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The first blog source that I thought was interesting was a very simple web site that tested your internet netiquette was http://www.learnthenet.com/test-yourself/netiquette/index.php  to test their knowledge of the rules of netiquette which I found on Melitta Williams bog posted on December 10, 2012 at melittawilliams5@wordpress.com. It is a very simple five question test to see if you understand what netiquette is. For older people it might be too simplistic but for younger people it works very well to get the point across as to what the basic concept of netiquette

Second Teri Cruzan posted on his December 12, 2012 at http://brizo.edublogs.org/ a publication from PBS date from 2004 about Digital Citizenship: Addressing Appropriate Technology Behavior at http://www.pbs.org/teacherline/courses/tech340/docs/tech340_bailey.pdf?cc=tlredir.  After reading this file I am in agreement with Teri and the producers of PBS that many web sites point out what people cannot do on the internet but this article sought to show what the rights and privileges are for learners who use the internet.  This PDF file also had a long list of further reading material listed to help you improve your netiquette.

 

 

Technologies related to digital citizenship, ethics, and netiquette on the Internet.

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 Technologies related to digital citizenship, ethics, and netiquette on the Internet.

 The first technology is I-Safe. Which is a “non-profit organization dedicated to educating and empowering youth (and others) to safely, responsibly and productively uses Information and Communications Technologies” (I-Safe, 2012) that is the goal of I-Safe. I-Safe wants “to educating and empowering the youth of America to safely and responsibly take control of their online experiences” I-Safe, 2012). The creators of I-Safe have developed a unique set of programs to help students to develop “critical thinking and decision-making skills they need to recognize and avoid dangerous and/or unlawful online behavior (I-Safe, 2012).

The I-Mentor section of the I-Safe program is self paced learning tutorial to help teacher become certified to teach the I-Safe program to other instructors. The material covers all the information needed for you to show other how to be safe and act responsible on the internet.

Reference
http://www.isafe.org

            The second technology is CyberPatrol. CyberPartol is a program that creates an atmosphere for student to thieve and grow by allowing educators to fulfill they “responsibility to protect them from harmful influences while they’re at school. That protection includes ensuring their physical safety, as well as emotional and psychological safety from the potentially harmful effects of unfiltered Internet access” (CyberPartol, 2012).

            One of the benefits of CyberPatrol is the “degree of flexibility to allow access to some sites that might be required for an adult education class but would be unsuitable for children” (CyberPartol, 2012). This is the what many instructors need a wide degree of flexibility to accomplish the goal that they may need to achieve but also acting “as an effective web blocker, permitting you to block adult sites, unwanted games and programs” (CyberPartol, 2012).

            This type of program allows the instructor to help the learner stay on task and not get side tracked by being tempted to wonder off in to areas that they do not need to be in. to help with these the CyberPatrol sends instant email alerts to the instructor if the program detects any wanted usage.

Reference

http://www.cyberpatrol.com/

 

 

 

 

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The first open or distance education technologies that I will discuss is very old fashion compared to what is available to a large number of people but in less developed nations it is still the main stay of how distance education is presented to learners. It is the good old fashion correspondence courses. This system has been around since the end of the nineteenth century, so comparatively speaking it is very low tech.  There is usually a study guide or textbook that has some form of “audio and video components such as records and slides” (UNESCO, 2001) that accompanied them. The learners interact with each other or the instructor “by letters and other written or printed documents sent through postal system” (UNESCO, 2001). While for some this is as out dated and the Model T car but for the people who have never grown up with a computer in every room of the house this is very familiar and comfortable to use. They can work at home at their own speed; this fact can help relieve some of the pressure that they might feel on improving their education.

The second is also on the side of being out dated but it is Educational television. For people like myself who live in places that are off the beaten path this is the only way to receive information sometimes.  For out of the way places, satellite or cable TV is the all there is.  They both can deliver “live or recorded lectures to both individual home-based learners and groups of learners” (UNESCO, 2001). For people in the GED program in the state of Kentucky the cable and satellite both carry Kentucky educational Television (KET). The learners have study material that they can follow along with the programs and learn the subject material. Then if they have any questions they can ask their instructor when they return to the classroom for their follow testing.

