Students and Social Networking

What is Social Networking?

• When students walk out of the classroom doors, class usually does not end right then and there. The collaboration, interaction and socialization continues. Students interact with each other and with their teachers via online tools known as “social networking tools”. A social networking site is typically one where users set up an account with a web page and/or blog and can post photos, text and other content. They can create profiles and links to other community members through common interests. They post blogs and respond to each other. They are out there using social book marking, folksonomy, class wikis, creating podcasts and vodcasts and putting them online, using social imaging and many other tools used to encourage motivation and excitement in their ultimate quest for learning.

Why Social Networking?

• Social networking sites have taken us, educators, outside of our comfort zone. Like all other new technologies, we need to explore how we can continue to educate students on how to use these sites wisely. Blocking them from our school networks and encouraging our students not to use them has certainly brought a shift to our thinking. With social networking, students have their own online areas to work with, including digital portfolios, as well as community areas.

Pros and Cons

• According to Graham Attwell on using Personal Learning Environments, he believes the danger is that the education system will become irrelevant to many peoples learning needs. It will be seen as an imposition. Young people will turn to social spaces for communication and developing ideas. Access to quality learning provision for adults will be dependent on companies and private training providers.
  

The most compelling argument in favor of the social networking sites is that these websites allow students to shape their own learning spaces, to form and join communities and to create, consume, remix, and share material. Plus, students love them!


http://123elearning.blogspot.com/2006/09/social-networking-in-classroom.html

The Virtual Classroom

The Virtual Classroom: Virtual Reality in Training and Education

Are group choice this article that Jennifer posted.

http://www.scienceclarified.com/scitech/Virtual-Reality/The-Virtual-Classroom-Virtual-Reality-in-Training-and-Education.html


Here are our individual summaries and are general opinions.


Cassie's
In the United States and other developed countries, virtual reality is entering young people's classrooms as well. A 1997 report to the National Science Foundation stated that "VR improves learning . . . by providing the learners with new, direct experiences of phenomena they could not have experienced before, either in direct interaction with the real world or using other technologies." Virtual reality is one of many forms of computer technology that schools have begun to use often in the last decade. The U.S. Department of Education reported in late 2003 that about 90 percent of people aged five to seventeen use computers, mostly at school but also in libraries or at home. Students gather information from the World Wide Web for reports or use e-mail and chat rooms to work on projects with other students in distant parts of the country or the world. Sometimes they post the finished projects on Web sites of their own. Some students take complete classes online from "virtual schools."

Examples of school virtual reality programs are:
1.Touch the Sky-Touch the Universe. It uses an interactive 3-D model of the solar system to help students learn about astronomy.
2.Sunrise VR, teaches architecture "in its [natural] element-earth, sea, and sky."
3.Virtual Reality Education for Assisted Learning - helps students with severe hearing impairment learn life skills such as how to cross a street safely

Students can also create their own virtual reality projects with the Virtual Reality Development Lab, a kit of hardware, software, and instructions sold by Digital Technology Frontier in Phoenix, Arizona.

Judith's
As with so many ideas in education technology, Virtual Classrooms have benefits and drawbacks. The article, "The Virtual Classroom: Virtual Reality in Training and Education," sums it up the same way as so many other articles that discuss the pros and cons of alternate teaching techniques. It suggests that methods used in traditional classrooms with a live teacher not be replaced by virtual technology, but rather used in a balanced combination for total benefit to the student. I agree.

The "Do-It-Yourself VR" paragraph sounds similar to our VFT project in that it includes text, photos, audio, and video elements. And it can be posted to the Web, just like we are doing for our project.


Jennifer's
Virtual reality is taking the country to an entirely new level of learning in many different areas. It is being used in education, training and even our military.

Virtual reality in education is offering students the opportunity to experience different times and places that they could not have done before. It is being used to help students with learning impairments such as teaching social skills to students with autism.

Doctors are now able to experience the entire human body from all angles and even "fly through" organs.

Our military is using virtual reality to stimulate actual battle zones teaching soldiers how to think and act quickly under extreme pressure.

There are some experts that disagree with the use of virtual reality. They argue that appropriate behavior in different settings can not be taught when you are using the computer and that virtual reality can never take the place of face to face classroom instruction.


