Week 14: Using games for Teaching and Learning

During the week of Thanksgiving our class did not meet physically. However, our professor posted many articles for us to learn the given material. Media portrays video games as a negative for children. In the article, What Kids Learn Thats Positive from Playing Video Games, it defends proper use of video gaming. For instance, most games are not violent, less creative restrictiveness, and more positive messages exist. Video games can be a fundamental part of learning if used correctly. Video games allow children to learn about life and the children don't even know they are learning. Online games allows children to compare the level of fairness to what they've experienced prior. Also, the person playing the game learns strategies for winning and working with other players during multiplayer games. The video game world teaches real life thinking.

Games, whether on the computer or a game system, are essential learning systems. Games on Funbrain.com all correlate to subjects that are taught in school. This reinforces subject material through a fun experience. Games that challenge children academically while their having fun makes it a lot easier for children to enjoy the material. When teaching, computer class often has fun learning games for the students to play. Being able to have computer games that help with learning available in class for free moments lets the children have a fun recess while learning.

This image is from amamasrant.com. I chose this particular image because it displays an example of a game that is also a learning tool. I use to sell this game through an educational company and truly believe that parents can spark their children's interest in learning by simply making it fun. JumpStart World is just one example of a learning based game, but it is extremely popular amongst schools and parents.

Week 13: Distance Education and Virtual Schooling

During week 13 in EME2040, we discussed Distance Education and Virtual Schooling. Distance education is a field of education thats key focus is on the pedagogy and andragogy, as well as technology to deliver education to students who are not actually on site. The University of London was the first university to offer distance education. In 2006, Sloan Consortium reported that 96% of the largest colleges in the United States offered online courses. Some advantages of distance learning are: flexibility, work at your own pace, and further adult education; some disadvantages are: costly, rapid change, must be highly motivated, and the lack of personal impact instructors can make. Virtual schooling is an online based public distance school that links administrators, teachers, and students. There is up to 200 students per class. Students and their teachers communicate over the phone through a monthly required parent phone call. There are many of the same advantages and disadvantages for virtual school as there is for distance education. Overall, the online education system works well for some and not so well for others.

Distance education and virtual schooling relate directly to my chosen career field, education. These are both great opportunities not only for the students, but for teaching as well. Many teachers go from physically being in the classroom to teaching a virtual school course. This allows for teachers to do things through the internet which allows them to work at home. This could be beneficial when having children. It is also a great opportunity to extend advancement to students who are seeking more than what their high schools offer.

This article was taken from www.eschoolnews.com. It is an article on "Why some students prefer virtual schooling." I chose this because I think that virtual schooling receives a lot of negative feedback from both sides, but this article explains students point of view on specific online education courses.

Week 11: Open Source Software

Open source software is common softwares found for free to download, legally, on the internet. Open source initiative, the open source website, tells us that open source software has free distribution, maintains the integrity of the author, and doesn't discriminate. One good example of an open source software is "OpenOffice", which is the downloadable version of Office. Gimp and Audacity are also examples of open source software. Professor Wayer showed the class how to find and evaluate the reliability of open source products. Our class posted their individual opinions of open source software on a forum. Many views were mixed feelings. Open source software carries its obvious benefit, cost efficiency, and its main downfall, the fear of viruses. Either way, technology and the world wide web are changing how software is used and obtained today.

Open source software, although I'm not 100% sure that I am comfortable with it, is a great resource for the field of education. In lower income school districts and even low-budget schools, the ability for teachers to obtain advanced software for free to share with students is a plus. This allows these students to stay up to date on technology even when their schools cannot afford the products. Office, for instance, can be expensive to put on every computer. However, this capability makes learning more versatile and computer education possible.

This video is from youtube.com. This glimpse from Inside Secrets does a great describing different software programs available for free on the web. I found it very interesting the "Firefox" is open source software. I feel that a lot of people may not have known that. Executive editor, Tom Merritt, shows how open source software works and gives a few more examples of the programs.

Week 10: Tech Tools for Critical Thinking

During Week 10 in class, we were introduced to online mind-mapping applications. These are great for any field of study and put traditional brainstorming or concept mapping into the 21st century. Some sites that can be used to make these mind maps are: Webspiration, Bubbl.us, and Gliffy.

