an online comment forum. She also warns that if posting a blog is the sole intent to journal one’s thoughts, and comments are provided (by the instructor), then to be extra careful with comments to prevent the student from withdrawing on expanding more on his/her ideas. The importance of rubrics is also explained in this article. This will give the student a clear understanding of what is expected. Giving the students adequate time to allocate his/her ideas supports and encourages critical thinking when blogging.

My Opinion:

What I like about this article is how the author’s careful planning on how a blog should or shouldn’t be gave me a clear idea on how to utilize it in my classroom. I agree that blogging is a wonderful tool for analytical/critical thinking and that journaling gives the instructor an idea of how his/her thought-process works. The author placed its emphasis on the importance of web-journaling inside a classroom. One thing I did not find is statistics. A study should have been done on the benefits of blogging vs. writing (on paper) as they seem to be very similar. Blogging is open to the public and it’s great that students are encouraged to research and analyze their thoughts; but how will blogging (vs. writing) benefit the student in the future? I am a passionate blogger myself, but I have my reasons to do it. One is personal, one is educational, and one is to record my progress and share it with those who might benefit from it. Ruth Reynard should state the importance of blogging and why is it seen by the public. The article is clear-cut, dry, and to the point with her views (and experiences) on blogging inside a classroom.  I would have liked to see some studies made on the effective-ness on educational blogging.

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Reynard, Ruth (10/01/08).  Avoiding the 5 Most Common Mistakes in Using Blogs with Students. Campus Technology.  Retrieved from: http://campustechnology.com/Articles/2008/10/Avoiding-the-5-Most-Common-Mistakes-in-Using-Blogs-with-Students.aspx?Page=1

Article #4: School With Too Much Technology Might Not Be A Good Thing

Summary:   

Washington Post’s Patrick Welsh writes about what he saw T.C. Williams High School in North Virginia (February 10, 2008): LCD screen projector screens, students with laptops, School-pads, Smart-Boards, and school administrators, teachers, and guidance counselors peering into monitors instead of interacting with students. He interviewed teachers who frowned on the idea of integrating [too much] technology inside their classrooms. There is mention of how technology is a hindrance rather than being supportive to the students’ academic welfare. As teachers are glued to their screens, students take advantage by playing games on their laptops rather than staying on task with their instructors – a common occurrence in T.C. High. (2008)


In a most recent article related to T.C. Williams High School’s highly innovative technology, another writer from the Washington Post, Michael Alison Chandler (March 12, 2010) described that the $96 million school did not meet the state’s academic standards as per the No Child Left Behind Act. Therefore, in a desperate effort to save the school, the state provided funds to help increase their standards, which fell below the national average prior to 2008. The belief was that technology paralleled academic success. After funding, T.C Williams High School did not make a significant difference in comparison to schools nationwide who do not have most of the technology. As a result, the Obama Administration decided to intervene by:


“…closing the school and sending its students elsewhere; reopening it as a charter school; firing the principal and at least half the faculty; or submitting to a host of instructional changes that include lengthening the school day or year and expanding professional development…” (March, 2010)

My Opinion:

“There are gadgets and gizmos a plenty…” Those are lyrics from Disney’s The Little Mermaid’s, “Part of Your World,” when Ariel sang about the secret stash she finds afloat on the ocean and keeps them in her hide-away cave under the ocean. While I read the article, the tune played in my head and found it quite amusing as I envisioned myself going through T.C. High School’s hallway. The “gizmos” and “gadgets” in this case are the tremendous amount of techno-devices in the most expensive high school in the nation (as is dubbed by Bernie McCain’s article, ““T.C. Williams High School Singled Out For Poor Performance”.)


The author, a teacher himself, passionately talks about the negative impact technology has on teachers at T.C. William High School in North Virginia. I sensed that Patrick Welsh was a bit shocked as he – a professional educator as well – walked through the halls and found himself in a sea of large screens and hand-held computer devices.


He found that the majority of T.C. teachers – after seeing technology on a daily basis - frown on the idea of the vast amount of computers, laptops, LCD screen projectors, 126 security cameras (in my opinion – a good thing), and innovative smart boards/school pads found everywhere within the school. The way I picture it, it’s almost something you’d see on the Sci-Fi channel, and all that’s missing are holographic computerized images and a time machine. They boast the $96 million project to aid those who do not have accessible technology, hence, the individual laptops EACH student have in every classroom.


What he found – through the instructors -- was that the technology used inside the classrooms seem to take too much out of real teaching time due to problems such as loading times (uploads, downloads, etc.), frozen screens, or waiting for IT to fix the problems. It is very time-consuming. It also seems that the student of T.C. HS, are feeling the effects as well. TS High school, with its innovative and most updated computer technology tops any school in the USA. Another article I found served as a tie-in to Welsh’s article. After a couple of years of research, there was no difference in what technology did for the students.


I do agree with the articles’ research and opinions. Although I am a high believer in bringing in technology inside a classroom, sometimes too much can be overwhelming. I was quite astonished to find that every student has a laptop in each classroom. Although the funds served a low-income school, state administrators failed to see that allowing each (teenage) child waste important learning time (by playing games, etc.) behind their instructor’s back by playing on their laptops. In my opinion, students do not need laptops at their desks.


The tone on both articles negate the hefty amount of computers and “gizmos” inside T.C. High School. Onto looking on the other end of the spectrum, I think that more observations and research needs to be done to give an opinion about “too much” technology inside our public schools; however, because T.C. High School is the only school in the nation that exist with such, there can be no other conclusions to be made. The articles are indeed one-sided and further research might be necessary.


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Chandler, Michael Alison (2010, March 12).  Alexandria's T.C. Williams High Called Poor Performer. Washington Post. Retrieved from http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/11/AR2010031102389_2.html?sid=ST2010031103285

Welsh, Patrick (2008, February 10).  TECHNOLUST: A School That's Too High on Gizmos.  Washington Post.  Retrieved August 01, 2010 from http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/08/AR2008020803271.html