References

UNESCO (2001g): Some reflections on the challenges facing distance education. Address by Mr. Koïchiro Matsuura, Director-General of UNESCO, at the Indira Gandhi National Open University, New Delhi, 24 July. Retrieved 12/06/2012 from http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0012/001284/128463e.pdf

 

Virtual Environments

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The first of two virtual environments that will be discussed on this week’s blog is ArmAII. According to Neon Kelly “is the world’s greatest set of toy soldiers – playable from first or third-person perspectives, which let you play around with everything from a T-72 tank to a MV-22 Vertical Take-Off and Landing jet. There are sniper rifles, Stinger missiles, laser target designators… the game is packed with literally hundreds of vehicles, tools and weapons – all of them painstakingly modeled on their real-life counterparts” (Kelly, 2009). This type of gaming is great for developing the ability to survive in a combat situation. It brings in the sudden and awful consequences of combat and what happens when you make a mistake.  “One minute you’re making decent progress through an occupied village; the next you’re on your belly screaming… in pain. Thankfully your mates may be able to save you if your enemies fail to kill you outright with an attack, and you’ll certainly find yourself returning the favour – dragging your buddies into cover so that you can administer some life-saving first aid” (Kelly, 2009). This game could be used to help people come to terms with the combat that they have been in according to Kelly “The game certainly doesn’t shirk away from the darkness or moral ambiguity of armed conflict, and while the plot branches in a few key areas there isn’t really a good or bad path to take – you make your decisions based on your instincts, and then later on you deal with the consequences” (Kelly, 2009). This game is just like life you make your choices and deal with the fallout of them.

HeartCode is “a web-based, self paced instructional program that use eSimulation technology to allow students to assess and treat patients in virtual healthcare settings” (AHA, 2012) developed by the American Heart Association.  The main technology was developed by Laerdal medical. This simulation allows students to practice and “apply their knowledge to real-time decisions making and skills development” (AHA, 2012) in a safe controlled environment. The game allow student to “practice and test their skills with an American Heart Association instructor or a voice assisted manikin (VAM) system” (AHA, 2012).  These game platforms allow “players to practice in situations which would otherwise be too costly or dangerous to be provided in real life and where mistakes could be catastrophic, and allow repetition until mastery is achieved” (Ulicsak, 2010).Some of the major benefits of this type of technology is that it is available any time anywhere for the learner. The learner “receives instant, objective feedback and evaluation” (AHA, 2012). The use of this program “maximizes instructor resources in the classroom where they make the biggest impact” (AHA, 2012) by allow many groups of learns to repeatedly use the program give the most bang for your buck. By giving learns access to this learning program helps the learner “maintain a high level of professional competency and standardization” (AHA, 2012) that can be portable from job to job.

 

References

 

American Heart Association. (2012). HeartCode. Retrieved 11/29/2012 from

http://www.seequip.com/BPWC/Documents/HeartCode%20BLS%20FAQ.pdf

 

Kelly, N. (2009). Videogamer.com. Retrieved 11/29/2012 from

http://www.videogamer.com/pc/arma_2/review-2.html

 

Ulicsak, M. (2010). Games in Education: Serious Games. Retrieved 11/10/2012 from www.futurelab.org.uk/projects/games-in-education

 

 

Mobile Learning Technologies

Most everyone in America has a cell phone “88% of U.S. adults own a cell phone of some kind as of April 2012” (Smith, 2012). This fact allows the average person to have access to much larger world than they ever could before. This ability be connected has caused an incredible increase in the first mobile learning tool I want to talk about that is the E-book. According to a study done by IDC Worldwide where they survived 1,350 publishers worldwide they found “84% either already produce e-books or plan so in the future” (IDC, 2011). Why is this important to the future of education? It would appear the carrying your books to class will very shortly be a thing of the past. The local high school here in Frenchburg, KY will be give tablets to their senior students next year instead of text books. All the books they need will be preloaded on the tablet for them to study from. This will give the student access to their books anytime of the day or night.

The second tool is the game or simulation based learning.  These games can cover a wide range of subject material from the simple of how to wire a ceiling fan to the very complex of emergency room practice. The study done by Future Lab points out that “games that model professional practice, are good for teaching and assessing because the best commercial games provide appropriate challenges, they build on previous information, they require problem solving and critical thinking”  (Future, 2010) skills to solve the problems presented.

Both of these tools will be changing the shape of education in the very near future.

 

References

Future Lab. (2010) Games in Education: Serious Games. Retrieved 11/10/2012 from www.futurelab.org.uk

IDC Worldwide. (2011). Quarterly Media and E Reader. Retrieved 11/11/2012 from http://www.mobilewalla.com/Desltop/Applntel_AppCountByCatg.htm?filterDevicePlatform=101

 

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Social networking this is one area that I have limited knowledge of, I am one of the last people on the planet that does not have a Facebook account. But after some reading and research the benefits of social networking became very apparent along with the drawbacks. 