Kimberly's
Virtual reality began as a training tool for pilots, and flight simulators are still among the most popular virtual reality training programs.

Virtual reality is the best way to teach workers how to do jobs that are complex, dangerous, or both.

Virtual reality training programs are not yet widespread because they are very expensive to develop them. But they can save companies money in the long run by cutting down on the amount of costs in buying real equipment.

An interesting fact that I learned about VR is that some psychiatrists are using virtual reality to learn more about the bizarre worlds inside their patients' minds.


Paige's
Video games are not the only military training tools that use virtual reality. The U.S. armed forces spends about $4 billion a year on training equipment and programs involving simulations, and many of these feature some degree of VR. Simulations let commanders plan battles and try out different combat tactics, maneuvering platoons of virtual soldiers, vehicles, and weapons over thousands of square miles of terrain.

Virtual reality began as a training tool for pilots, and flight simulators are still among the most popular virtual reality training programs. Whether designed for military or commercial pilots, flight simulators greatly reduce the amount of time a pilot must spend in the air during training. Like the military and the air industry, large businesses are starting to see VR as the best way to teach workers how to do jobs that are complex, dangerous, or both. VR training programs are not yet widespread because they are expensive to develop, but they can save companies money in the long run by cutting down on the amount of costly real equipment, such as heavy machinery, that must be used in training. Simulation programs also reduce risk to machines, the environment, and even human lives.

Doctors, ranging from future physicians still in medical school to experienced surgeons, also do part of their learning in virtual reality. Rather than studying anatomy by cutting up corpses of animals or of people who have donated their bodies to science, students at some medical schools now use virtual reality programs based on pictures from CT (computerized tomography), MRI (magnetic resonance imaging), and other medical imaging technology.

Virtual reality is very commonly used in schools as well. The U.S. Department of Education reported in late 2003 that about 90 percent of people aged five to seventeen use computers, mostly at school but also in libraries or at home. Students gather information from the World Wide Web for reports or use e-mail and chat rooms to work on projects with other students in distant parts of the country or the world. Sometimes they post the finished projects on Web sites of their own. Some students even take complete classes online from "virtual schools."


Myrianette's
Virtual Reality is so interesting. At first it was made for aircraft carriers to help them train.

Some parents believe that video games destroy their children's brains as my parents did, which is why we were raised without playing video games. But what if they were told that video games could actually help. The military academy, West Point takes video games and modifies them to train them for those that are going into combat. Video games are actually a good thing. The actual military takes video games and modifies them to give them extra training. They are able to recognize the enemy and get rid of them.

It is the same with education. Many medical schools are using virtual reality to get more advanced while in medical school. Students are able to perform surgery or just look at a heart or within the body. It's pretty cool!

Well, why can't elementary schools or highschools use them? Kids are able to see what happened and be able to learn from the teacher and the video game. I think its a way to better education:"Schools can seldom afford fully immersive virtual reality, but they often use programs that at least provide three-dimensional graphics and interactivity. These programs run on standard computers. Some require free download able programs or inexpensive gear such as shutter glasses, but many need no additional software or equipment."

What is really cool too. Is that students just like us can create our own virtual reality game or world. Some VR programs also help students with special needs. I know my brothers could have used this in high school. They would have excel just like the rest of us in school. They both have learning disability. It takes them three times longer to learn something that takes us five minutes to comprehend. They would have definitely benefited from this.

VR programs can be download able and can be bought. The military spends over four billion dollars a year for VR programs to train. And schools can afford fully packaged VR programs, although not as good as the militar's, but it is definitely better than sitting down and listening to something a student could be interested in by actually experiencing it.

Virtual Reality

"Virtual Reality In Schools: The Ultimate Educational Technology"

The article that our group choose for this week is:

http://thejournal.com/articles/14132_3

Below are our groups summaries, reflections, and opinions of the article that we picked this week.



