In reading Rani's blog I found many points I agreed with. Like Rani, I liked Fotobabble and feel it is a quick and easy way to connect with those participating in a class. Rani suggests instructors use Fotobabble as a way for instructors to help establish guidelines and community. Humanizing the online course gives the learner a sense of others in the course and may keep students from feeling isolated (DuCharme-Hansen & Dupin-Bryant 2005).
The concern over too many passwords, profiles, and privacy is one I share and also mentioned it in my review. With the online environment learners can be uncountable with not knowing who is reading their work and what they think about it. Rani touched on the lurker which makes many students uncomfortable. In an article by A. Bishop (2002) the author discussed being inhibited by not knowing everyone in the class and who was reading her work. I experienced the same feelings when working for IBM. During a project we wanted the Distinguished Engineers to blog about specific topics. There was great reluctance. We we explored the issues behind the reluctance, much of it was based around not knowing who would read it and what their thoughts would be. There is a level of discomfort in putting yourself out there.
The one area I had a little difference of opinion was with wikis. For very small groups it can be a good collaborative technology. If the group is large, they can be hard to follow. Depending on the wiki technology used, sers can also remove others postings and actually delete the entire wiki.
Thanks Rani for a thoughtful post.
Saturday, September 22, 2012
Monday, September 17, 2012
Second Life - a technology for online education?
Learning in 3D - Second Life? I am not so sure of the value or if it is something I would engage my students in. I have worked with Second Life, about 5 or 6 years ago. It wasn't one of my more successful projects and I was glad when it was over. I couldn't understand why so many of my peers raved about it. I was curious and interested to catch up with Second Life when I saw it on our agenda. I was curious how it was being used and I wanted to see what had changed.
I was disappointed to read that a major barrier still remained - learning how to use and navigate in Second Life (Warburton 2009). This brought back an uncomfortable memory of the SVP of IBM Learning not being able to dress her avatar and showing looking very different than those attending the event. Even the best preparation doesn't always work. If a learning course is relatively short - like a semester - I would not use Second Life. The course time is too valuable to spend it learning how to use a technology. However, I could understand investing in the time to set it up and learn it if it were going to be a core technology and used all the time over the length of a program (a few years). As cited in our reading, the virtual world does allow for simultaneous participation and could be set up to look like the classroom. (Warburton 2009). This could appeal to certain types of learners and possibly those learners that also enjoy simulated virtual games.
The social aspect of Second Life seems to be the most compelling. If a user engages in Second Life they are in effect walking (or flying) into a space like a coffee shop, open pavilion, or some type of gathering space and will come in contact with others. It was noted in the study by Petrakou that the initial contact in the space was centered around how to use the application - how to walk, talk, move, etc. For me, this can be distracting and taking the student away from what they are there to learn (unless the lesson is to learn Second Life).
I am looking forward to reading what others post, I would like to learn how others feel it can be used effectively
I was disappointed to read that a major barrier still remained - learning how to use and navigate in Second Life (Warburton 2009). This brought back an uncomfortable memory of the SVP of IBM Learning not being able to dress her avatar and showing looking very different than those attending the event. Even the best preparation doesn't always work. If a learning course is relatively short - like a semester - I would not use Second Life. The course time is too valuable to spend it learning how to use a technology. However, I could understand investing in the time to set it up and learn it if it were going to be a core technology and used all the time over the length of a program (a few years). As cited in our reading, the virtual world does allow for simultaneous participation and could be set up to look like the classroom. (Warburton 2009). This could appeal to certain types of learners and possibly those learners that also enjoy simulated virtual games.
The social aspect of Second Life seems to be the most compelling. If a user engages in Second Life they are in effect walking (or flying) into a space like a coffee shop, open pavilion, or some type of gathering space and will come in contact with others. It was noted in the study by Petrakou that the initial contact in the space was centered around how to use the application - how to walk, talk, move, etc. For me, this can be distracting and taking the student away from what they are there to learn (unless the lesson is to learn Second Life).