Such as according to Nancy Willard in her article written for Education World “social networking sites are very attractive environments for teens, as well as for adults. Such sites present opportunities for self-expression and friendship building. Youth “play time” in such environments can build skills that will be a foundation for career success in the 21st century” (Willard, 2011). But at the same time there is great danger in letting people “play” in some of the social network setting. While most of the people using social network sites are doing so for all the right reason, some are using them for such things as cyber bullying.  This one of the points that Ms. Willard points out can be reduced if parents and teachers pay close attention to what their children and students are doing. The major on that she points out is “Sexual predators — and likely other dangerous strangers — are attracted to places where teens are not making good choices and adults are not paying attention” (Willard, 2011).

Another benefit to social networking is Cross-cultural communication and language learning. This class is a perfect example of this type of social network interaction. We have people from all over the world in this class talking and sharing idea and information in a free an open way. This is a common experience shared by many people such as Meris Stansbury, who told of an experience she had while working in “a Greek private elementary school, we cooperated with several schools from foreign countries, such as Holland, England, France, and Sweden, and used social networking in order to communicate with each other and break down the distance and language barrier” (Stansbury, 2011). This falls in line with what John S. Brown in his article “Growing up Digital”, he was telling a story of what they discovered when a anthropologists studied their work environment. The anthropologist watched the way repair tech interacted with each other “he or she didn’t look at the manual or review the training; he or she called another tech rep. As the two of them stood over the problematic machine, they’d recall earlier machines and fixes, then connect those stories to a new one that explained some of the symptoms” (Brown, 2002). They came together to build a shared pool of knowledge on how to fix the machine. The study revealed that “Troubleshooting for these people, then, really meant construction of a narrative, one that finally explained the symptoms and test data and got the machine up and running again. Abstract, logical reasoning wasn’t the way they went about it; stories were” (Brown, 2002). This coming together to solve a problem has been one of the hall marks of the human race; this sense of community is what sets us apart from the other animals that share this Earth with us.

But at the same time I just saw a draw back with social networking while I was at lunch. Three people got out of a car, two them were on their phones texting, the other one called someone as soon as he got out of the car. They came into the restaurant still on their phones. They never stopped texting or talking while they ordered their food and were still going strong when they set down. The restaurant staff called out their order number and they just sat there. They were so engrossed in what they were doing that the staff took their food back and threw it away thinking they had left the restaurant. They were still sitting on their phones when I left. That is one of the major drawbacks to this kind of media.  

 

 

 

 

References

Brown, J. S., (2002). Growing Up Digital: How the Web Changes Work, Education, and the Ways People Learn. United States Distance Learning Association. Retrieved on 11/10/2012, from http://www.usdla.org/html/journal/FEB02_Issue/article01.html

Stansbury, M. (2011). Ten Ways Schools are Using Social Media Effectively. Retrieved 11/10/2012 from http://www.eschoolnews.com/2011/10/21/ten-ways-schools-are-using-social-media-effectively/5/

Willard, N. (2011). Schools and Online Social Networking. Retrieved 11/10/2012 from

      http://www.educationworld.com/a_issues/issues/issues423.shtml

 

 

 

Lost in Tech

This weekend has been a perfect example of why work with the virtual world makes me crazy. All week I have been out-of-town and trying to find a place to do these home work assignment has been very difficult to say the least. I have enough trouble using the computer I have I at home let alone trying to figure out one I have never used before. But you got to keep on keeping on.

Educational Technologies

To my fellow classmates I am sorry for being so late with my blog but I went to my daughters graduation at Fort Benning Ga where she became Airborne Paratropper.

Now the educational application I wish to discuss is a report written by Futurelab of the United Kingdom. this report has a break down of different “serious games” such as Pulse “a serious game for learning complex medical practices and technical knowledge, including diagnosis of illnesses, ER services and complex surgical procedures” (Futurelab,2010). The link to this game is www.breakawaygames.com/serious-games/solutions/healthcare/.

the Futurelab report believes that there are three types of serious game. First there are educational simulations, which  “use  rigorously structured scenarios with a highly refined set of rules, challenges, and strategies” Futurelab, 2010).  Second is the games which “are fun engaging activities used for purely for entertainment” (Futurelab, 2010). And the third one is the virtual world which “are multiplayer(and often massively multiplayer) 3D persistent social environments, but without the focus on a particular goal , such as advancing to the next level or successfully navigating the scenario” (Futurelab, 2010).

These serious games can be used to develop the understand and skill of the student in a safe and no threating way while dealing with situationas that in the real world can and do put people in harms way.

References

Games in Education: Serious Games. (2010). Retrieved 11/08/2012 from www.futurelab.org.uk

Hello world!

Welcome to my blog! This is my first stab at blogging for one of my education classes through Walden University. Thanks for stopping by and Happy blogging!