Gaming & Virtual Worlds for Educational Purposes

URL: http://www.proprofs.com/games/word-games/word-scramble/tech-terminology-word-scramble/  

In reviewing the functionality of Sharendipity, Purpose Games, and ProProfs Games, I chose the ProProfs Games to create an educational game. I must admit, before completing this exercise, I was completely unaware that any of the above sites existed for users to  create educational games and share with others. In the past, I had utilized TGI Peril web-enhanced games via PowerPoint slides, but that involved downloading special software and templates on any computer expecting to play the games; therefore, the TGI Peril option was not entirely feasible.

I specifically chose to create a word scramble game utilizing technology vocabulary words and associated hints. I found the process of creating the word scramble to be very straightforward and feel that I will definitely use the site again for educational purposes.

Although gaming has long been a contentious topic within the world of education, I find the approach to be a positive way to provide students with a non-intimidating way of exploring new course material. It is also a great way to familiarize students with technology and help them transition from traditional to online learning.

As a final note, I wanted to share a document resulting from a 2006 summit attended by members of the Federation of American Scientists, focusing on the exploration of “how the United States can harness the powerful features of digital games and simulations for learning” (p. 13).  Interestingly, the participants of this summit “identified and discussed key needs and challenges to address, including learning games-related research, product development, and barriers to new product and service introduction” (p.4). Please see below for the direct link to this intriguing, 53 page document.

References

Federation of American Scientists. (2006). Summit on educational games: Harnessing the power of video games for learning. Retrieved from http://www.fas.org/gamesummit/Resources/Summit on Educational Games.pdf

Video and Podcasting in the Classroom

Video URL: http://youtu.be/vypx_k5FDuU

For my fifth creation activity, video and podcasting, I chose to utilize YouTube to upload a summary of a longer virtual field trip to the Turks and Caicos that I initially created in Power Point and edited further through Camtasia screen recording and video editing software. 

While several steps were involved in the overall process to get to the final product, I found it to be very rewarding and a great learning experience.

The flipped classroom model is one way to utilize videos or podcasts in classroom curriculum, whereas students learn the subject content outside of the classroom and then spend classroom time actively doing homework, when teachers are available to assist them. However, there are additional strategies that can be implemented to utilize such tools that will engage students in learning while helping them build research skills. For instance, students are can be required to create their own podcasts or videos as a form of alternate assignments such as  recording oral presentations, conducting interviews of individuals, recording debates on a specific topic, creating how-to videos, or creating their own versions of a virtual fieldtrip as I have done in this exercise. Teachers themselves can utilize videos to distribute class newsletters, eliminating the need for printed materials, create lesson plans for substitute teachers, or even record test study guides and tutorials, thus allowing 24x7 access to students.

By utilizing videos and podcasting in the classroom, educators are provided with yet another means of assessing student learning outcomes beyond the traditional methods and incurs little to no cost in doing so. The bottom line is that we must continue to be innovative in educating today’s digital natives in ways that will aid them in being successful within the digital landscape of the 21st century.

 

Collaborative Brainstorming in Classrooms

Upon review of the functionality of OKmindmap, Webspiration, or Gliffy for the creation of a concept map/diagram, I determined that Gliffy best suited my needs as it easily allows users to draw and share diagrams on the web. I found there to be no compatibility issues with my web browser(s) on any of my machines and was quite impressed with the extensive shape library.  

A concept-mapping product such as Gliffy can fosters student collaboration and communication and is a beneficial Web 2.0 tool within the classroom setting for a number of content areas. For example, Gliffy can be utilized within a science lesson to visually demonstrate the number of steps within a photosynthesis process or during a social studies class, students can work together to create a chronological sequence of events, allowing them the opportunity to visualize happenings in a given era of the past. Concept mapping software has  been found to be a useful tool for aiding students in the organization of their thoughts, summarizing their ideas, or making a connection between various concepts (Holcomb & Beal, 2010).

Of course, it is always important to point out that any Web 2.0 tool can potentially become unsafe; therefore, educators must always be cognizant of potential risks whenever integrating such technologies into the classroom setting.