Jennifer Wrote:

I really like the quote from the 2nd page. "I hear and I forget. I see and I understand. I do and I remember." Virtual reality is no longer a thing of the future. It is here now mearly waiting for individual teachers and administrators to embrace it. Teachers are now given the full opportunity to become facilitators of learning instead of being heavily relied on to lecture and provide answers through traditional teaching methods such as textbooks. Student based learning is what needs to be encouraged in order for students to have a crystal clear understanding of concepts. Virtual reality labs can be set up in schools and used by students in the same manner as a library or computer lab is used today. Offering students scheduled time slots that they are able to utilize the lab to engage in further exploration of topics being learned. Issues involving the implementation of virtual reality, such as cost are no longer a burden. Virtual reality programs are now offered that can be used on any PC. Right now the only issue is showing teachers and administrators the benefits of incorporating such astounding student based learning outlets.


Paige Wrote:

Virtual reality is the ultimate technology used in schools today. Using virtual reality as an educational tool allows students to explore their schoolwork immersed in virtual reality, gaining a deeper understanding of their subjects. For the first time, virtual reality has been used in a non-research, public-school environment. During the summer of 1998, summer program students at the Coles Elementary School and the Ph'enix High School in Chicago used virtual reality to supplement their traditional learning. The objective of the pilot program was to discern the optimal ways virtual reality could be integrated into an educational curriculum, and to see how students and teachers alike reacted to the new technology. Traditional teaching methods have often not been effective in the goal of seizing these students' attention. Traditional methods often relegate students to a passive role in the classroom. new teaching methods and technologies must be pioneered to relieve teachers of the growing burden placed upon them by today's classroom and its changing role in society. In our video game-crazed society, new ways must be found to engage students. Traditional styles of education cannot compete with the excitement of a video game. Attention spans are markedly different from that of previous generations. Virtual reality programs, with lush graphical landscapes and textbooks full of information, surround the student, engaging and exciting them like no other video game.


Cassie Wrote:

Using virtual reality as an educational tool conjures up visions of a Jetsons-like futuristic scenario, students exploring their schoolwork immersed in virtual reality, gaining a deeper understanding of their subjects. Harnessing the awesome power of virtual reality for educational uses will permanently change the nature and course of how children learn. No longer will children sit idly by in classrooms - the opportunity is here to provide them with an unprecedented chance to explore, engage, and visualize schoolwork like never before. The beauty of it is that they will actually want to. Traditional styles of education cannot compete with the excitement of a video game. Attention spans (and neurological pathways) are markedly different from that of previous generations. Virtual reality programs, with lush graphical landscapes and textbooks full of information, surround the student, engaging and exciting them like no other video game. In virtual reality, students have the ability to push two molecules together with their own hands, with the perspective of being the size of a molecule. There is simply no other way to engage students as virtual reality can. Virtual reality is a cutting-edge technology that allows students to step through the computer screen into a three-dimensional, interactive environment. By putting on a special headset and glove, it places students inside of a simulated environment that really looks and feels like the real world. Through virtual reality, we're convinced we're in another world experiencing some event, and doing things that don't physically exist. Examples of how to use VR in the classroom: 1. A physics class experiments with a simulated virtual reality lab where they control the properties of objects, and observe them from any angle. 2. A social studies class uses virtual reality to travel back in time into the Battle of 1812. 3. A Spanish class visits the ancient Mayan ruins of Chichen Itza. Benefits of VR 1.Using virtual reality in schools greatly eases the burden of teachers. 2.Teachers become learning facilitators as students explore and learn in virtual reality. 3.As opposed to merely supplying answers, teachers guide students' self-discovery and assist in building ideas. 4.Virtual reality is a giant step towards "perfect learning" - a learning environment that focuses on the student rather than placing burdens on teachers. 5.It creates a learning environment where students explore, discover and make decisions, while teachers assist and guide. 6.From a teacher's perspective, virtual reality creates a structured environment that focuses students on specific learning objectives, similar to good teaching. 7.Because the students are immersed in the virtual reality learning environment with a headset, there are no distractions to learning. 8.Students are totally focused with no unruly behavior. 9.Tied to the curriculum, virtual reality is an educational aid without peer. 10.It can be integrated into schools in a number of ways. Modularly designed programs work as a stand alone educational tool, as a classroom supplement or as a study aid. In an initial stage of integration, as with the summer program, virtual reality is best used as a supplement to existing coursework, allowing instructors to integrate the programs into learning objectives. The biology class where students are learning cell structure is supplemented by a trip to the virtual reality lab where students enter and explore a human cell.


