Before I started Full Sail University I did not use any blogging tools such as Facebook, Blogger or Netvibes. Facebook I knew about and was not interested in. Created a Facebook site for myself has been useful when it came time to work as a group. It was a way to collaborate ideas and keep in touch with our project information. Blogger has been interesting in that it allows for freedom to express thoughts openly and view what other people are saying. Netvibes has become one of my favorite sites. It is a web page full of RSS feeds. Instead of having to go search out everyone's pages, blogs and other sites I can add them all into Netvibes to read at my convenience. I can see this being a very handy tool for educators who have many students all with different blogging sites. Another technology I found very helpful was Delicious. Having my bookmarks available anytime and anywhere is amazing. The fact that you can share with others sites that are of interest is a great tool for educators. Blogging about sites such as these can get the word out to those who take the time to read them.
Blogging can accomplish a goal, get the point across and even get something back that was stolen. The story, in the book, Here Comes Everyone, about a cell phone that was left in a taxi cab and picked up by someone else who began using it even after the owner contacted that individual to return the phone, but would not return it is a prime example of how blogging about the incident created such a following that eventually the cell phone was returned and the perpetrator was apprehended. How could something as simple as a cell phone stolen in New York City get so much attention? Blogging. Millions of people are reading blogs and blogging about what they read and it spreads to those who do not blog but hear about it from a blogger.
Blogging is a social phenomenon that has captured the attention of individuals, corporations and educational institutions such that it is almost impossible to avoid. Blogging is like reading the newspaper of the masses. Reading about peoples lives, current events, homework assignments, ideas about anything is a very collaborative way to network. Networking the old fashioned way involved many hours of mingling around clubs, events or shows where people had something in common. Now, with the Internet and blogging, networking is much easier to reach out and "touch" many lives, meet new and interesting people, hear and be heard.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Second Life Bog #7
I have learned a lot in Second Life since the first time that I created an avatar. In the beginning it was very difficult to get around and even more difficult to find people that were willing to help. Once I found a few friends who showed me around some of the free sites I was able to acquire new clothes, animation and body parts that set me apart from the original avatar. I began to teleport to other locations that people invited me to where I learned more about the world around me. Mostly, I found Second Life to be a social event, where people chatted about life in general and gathered to share information. Now I have visited some sites that are more educational and provide insightlful conversations. I joined a group called Education in Second Life where avatars get together and discuss various topics. The topic I joined was Dare to Dream. We sat around on couches and opened up the discussion to anyone. People talked about their hopes and dreams and how it relates to the current world events around them. People coming from various backgrounds and cultures talked openly about their dreams for the world.
I also spent some time in ISTE. I went to an event where they shared inventory and had toys such as cars to play with. The most interesting site was the Discovery Educators Network. In there I played with various games that teach cognition and occupational therapy. There were brain teasers and memory games as well. Sights like this one do offer some education value, however, I find that most places in Second Life are not really all that educational. They are in the sense that you are educating yourself about the site and how to move around it but mostly it is just for socializing.
The Ballet Pixelle Theatre turned out to be a disappointment. The movements were slow and the music was average. The story behind the ballet was interesting to read but the ballet was sub par.
All in all I would not find Second Life to be valuable for elementary, middle or high school educators. I think Second Life is an adult community for socializing and entertainment only.
I also spent some time in ISTE. I went to an event where they shared inventory and had toys such as cars to play with. The most interesting site was the Discovery Educators Network. In there I played with various games that teach cognition and occupational therapy. There were brain teasers and memory games as well. Sights like this one do offer some education value, however, I find that most places in Second Life are not really all that educational. They are in the sense that you are educating yourself about the site and how to move around it but mostly it is just for socializing.
The Ballet Pixelle Theatre turned out to be a disappointment. The movements were slow and the music was average. The story behind the ballet was interesting to read but the ballet was sub par.
All in all I would not find Second Life to be valuable for elementary, middle or high school educators. I think Second Life is an adult community for socializing and entertainment only.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Communities of Practice Blog #6
What defines a community? Wikipedia defines it as a group of interacting organisms sharing an environment. We all belong to a community rather it be a family, a group of friends, school, work or a social web site. Within a community we share information, ideas, hopes and dreams, problems and solutions. Using new medias such as Web 2.0 technologies can create a massive social community that encompasses a world of change. Changing the way people think and learn about the world around them. Changing the way we do business.