URL: http://www.gliffy.com/pubdoc/3967835/L.png    

References

Holcomb, L., & Beal, C. (2010). Capitalizing on web 2.0 in the social studies context. Techtrends, 54(4), 30. Retrieved from http://asucoefoundationsandtechnology.pbworks.com/f/Web2_0_in_socialstudies_classroom.pdf

Creating Online Presentations with Prezi

This was actually my very first time creating an online presentation utilizing Prezi. Before selecting Prezi as my 2.0 tool, I carefully reviewed the presentation options within Glogster and Voki and determined that Prezi suited my needs the best of the three sites.  Upon becoming familiar with the tools, I was pleasantly surprised how easy it was to create a presentation. The functionality is unique and quite slick, compared to that of PowerPoint. I have not yet mastered the zoom functionality or learned to incorporate videos; however, I can already see how useful the options available within the Prezi canvas can be in communicating with classroom students. It is whiteboard and iPad friendly, so the touch navigation this tool offers is great to excite and involve students in interactive presentations. A teacher can zoom into a specific graph or image to highlight a specific point and then can smoothly zoom back out to continue the lesson.

Of course, one downside is that the free version of Prezi is Web-based, meaning it must be accessed via a Web browser and an active Internet connection is required. Therefore, if the internet should go down, the presentation is not available and the teacher is out of luck unless the paid version, Prezi Desktop, is installed.

URL: http://prezi.com/kdw2jz-a4yrc/learning-and-developmental-theories/

Social Bookmarking Creation Activity

Social Bookmarking Creation Activity

URL: http://delicious.com/weeksn

For our social bookmarking exercise, I chose Del.icio.us as it is a simple and efficient instrument to organize web pages and online resources effectively, for both personal as well as professional activities. I find the Del.icio.us site easy to use; however, I discovered that I am at the mercy of the website developers when it comes to page design. I would have preferred more flexibility in my site organization and structure.

When it comes to using this technology for teaching and learning, an obvious benefit for educator is that most bookmarking sites are free and are easy to use. Social bookmarking is a great way for educators to provide links to sites containing valuable information about a topic discussed in the classroom such as links to important current or historical events. In addition, social bookmarking is also a great way to control information and learning resources with students, as well as parents, keeping them from visiting useless sites. Students can also share their bookmarks with their classmates and have the capability of taking bookmarks saved by others and adding them to their own collection or subscribe to the lists of others.

Social bookmarking can be a positive approach to enhancing students’ learning experiences; however, a potential drawback of utilizing a social networking tool in the classroom is that since this type of resource is web-based, it requires an active Internet connection and social networks can often be blocked by school servers. Social bookmarking sites may also cause some users to experience information overload due to the significant amount of time necessary to browse through saved user links However, despite the limitations, I still view social bookmarking as one of the most helpful social software resources for educators.

The Pros and Cons of Educational Blogging

Greetings and welcome to my ED635 Blog!

I am reposting my intial comments regarding the Pros and Cons of educational Blogging for those of you who did not see it the first time (in comments section). Enjoy!


The Pros and Cons of Educational Blogging

Within the teaching and learning environment, many technology tools are available for educators to supplement classroom discussions, such as that of blogging, also known as Weblogging or Edublogging, whereby authors can publically post messages on the Web and respond to others.

A potential limitation of instructional blogging is that the instructor often becomes the primary contributor as well as the mediator. Considering that keeping a blog updated can be very time consuming, students may not blog if they are not required to do so. In addition, blogging is not real-time and therefore does not give the feeling of a live conversation due to the time delay.

Regarding perceived advantages of blogging, the most obvious is that it opens the door for students have a chance to actively participate in learning outside of the classroom. Students may also feel more involved with their learning experiences, while overcoming fear of expressing themselves during regular face-to-face classroom sessions. Blogging is also a great way to get students to write within an electronic space outside of the classroom or outside of a formal LMS systems. Blogging is a helpful tool for reviewing the work of peers and is a great way to collaborate on projects.

It is likely for educators to continue to model effective ways to utilize blogging as a teaching and learning tool, considering that blogging is a useful skill for our young learners to acquire, as they embark on their journey of life-long learning.