Myrianette wrote:

"Using virtual reality as an educational tool conjures up visions of a Jetsons-like futuristic scenario, students exploring their schoolwork immersed in virtual reality, gaining a deeper understanding of their subjects." I agree that virtual reality is as good as any teacher wants it to be. No longer will he/she have to describe the scene and hope students understand, but they can actually watch it. Students love this! They learn by doing it and being engaged into the lesson. Virtual Reality does not replace the teacher because students will not learn everything from Virtual Reality. I agree with the article when it says that this generation's attention span is not as it was with the past generation. We were not able to know this type of technology because it did not exist, so we learned by imagination and our own presumptions, but here students can see what might have happened and learn from it. I was a student in the tradition instruction method and trust me, it didn't work out so well. I graduated with honors and made it to college, but it doesn't mean that I learned much about history because it was all lectures and most of us would go to sleep about a half hour later. The two companies did a study and some 98% of students would rather go back to virtual reality than to video games. This means that students are interested in learning, and we have found a way for almost all to actually learn and grasp what the subject is about. "Virtual reality educates, clarifies, and reinforces because subject matter makes immediate sense to students. For example, students have a difficult time grasping our Constitutional lawmaking process. In virtual reality, the process makes immediate sense as students were able to pick up a pending Bill (with their hands) outside of the virtual House of Representatives, and take it over to the Senate for a vote. Combined with traditional teaching and guidance, virtual reality makes a subject crystal clear." Here is a benefits of Virtual Reality programs: "Using virtual reality in schools greatly eases the burden of teachers. Teachers become learning facilitators as students explore and learn in virtual reality. As opposed to merely supplying answers, teachers guide students' self-discovery and assist in building ideas. Virtual reality is a giant step towards "perfect learning" - a learning environment that focuses on the student rather than placing burdens on teachers. It creates a learning environment where students explore, discover and make decisions, while teachers assist and guide."


Judy wrote:

"Virtual Reality In Schools" was an interesting article. I found myself remembering back to the 90's when I first heard about virtual reality. At that time, virtual reality was applied to video games. Kids and adults alike were fascinated with this new technology. I tried it one time where I wore a pair of big goggle-like glasses and had a controller in my hand. I truly felt like I was in the virtual world. The article had several interesting facts: "98% of [students] would rather return to the virtual worlds than play video games." I found that surprising. "Five years ago [1994], a $200,000 computer was needed to run a sophisticated virtual reality program." That much money was absolutely out of reach for me and my friends. "Neurological pathways are markedly different from that of previous generations." I wonder why. Without doing the research, I guess it's because so many of us have grown up playing video games that we're creating new and different neurological connections. The article defined perfect learning as a "learning environment that focuses on the student rather than placing burdens on teachers." From an educational perspective, virtual reality is used as a supplement to traditional teaching and guidance by making the lesson "crystal clear." As a prospective teacher, I like that virtual reality will allow me to facilitate the learning process for my students in a fun and engaging way.


Kim wrote:

I love in this article how they relate the "Jetsons-like futuristic scenario", to Virtual Reality. Being able to gain a "deeper understanding" of the subjects is very helpful thanks to Virtual Reality. a quote that stuck out in my mind was "Because the students are immersed in the virtual reality learning environment with a headset, there are no distractions to learning." You can relate any school subject whether it be Spainsh, social studies, or physics virtual reality can be brought into a classroom at any give time. I wish that when i was in school that this was used because virtual reailty seems like a great thing to further educate a student.

Streaming Video

"If an image is worth one thousand words, think of what a video displaying thirty images a second can say." Video streaming is a very powerful tool which can enhance the learning environment both in and out of the classroom. . Video streaming is accessible at any computer at any given time. "I like the video streaming idea because growing up in the DVD times I can’t tell you how many times a teacher of mine has put a DVD on to play and it is scratched. This is a big deal because if a DVD is too scratched you are unable to play it and that could throw off a teacher’s whole lesson plan for that day" said Kimberly.

There were questions raised about streaming videos like "Do they bring viruses?" The answer is "no" because streaming videos doesn't place files on the computer and a virus needs to be embedded in a file. Another question asked was why does it buffer a lot. The answer is to download the latest version of Real Player.

The reasons students are so fond of video streaming is because they can access the videos from home to study for exams, review information that they may have not clearly understood or watch the video to build on what was presented in class.