In the past working communities collaborated in meeting rooms with pen and paper. Pretty soon email and the internet sites made collaborating with co-workers easier. Today, collaborating in real time has become a social phenomenon. Working communities that have a project deadline using an excel spreadsheet, for example, can work together on the spreadsheet from different parts of the world in real time, seeing immediate changes to the data. "Social networking mapping helps business leaders to understand and harness the dynamics of their own workplace" (Solomon & Schrum, 2007). Mapping out the community within the workplace can lead to a social community that is dynamic and collaborative.
School communities are now a network of instant messaging, blogging, tweeting and meeting friends online. Homework can be found on web sites. Information can be exchanged fast among teachers, students and parents, joining together a community of learning. Technology affects how students communicate and how they learn. Having this technology changes how these students learn. Their community of practice is a social one.
References:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8_D451cHm4
Solomon, G. & Schrum, L. (2007). Web 2.0 new tools, new schools. Washington, DC: International Society for Technology in Education.
In the past working communities collaborated in meeting rooms with pen and paper. Pretty soon email and the internet sites made collaborating with co-workers easier. Today, collaborating in real time has become a social phenomenon. Working communities that have a project deadline using an excel spreadsheet, for example, can work together on the spreadsheet from different parts of the world in real time, seeing immediate changes to the data. "Social networking mapping helps business leaders to understand and harness the dynamics of their own workplace" (Solomon & Schrum, 2007). Mapping out the community within the workplace can lead to a social community that is dynamic and collaborative.
School communities are now a network of instant messaging, blogging, tweeting and meeting friends online. Homework can be found on web sites. Information can be exchanged fast among teachers, students and parents, joining together a community of learning. Technology affects how students communicate and how they learn. Having this technology changes how these students learn. Their community of practice is a social one.
References:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8_D451cHm4
Solomon, G. & Schrum, L. (2007). Web 2.0 new tools, new schools. Washington, DC: International Society for Technology in Education.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Social Media Blog #5
Social Media is taking over the globe. It is making a difference in how we communicate and share information to the world. In doing so, we have changed the world. Social media is about change. Changing how we think and feel about communication with each other and to ourselves. How did we get answers to questions before Google? Google it and find out. Then write a blog about it so others will know. How did we make friends in other countries? Answer. We did not. Social media has made it possible for the internet user to create blogs, podcasts and friends as well as find jobs, network with other colleagues, share information in real time with co-workers. This change is spreading rapidly and there is no stopping it. What does that mean for the future of social media? More. More people sharing, more blogs being read, more web sites being created, more videos and pictures being shared across the universe. This social phenomenon brings on change. Change in ideas, thoughts, actions. How we see things now will be very different two years from now when social media has expanded its followers. Social media continues to grow and change, becoming more accessible and more interesting to the masses. With that will bring new ways of expressing, new ways of learning and worlds uniting. Social media is the future. We are the future. The future is waiting for us to catch it, ride it and explore it.
Social media is networking; using the new media to communicate. A great example of this is a story written by Clay Shirky about a stolen cell phone and one persons tireless efforts to get it back. It began with a web page about the person who stole the phone and would not return it. The web page grew an audience. There were Facebook blogs that began to circulate. Digg, a collaborative news web site wrote about it which attracts millions of readers everyday. Soon, the polilce were involved, the media got involved and millions of readers were blogging about this woman who had stole a cell phone and would not return it. Within ten days of this social networking the police tracked down the woman, arrested her and returned the cell phone. The use of social media can have a huge impact on socialization and how we should act as citizens. Stealing a phone is certainly wrong. Stealing it from a social media buff was definetly wrong. The truth of the matter is that by using this social media to network a desire, belief, idea, crisis or whatever you desire, can get quick results, solve problems and change the world.
References:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSP8xm_gaK4 New Media Douchebags
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZEvnSk9aOE What is Social Media
Shirky, C. (2008). Here comes everybody. New York: The Penguin Group
Social media is networking; using the new media to communicate. A great example of this is a story written by Clay Shirky about a stolen cell phone and one persons tireless efforts to get it back. It began with a web page about the person who stole the phone and would not return it. The web page grew an audience. There were Facebook blogs that began to circulate. Digg, a collaborative news web site wrote about it which attracts millions of readers everyday. Soon, the polilce were involved, the media got involved and millions of readers were blogging about this woman who had stole a cell phone and would not return it. Within ten days of this social networking the police tracked down the woman, arrested her and returned the cell phone. The use of social media can have a huge impact on socialization and how we should act as citizens. Stealing a phone is certainly wrong. Stealing it from a social media buff was definetly wrong. The truth of the matter is that by using this social media to network a desire, belief, idea, crisis or whatever you desire, can get quick results, solve problems and change the world.
References:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSP8xm_gaK4 New Media Douchebags
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZEvnSk9aOE What is Social Media
Shirky, C. (2008). Here comes everybody. New York: The Penguin Group
Sunday, August 9, 2009
21st Century Skills and Lifelong Learning Blog #4
I can think back to when I was a kid going to school there were no computers, cell phones or video games. I remember how excited I was to get the game of Pong at Christmas. We played it for hours, days on end. We were also relieved to finally get a private phone line instead of the party line. When I tell my children that I did not grow up with a cell phone or a computer they look at me like I am a dinosaur and wonder how I could have lived without these things.
My teachers communicated with parents and students via scheduled classroom conferences, notes sent home or a phone call. Today’s teachers can communicate with all that 21st century technology has to offer, all without ever having to meet face to face.
I still find myself utilizing old school tools because that is how my brain is wired. Children growing up in the 21st century with computers, MTV, cell phones, Instant Messaging and Blogging where information is at their fingertips think differently and act differently due to these technologies. What would one do today if you took away everything: cell phone, computer and video games? They would not even know how to think or act.
Different kinds of experiences lead to different brain structures, says Dr. Bruce Perry of Baylor College of Medicine. So how do 20th century teachers teach to 21century learners? They adapt and integrate both past technologies with new technologies. Today’s learners are different and the need to integrate today’s technologies is necessary to get students to listen and be engaged in learning. Reading a book could be considered old technology but is still valid in teaching lessons. Integrating a blogging site to input thoughts about the book and collaborating with team members is new technology that gets students thinking critically in a way they can relate.
Educators need to be flexible and confident with technology and its ability to teach. Teachers need to be lifelong students in order to teach the digital student of today.
Lifelong learning involves being connected to the community. Networking with other teachers, programs and trainings that can provide up-to-date information. Lifelong learning also involves listening to your students and proactively assessing their needs.
References:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zh6yd6wfCgU : Lifelong Learning
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XMa91uf-so : 21st century learning
My teachers communicated with parents and students via scheduled classroom conferences, notes sent home or a phone call. Today’s teachers can communicate with all that 21st century technology has to offer, all without ever having to meet face to face.
I still find myself utilizing old school tools because that is how my brain is wired. Children growing up in the 21st century with computers, MTV, cell phones, Instant Messaging and Blogging where information is at their fingertips think differently and act differently due to these technologies. What would one do today if you took away everything: cell phone, computer and video games? They would not even know how to think or act.
Different kinds of experiences lead to different brain structures, says Dr. Bruce Perry of Baylor College of Medicine. So how do 20th century teachers teach to 21century learners? They adapt and integrate both past technologies with new technologies. Today’s learners are different and the need to integrate today’s technologies is necessary to get students to listen and be engaged in learning. Reading a book could be considered old technology but is still valid in teaching lessons. Integrating a blogging site to input thoughts about the book and collaborating with team members is new technology that gets students thinking critically in a way they can relate.
Educators need to be flexible and confident with technology and its ability to teach. Teachers need to be lifelong students in order to teach the digital student of today.
Lifelong learning involves being connected to the community. Networking with other teachers, programs and trainings that can provide up-to-date information. Lifelong learning also involves listening to your students and proactively assessing their needs.
References:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zh6yd6wfCgU : Lifelong Learning
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XMa91uf-so : 21st century learning
Media Literacy Blog #3
What is media literacy and how can we attain it? Media literacy as defined by Wikipedia is the process of analyzing, evaluating and creating messages in a wide variety of media modes, genres and forms. It uses an inquiry-based instructional model that encourages people to ask questions about what they watch, see, and read. Media literacy education provides tools to help people critically analyze messages to detect propaganda, censorship, and bias in news and public affairs programming (and the reasons for such), and to understand how structural features -- such as media ownership, or its funding model[1] -- affect the information presented. Media literacy aims to enable people to be skillful creators and producers of media messages, both to facilitate an understanding as to the strengths and limitations of each medium, as well as to create independent media. Media literacy is an expanded conceptualization of literacy. By transforming the process of media consumption into an active and critical process, people gain greater awareness of the potential for misrepresentation and manipulation (especially through commercials and public relations techniques), and understand the role of mass media and participatory media in constructing views of reality.
To learn is to acquire information. One hundred twelve million are blogging. That far exceeds the television broadcasting of 1.5 million hours of television. However, learning is more than just aquiring information. It is about discussing information, challenging information, creating information. This can create a sensory overload of information in a social network that is vast. How can we create meaningful connections of acquiring information? Semantics and personal connections are inseperable and integrated. Semantics: a word, concept or idea is not just meaningful for what it is, but for how it relates, connects and contrasts with other words, concepts and ideas. Personal: a person finds their own meaning and significance (their identity) not just in who they are but how they relate, connect and contrast with other people. Integrating of these two connections is simply relating words and ideas into a significant meaning of their own. This brings on learning in a media environment and creates significance to the individual.
Creating significance involves finding a narrative to provide relevance for learning, creating a learning environment that values themselves, and leverages the existing media.
References:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4yApagnr0s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4CV05HyAbM&feature=channel
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Media_literacy
To learn is to acquire information. One hundred twelve million are blogging. That far exceeds the television broadcasting of 1.5 million hours of television. However, learning is more than just aquiring information. It is about discussing information, challenging information, creating information. This can create a sensory overload of information in a social network that is vast. How can we create meaningful connections of acquiring information? Semantics and personal connections are inseperable and integrated. Semantics: a word, concept or idea is not just meaningful for what it is, but for how it relates, connects and contrasts with other words, concepts and ideas. Personal: a person finds their own meaning and significance (their identity) not just in who they are but how they relate, connect and contrast with other people. Integrating of these two connections is simply relating words and ideas into a significant meaning of their own. This brings on learning in a media environment and creates significance to the individual.
Creating significance involves finding a narrative to provide relevance for learning, creating a learning environment that values themselves, and leverages the existing media.
References:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4yApagnr0s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4CV05HyAbM&feature=channel
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Media_literacy
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Learning 2.0 Blog #2
If incorporating Web 2.0 to teach and learn, how can one go about being a 21st Century educator or learner when many of the tools are from the past and many educators a resistant to change? In the video from BJ Nesbitt, "A Vision of Students Today" (2007) he states that students will be engaging technologies in a collaborative, inquire-based learning environment with teachers who are willing and able to use technology's power to assist them in transforming knowledge and skills into products, solutions and new information. Learning by doing is the key to a successful 21st century digital learner and doing what they love such as gaming, email, instant messaging, blogging and podcasts can become an effective tool in teaching. The willing and able teachers will need the necessary tools and the ability to use them in order to produce a positive learning environment. Web 2.0 can give these willing teachers those tools for today's success.
How effective are today's curriculum? Many students will tell you they are bored and disengaged in activities. The very tools that are used by kids today such as ipods, cell phones for instant messaging, and internet for blogging are banned from many schools, however they are the very tools that teach them how to communicate, read, write and be creative. In order to enrich and engage the student, teachers are going to have to adopt this new age collaboration, Web 2.0. and paying attention to what students are using, doing and playing with can lead teachers to incorporate the same technologies for learning in the classroom.
Teaching through technology can engage the student, tap into their creative mind and refresh how to think and feel about education and learning. Teachers and parents can join forces with the new generation of technology and education to expand the student’s creative side and provide more control over their future learning goals. The use of Web 2.0 technologies such as wiki's, blogs, podcasts and others can evoke a learn by doing that teach how to think, create, evaluate. Digital learning needs to be engaged in the classroom as well as in the marketplace. The future of technology is not static nor will it wait for those to catch up to it. Developing virtual classrooms where students can collaborate on projects will stimulate the digital learner. Incorporating technology such as Web 2.0 is essential to keeping up with future trends.
References:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8S07YGkSrug
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVr5pokOVG0
How effective are today's curriculum? Many students will tell you they are bored and disengaged in activities. The very tools that are used by kids today such as ipods, cell phones for instant messaging, and internet for blogging are banned from many schools, however they are the very tools that teach them how to communicate, read, write and be creative. In order to enrich and engage the student, teachers are going to have to adopt this new age collaboration, Web 2.0. and paying attention to what students are using, doing and playing with can lead teachers to incorporate the same technologies for learning in the classroom.
Teaching through technology can engage the student, tap into their creative mind and refresh how to think and feel about education and learning. Teachers and parents can join forces with the new generation of technology and education to expand the student’s creative side and provide more control over their future learning goals. The use of Web 2.0 technologies such as wiki's, blogs, podcasts and others can evoke a learn by doing that teach how to think, create, evaluate. Digital learning needs to be engaged in the classroom as well as in the marketplace. The future of technology is not static nor will it wait for those to catch up to it. Developing virtual classrooms where students can collaborate on projects will stimulate the digital learner. Incorporating technology such as Web 2.0 is essential to keeping up with future trends.
References:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8S07YGkSrug
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVr5pokOVG0
Web 2.0 Blog #1
The World Wide Web has changed how people accessed information and communicate across the globe. The information highway has exploded with endless pages of material at your fingertips. A "second phase" for the World Wide Web is known as Web 2.0 that is a key element to 21st century learning. Web 2.0 is a social phenomenon where organized and categorized content is both innovative and intuitive. Moving away from static content to a more do-it-yourself, dynamic, open environment has companies, educational facilities and individuals taking the stage. Ideas flow freely and take on life, making innovation available for the masses.
With so much availability to share information, what will happen to the paying world and what you own? New ways of securing privacy and copyrighting will emerge. Technology will no longer be for the elite, as developers become the norm. Systems and software will have to find new ways of inventing themselves.
What will the future hold for Web 2.0? Expansion into the classrooms, where learning environments become a platform for participation. RSS feeds, facebook, wiki's are just to name a few where students, teachers and parents can all participate in learning. Expansion in to the corporate world where employees can work together on projects in ways never done before, collaborate ideas that produce ground breaking technologies and build opportunities that expand the futures of business practices.
Changes occur everyday and for the Internet, changes are occurring rapidly. Many of the young children of today find Web 2.0 a common place to hang out, research and play. Older adults who did not have experience in the computer generation are struggling to keep up with the changing world. As Web 2.0 emerges and works its way into the main stream, companies and schools will need to work out how to use this technology to their advantages by teaching and exposing this technological phenomenon. There is no stopping the advances of technology and the increasing popularity of Web 2.0 therefore learning to adopt to the innovation will be essential.
References:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsa5ZTRJQ5w
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qiP79vYsfbo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BAXvFdMBWw&feature=related
With so much availability to share information, what will happen to the paying world and what you own? New ways of securing privacy and copyrighting will emerge. Technology will no longer be for the elite, as developers become the norm. Systems and software will have to find new ways of inventing themselves.
What will the future hold for Web 2.0? Expansion into the classrooms, where learning environments become a platform for participation. RSS feeds, facebook, wiki's are just to name a few where students, teachers and parents can all participate in learning. Expansion in to the corporate world where employees can work together on projects in ways never done before, collaborate ideas that produce ground breaking technologies and build opportunities that expand the futures of business practices.
Changes occur everyday and for the Internet, changes are occurring rapidly. Many of the young children of today find Web 2.0 a common place to hang out, research and play. Older adults who did not have experience in the computer generation are struggling to keep up with the changing world. As Web 2.0 emerges and works its way into the main stream, companies and schools will need to work out how to use this technology to their advantages by teaching and exposing this technological phenomenon. There is no stopping the advances of technology and the increasing popularity of Web 2.0 therefore learning to adopt to the innovation will be essential.
References:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsa5ZTRJQ5w
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qiP79vYsfbo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BAXvFdMBWw&feature=related
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