We also learned about learning theories. Learning theories describe how people and animals learn and help us to understand how learning happens. There are three learning theories: behaviorism, cognitivism, and constructivism. Behaviorism is when the internal process of learning can be observed through ones behavior. The cause and effect method is the focus of this theory. Classical conditioning and operant conditioning are two ways to change and control behavior. Cognitivism is the idea of "the brain as a computer" and focuses on the internal processes rather than behavior. Constructivism is based on three principles: people gain knowledge through experiences, people have unique versions of knowledge, and meaningful activities help facilitate one-of-a-kind learning experiences. Although I gave descriptions of each learning theory, they were described more in depth.

As an elementary education major, both ideas can be used in my field. Mind mapping has always been a favorite for teachers to get their students mind rolling and organized. By having applications free and available online for concept-maps, this can be used in classrooms to get students not online thinking, but improving their computer skills as well. Children's minds need to be challenged and lessons taught need to be able to be interchangeable for all learning styles. As far as the information on learning theories, they too, were helpful. This information lets me see positive and negative ways to change children's behavior and how to create one-of-a-kind learning experiences.

This video is from youtube.com. I chose this video because it explains two learning theories, constructivism and operant conditioning. This helps the visual learners understand the ideas that are explained above.

Week 9: Social Tools & Cloud Computing

In class this week we discussed Social Tools and Cloud Computing. Social tools are internet based networking. Some examples would be Facebook, Youtube, Wikis, Twitter, and Podcasting. Cloud computing is services offered online for more convenience, especially in the business world, but in all fields as well. It includes things like Google Docs and Delicious. The class as a whole discussed our opinions on these technological advances in a forum. Most agree that social tools and networking are beneficial, yet feel that people may or are currently, loosing touch with normal social skills. Cloud computing was a hit with how helpful the sites can be. Not only do they work well for people with busy schedules, but they are easy enough for everyone to understand.

In the field of Education, Cloud Computing and Social tools would be extremely beneficial. Cloud computing, like Google Docs for example, would make teacher planning run smoothly. This would also allow students to become more efficient with computers and allow group projects to use another angle. Social tools, like Youtube, would allow me as the teacher to find specific videos to show to the class that relates to the material the class is working on. Real life views of historical landmarks would give the students a better grasp of what their learning. A fun change in the everyday routine keeps the students interested.

This image is a concept map with all of the many online social tools listed. This is a good way to see a list of available sites out there and potentially go check some out. I feel that this could be really helpful!

This picture was found at www.istrategylabs.com.

Concept Map: Social Tools in Education

Week 7 & 8: Digital Storytelling & Podcasting

Week 7 was all about Digital Storytelling. This was all new to me. It is the practice of using computer tools to tell stories. There are many websites on the internet that are designed specially for this. There are also programs on your computer to make storytelling fun as well. iMovie, Powerpoint, and Animoto are just a few examples of resources available. The stories can have video clips, music, pictures, etc.

Podcasting is a recent phenomenon. Week 8 was all about this new and exciting way of communicating. Podcasting is where one can make a sound-based video that includes images, music, voice overs, etc. A lot of college professors podcast their lectures. Podcasting is downloadable so that it can be played through ipods or phones on the go. Garageband on MAC computers has a podcast application. I find this to be the most difficult and confusing technology that we've learned thus far. But, everything starts out difficult then gets easy.

Both digital storytelling and podcasting can be used in the field of education to expand learning techniques. Digital storytelling is a great way to get the children interacting with the internet. Many things are going technology based these days, so to get an early start on the computer is always a benefit. Digital storytelling is also nice for explaining sequence based lessons. History, science, and math all have sequences which can unfold in a story. Podcasting is a fun way to involve parents into the learning atmosphere. Activities that are done in class can be posted for all to hear. Also, any classroom updates can be sent via podcast for all parents to download and understand. Spelling words, for example, can be read aloud into a microphone and parents can let their children listen to them to become more familiar with the tense. This helps detour for typical writing activities.

I found Podcasting to be rather difficult. I feel like the video provided below gives a short, easy explanation on how to go about creating a podcast. It is very helpful!