Streaming videos comes with benefits

Here are the benefits of streaming videos in total:
1. the player is free.
2. Videos can be seen anywhere an internet connection is available.
3. Substantial collections of video and audio are easily accessible.
4. Requires very little system resources
5. Links to videos can be placed in Web Pages or e-mails.
6. Since video is never entirely on students hard drive the student cannot save and share it illegally.
7. Helps Students who have trouble visualizing concepts and struggle to grasp information that is presented either verbally or in writing.
8. Since all students get the video from the same source, it is assured that they have the latest version.
9. Real Player with Sure Stream automatically adjusts for best quality depending on your internet speed.
10. Students can review information at their leisure

Here are the benefits for teachers:
1. Able to target many different learning styles in one lesson plan.
2. Enable students to retrieve information presented to them at an early time in order to offer learning to the full potential.
3. it’s free!

Here are the benefits for students:
1. being able to access information at their own time and pace.
2. Being offered a lesson in different formats.

So in this case everyone wins!

Podcasting In The Classroom

How can students get their voice heard, report school news, and promote learning using technology?

Link to our podcasting article
http://userwww.sfsu.edu/~nshelley/

Below are excerpts from each group member’s summary on podcasting.

Excerpt from Paul Salvatore
When first beginning it would be smart to give the students more time then will be allowed in the future to get the student acclimated with all the programs and just getting the general idea of it all. Maybe even give them a partner so they can learn from each other and after a few times of that cut them loose and let them have fun with getting their voice out to the masses.

Excerpt from Paige Knorr
The positive aspects of podcasting include:

Students learn the technical skills needed to record a high-quality
podcast;
Students brainstorm; Students complete pre-production, production,
and post-production of their Podcast;
Students ultimately learn project management skills, Podcasting technical skills, and actively use the Podcast as a medium for positive student expression.

Excerpt from Myrianette Figueroa
Podcasts gives teachers many benefits of teaching their students how to create a podcast and the benefits of teaching them that they have a voice that people want to hear, that they have opinions.

Podcasts can be about any subject in any grade level. First graders can talk about the alphabet, while eleventh graders can talk about the importance of democracy. Students decide what subjects they want to talk about and as they go they learn an abundant amount of relevant information.

This is really an advantage for students as well as teachers. Students learn their material and teachers teach how they create and are satisfied with the students outcome. Its really so impressive to what technology can do.

Excerpt from Cassie Sanderson
Some teachers are using Podcasting as an alternative to student produced newspapers and television shows. Others are using the medium to reproduce lessons for absent students or for students to present oral presentations of reports and assignments.

Before reading this article I really didn't know what Podcast were. I had seen them on iTunes when using my iPod, but I did not know they were something that could be used in the classroom. This was a great article that Erin found and it taught me a lot about Podcast's and how they relate to the classroom!

Excerpt from Judy Hintz
The article by Nathan Shelley titled "Podcasting in the Classroom," summarizes podcasting as a method of communicating by using audio files and making them available to anyone who has access to the Internet. The podcast meets a NETS requirement for California.

Creating a podcast is easy. All that's required is a microphone, Garageband software (or similar), an RSS feeder, web space on the Internet, and iTunes (or similar).

Excerpt from Kimberly Davis
There are many good aspects on podcasting. Students can learn many things while working with podcasting such as:

Students learn the technical skills needed to record a high-quality
podcast.
Students brainstorm, and design the themes and content of their
Podcast with teacher guidance.
Students complete pre-production, production, and post-production of their Podcast.
Students ultimately learn project management skills, Podcasting technical skills, and actively use the Podcast as a medium for positive student expression.

How to keep employee training and education programs well-timed and available is a big issue for corporate America today. “Training is no good if it's not current," stresses Jonathan Graf, senior engineer in the AMR Training Group, World Tutor Division, Dallas, which trains American Airlines employees. This particular reason is why Graff and others in the corporate world as well as the education world are exploring the idea of individual multimedia programs with internet technology for web-based employee training and educational learning.