I am looking forward to reading what others post, I would like to learn how others feel it can be used effectively
My Overview of the Tutorials
One of my personal goals for this course & the certificate program is to learn the technologies that can be used for online learning. My experience with virtual & online environments is extensive - but in a corporate learning environment and with the technologies owned by that company. To complete this assignment I started with writing a list of the technologies we had been introduced to so far - I couldn't believe how long the list was and how many on the list were new to me. Through these assignments as I have learned/re-learned the technologies, I asked myself "how could I use this within an online learning course or community?" I don't have an answer for all of them and am looking forward to reading what others think. I have learned a lot by reading the reflections & personal experiences from those in the class. The community for this course does help me learn :-)
For me, some of the initial "aha" moments were;
As I reflect on how these technologies could help with online teaching, I think about selecting a few and using them well, keep the focus on the course objectives, not how to learn the technology. A few ways I could see using some of the technologies for online teaching effectiveness begin with assisting students with getting started quickly and on the right path. As cited in several of the articles we read & discussed, the instructor being present is a key factor for successful online courses (Boettcher & Conrad 2010. p 53-54). Using a simple technology, like Fotobabble, to create a welcome message for students as they arrive in their virtual classroom is simple but can be very effective and lets the students know the instructor is present. Right away the student will know they are in the right place (ie - right classroom), they will hear the instructors voice, hear how to pronounce the instructors name, and see a picture. It is easy for the instructor to do and can quickly create a connection with the students.
Depending on the purpose of the course, I would match my technology to the work the students are expected to do. If group work is needed, I would consider a wiki for small group work. A wiki can become cumbersome, hard to follow, and depending on the wiki application, can be deleted. For those reasons I would keep it to a small group assignment. The ability to edit and collaborate in a wiki can be very useful. For any required work, I would limit technology to those in a closed or secure environment. There are many students with valid reasons for not wanting or not able to have their information/work in an open & social environment (like this one). Just like traditional classrooms don't post assignments on a board in the dining hall - I think the privacy aspect is easy to lose sight of in an online environment.
I would recommend a set of "core tools" that a student might find helpful throughout the course, like Jing, a bookmark application, and maybe an online journal. It is important to provide the student with the "must use" technology and the recommended ones that they might find helpful.
For me, some of the initial "aha" moments were;
- those technologies that I am familiar with that I didn't like before, like Second Life, I still don't like
- I reconnected with Jing and got caught up on what was new since the last time I used it
- how different the wikis & blogs were compared to what I was use to
As I reflect on how these technologies could help with online teaching, I think about selecting a few and using them well, keep the focus on the course objectives, not how to learn the technology. A few ways I could see using some of the technologies for online teaching effectiveness begin with assisting students with getting started quickly and on the right path. As cited in several of the articles we read & discussed, the instructor being present is a key factor for successful online courses (Boettcher & Conrad 2010. p 53-54). Using a simple technology, like Fotobabble, to create a welcome message for students as they arrive in their virtual classroom is simple but can be very effective and lets the students know the instructor is present. Right away the student will know they are in the right place (ie - right classroom), they will hear the instructors voice, hear how to pronounce the instructors name, and see a picture. It is easy for the instructor to do and can quickly create a connection with the students.
Depending on the purpose of the course, I would match my technology to the work the students are expected to do. If group work is needed, I would consider a wiki for small group work. A wiki can become cumbersome, hard to follow, and depending on the wiki application, can be deleted. For those reasons I would keep it to a small group assignment. The ability to edit and collaborate in a wiki can be very useful. For any required work, I would limit technology to those in a closed or secure environment. There are many students with valid reasons for not wanting or not able to have their information/work in an open & social environment (like this one). Just like traditional classrooms don't post assignments on a board in the dining hall - I think the privacy aspect is easy to lose sight of in an online environment.
I would recommend a set of "core tools" that a student might find helpful throughout the course, like Jing, a bookmark application, and maybe an online journal. It is important to provide the student with the "must use" technology and the recommended ones that they might find helpful.
Muzy
I thought the easiest way to learn Muzy and Google Blogger was to create a posting. On Muzy I created a glimpse into life at EZAcres. We love being somewhat off the grid and enjoy all that the mountain life provides. Life at EZAcres
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