Week 5 and 6: Media & Visual Literacy

In class during Week 5 and 6 we discussed a lot on Visual Literacy. Photoshop is one example of how something can be changed to how you want it. We watched a slideshow of pictures before and after being edited. There were drastic differences that completely changed the outlook of the picture. Also, we learned that food industries incorporate specific colors, etc. into their logos so that people relate a company with its logo. The importance of visual effects and images is to attract attention to the desired image. We each individually created a visual literacy project that incorporated 5 varying changes to an image.

In the field of education, visual literacy is extremely important. People as a whole are becoming more visually stimulated. In education, it helps to incorporate all 3 learning styles into a lesson plan for all types of learners. Visual aspects helps children to correlate, mentally, how things relate to one another. Thus, extending the knowledge into their long term memory. Photographs allows for students to become visually aware of what is going on in todays world. It is easier to grasp a concept when it is presented in more than one way.

The image below provides an outline of how visual literacy relates to children in a classroom and it's importance. I find that this is directly related to my major and what was covered in class.

Week 4: Copyright Law

Week 4: Copyright Law, Plagiarism, Ethical Law

This week in class and a little bit last week we discussed Copyright law and plagiarism. On our own time we viewed presentations that gave in depth explanations on what copyright is and how they apply to educators. The best rule of thumb is to not use anything that is not yours without asking for permission. Copyright protects the unauthorized reproduction, alteration, and display. If something has as copyright and one of the above is occurs, a fine up to 100,000 can be charged. Creative Commons, a new kind of copyright, provides protection for authors work while allowing them to share their work still. Plagiarism is simply the act of using things as your own instead of being given permission to use them.

This correlates with the field of education in many ways. Educators often use things from different sources to teach the children. A teacher must make sure that he or she has permission to copy pages from books and contain the author's name on things copied. Teachers must be sure to have valid permission on copyright items online as well. If a historical document is showed on the history channel and one does not record the entire viewing, it is actually illegal. It is important that I know and understand copyright laws to make sure I do not get penalized for using sources without permission.

This website has a lot of information for teachers, specifically, on Copyright laws and getting permission to use someone else's work. I found this to be a very useful website.

Gator Football?...Yes says I!

Got to love Gator football! :)

We need GATOR BAIT...Any Volunteers?

Week 3: Web Technology (Web 2.0)

Web 2.0 sites such as Facebook, MySpace, and Delicious are all examples of online communication. As discussed, sites that fall under this are thought of as "web applications which facilitate interactive information sharing, interoperability, user-entered design, and collaboration on the World Wide Web." Although the old World Wide Web was not referred to as Web 1.0, it has recently been applied to it. Web 2.0 applications contains social networking sites, photo sharing, journals, blogs, church websites, anything you can name. These applications make browsing the internet and uploading things onto the internet a lot more easy.

Web 2.0 sites and applications would be extremely useful in education. Students would be able to search and use many of the applications for homework assignments. If I were to work in a middle school setting, I enjoy this blogging process, which would be helpful for feedback and the learning experience in the classroom. The site StupeFlix, a video creation website, could easily be incorporated into a group project making learning more exciting and engaging!

The picture above is a picture that has words that explains the advancement of Web 2.0 compared to Web 1.0. This helps to distinguish why the upgrade occurred in the first place and how it is improved.

Week 2: Educational Technology

During Week 2 we discussed the basics of MAC OSX. The class watched tutorials to familiarize non-MAC owners with the dock feature in comparison to the normal Windows setup. The orientation included the layout of the dock, key controls, and main key differences on the MAC opposed to Windows. We also learned technology basics. We learned the bit, byte, kilobyte, megabyte, and gigabyte capacity which is something I did not know before. To finish the lesson off, we took a quiz took an online quiz and a quiz in class to test our knowledge.

In the education field, understand Apple computers is important since technology is exploding. Technological advances are flourishing in the school system today. It will benefit to know and understand both types of computer systems since the type of system depends on the school. Making presentations for lessons for the students will be a lot easier if I can have knowledge of the equipment I will be using. The field of technology is an ever-changing phenomenon.

This video titled "Window's Users Guide to MAC OSX Leopard" from Youtube is rather long; however, I feel like it is a good explanation for Window's users to switch to MAC applications. It helped me to understand my Macbook when I purchased it. Also, it further extends the basics we learned in class.

Test Blog...

in class and testing out my blog :)