Today, companies are taking three approaches to Internet-based training, says Peder Jacobsen, a partner and vice president with Tobin Erdmann & Jacobsen in Minneapolis, a communications company that creates custom training programs for the Fortune 500. The first approach is a CD-ROM program running an individual’s desktop but retrieved through a Web browser. The second approach is internet-only training programs. The third approach is a combination of the two, which involves placing vibrant data on the server and high-bandwidth material on CD-ROM. Users log on as they normally would, but information is visibly recovered from both the CD and the server. While the future of Web-based training looks bright, it is in an embryonic stage says Ellen Julian, manager for IT training and education research at International Data Corp., Framingham, Mass.

The positive aspects of using internet based training comes from how effective the transmission of information is for the future employees and students. How much are they learning and how easy is it for them to manipulate the media in order to offer further learning? It is also a cost effective way to train a number of people at the same time.

The negative sides that come with using only the CD-ROM is that it does not have the ability to be constantly updated. Unless users are given a new CD the information will always stay the same. This could be bad for kids in school and university students because having some old information could be unreliable, it might have been proven wrong, or it might have changed just a bit. If employers and teachers are using the internet, it is also feared that important company information can be seen by other viewers that are not involved.


http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0SMG/is_n9_v16/ai_18615234

Wikis

Wikis

The outstanding article our group chose was submitted by Paul, and is entitled “For Teachers New to Wikis” by Joe Moxley, MC Morgan, Matt Barton, and Donna Hanak (link is provided at the end of the article). What are wikis? Wikis are free online writing places. Wiki authors do not claim ownership of the text they write because the writing in wikis can be revised and changed anytime. Each time the text is changed in a wiki a new version is saved. This article in itself is written like a Wiki would be, in that it had four contributors who came together and collaborated to get all the content they wanted in. One thing to note about wikis is you can also go back and see previous versions of the wiki, allowing the new author and readers to see the writing process. Credit for the work is given as a community and not as individuals. Wikis are designed specifically to be writing space and should be used as such.

If you’re wondering when you become a teacher how you could use wikis to facilitate teaching, writing development, and learning, then this is the article for you!

Some examples given from the article are:

• Provide a space for free writing


• Debate course topics, including assigned readings


• Share resources


• Maintain a journal of work performed on group projects


• Discuss curricular and instructional innovations

Another important aspect of our article was that it listed where teachers can find appropriate writing spaces for their students.

The four places the article suggests are:

• Writing Wiki


• Wikipedia


• Wiki Books


• Teaching Wiki

When it comes to the question of how to introduce wikis to your students our article is there again to save the day!

Examples of how to do so are:

• Introducing the students first to the rules for writing wikis.


• Develop a system for recording the efforts and accomplishments of individuals.


• Talk with the students about the conversations they will establish for co-authoring texts.


• Have students write a StyleGuide for their wiki. (An example of a StyleGuide is linked to our article).


• Ask students to play particular roles.

Like most new technology that teachers introduce there are always obstacles they can expect.

Obstacles that our article lists are:

• Students are sometimes reluctant to contribute because they lack confidence in their writing.


• Some teachers and students are uncomfortable about the advantages and disadvantages of public writing.


• Sometimes students don’t like having to learn how to use wikis.
  The use of visuals and design options are limited.


• Sometimes work is inadvertently deleted or intentionally hacked, and the editing process becomes a hassle.


• Finally, wikis conflict with traditional assumptions about authorship and intellectual property.

That concludes the summary of our article and now here are some of our group’s thoughts and opinions about wikis.

• Having students revise a Wikipedia page would be a good exercise in editing, spelling, grammar, and readability.


• For those students whose writing skills need work, this exercise allows them to read the work of their peers and learn from it.


• A class essay provides an opportunity for students to work collaboratively.


• Wikis allow teachers to see improvements the student has made over a period of time.


• Through the use of wikis students learn what bibliographies are and know what plagiarism looks like.


• Wiki pages are good to help teaching especially for an English teacher because it gives students a reason to write and have a place to show off their work.


• It inspires and makes students revise their work because the students know it can be viewed by their peers. This makes them work harder because they don’t want to look uneducated.


• One good thing about wikis is you do not have to use HTML to use one! This makes it especially easy to use into the classroom.


• Wikis would allow students to be creative, and hopefully encourage them to exercise their writing skills to their best ability.

http://writingwiki.org/default.aspx/WritingWiki/For%20Teachers%20New%20to%20Wikis.html