Virtual Classrooms

A virtual classroom is a classroom in which the learning is real but the actual place it not. Virtual reality goggles are used to portray a fictional or imaginary classroom. Video gamer producers and directors have been using this technology for years, and now teachers are using it to gain more interesting in learning. Psychologists also believe there are many good used for this technology including, figuring out peoples behaviors in different situations.
Virtual reality can also help students who might have disorders such as ADD or ADHD and do not have long attention spans. The original reason for creating this type of classroom was for attention disorders. The test performed with ADD and ADHD students was to use the virtual classroom and perform one of the classic tests to diagnose these problems. For students with ADD the tester used a classroom with no distractions and with the students without, they added many distractions. They found that the students with distractions did better than the ADD students with no distractions at all. Thus making this a more effective test for ADD.
New technology is actually covered in the article itself. Virtual offices are in the making to help people become more organized. Also, virtual reality is being developed for use during medical procedures to make things less painful to the patient.

I think this is an amazing thing for students. It can really cut down on distractions and discipline problems. Without other people to show off for or impress, students probably not act up as much.

http://www.sciencenewsforkids.org/articles/20031022/Feature1.asp

Podcasting

Lars Brownworth, a teacher at a Stoneybrook school started pod casting before it became a big deal. He decided one day to post a recording of himself teaching about the Byzantine Empire and posted it on his personal website. He hardly received any viewers. After Apple started posting pod casts on Itunes, Brownworth’s brother posted his pod cast onto the itunes site. By the time he was back from a trip 1,392 people had already downloaded it. There are other pod casts such as “Word Nerds” and “Grammar Girl” are geared towards teaching and learning.

Pod casting is great way to teach students. So many students today have some form of mp3 player whether it be an Ipod or not, and most of these students are permanently affixed to them so why not put something educational on it?

This may not be the most effective way of teaching but it sure would not hurt. If students are willing to download and listen to these pod casts then they have a greater chance of learning. But I do no think that the majority of the students will be willing to listen to pod casts about education rather then listening to their music or watching videos.

Further technology would be great in order to create a low cost mp3 player that can only play a type of file geared towards learning. This could then solely be used in a classroom setting to aid in teaching. Games can also be created to make the pod cast more rewarding and fun.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/31/education/31education.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&sq=podcasting%20education&st=nyt&scp=2

Animation

The article I chose for this week is called, The effectiveness of web based, multimedia tutorials for teaching methods of human body composition analysis, by Paul R. Buzzell, Valerie M. Chamberlain and Stephen J. Pintauro. Thirty-two students were taught in three different ways, soley web-based, lecture based, and a mixture of both. They also took a pretest and posttest. They found that web based instruction was just as effective as lecture based for these topics.

The students in certain health fields have a hard time getting into labs with equipment that is already in high demand. Web based tutorials make this easier for them to learn with a somewhat hands on approach but still free up the labs.

Four multimedia tutorials were created for the health field focusing on the human body.

The rest of the article goes into detail about the specific programs.
I personally think that this is a great way to teach, not only in this situation but in general. The computer tutorials in classes such as biology and anatomy were always a great help, they always showed animation of things you would not normally be able to visualize.

http://advan.physiology.org/cgi/content/full/26/1/21

Digital Imagery

I chose the article Technology in your Classroom: How to Use Digital Images and Video from the website teachingk-8.com. It talks about using different programs such as Microsoft Movie Maker or iPhoto for the Mac to use video in the classroom.
Reasons for using video and other digital imagery in the classroom are, for use for online classes, to use for projects, and for tutorials.
Tips for giving assignments using digital imagery are, make sure that the assignment clearly shows what the learning goals are, to start with a small assignment to get the students acquainted with using this new media, and make sure that all of the students know the basics of using the equipment.
The rest of the article is about people’s experiences with using this technology and how the prices have dropped in recent years giving it availability.
This technology is a great way for teachers to make projects interesting for their students. Students will find projects using virtual imagery fun and also informative.
I personally think this is a great idea. As a student I have always loved doing projects using video or cameras. Learning came much more naturally and it did not feel like work. I think that teachers like this also because of the fact they are not stuck grading papers all day, they have the presentation right in front of them.
Further research in this area would include new types of cameras. A cheaper form for all students to have, like the cameras made specifically for children.

http://www.teachingk-8.com/archives/how_to/how_touse_digital_images_and_video.html

Storyboarding

The article I chose to write about this week is called Storyboarding Comes to Visual Studio Team System by Doug Barney.
This article is about a company getting a particular storyboarding tool that they have found very useful. This program helps them create and edit storyboards and put them all together to show what the final product might look like. This program helps “mainstream” everything together.
Storyboarding can also be a great way for children to learn. Storyboards simplify things to make learning a difficult concept more understandable. Visualizing abstract idea with a storyboard can also be helpful. It promotes the desire to get involved and can be something a teacher can prepare or a student. By having the student prepare a storyboard, they can work on prediction and presentation skills. With this they can also improve vocabulary, and speaking skills.
I do not really know how this can be improved upon. I have already heard of many new programs that help this process already.

http://reddevnews.com/news/devnews/article.aspx?editorialsid=110

Wikis

I chose to write about an article entitled “Wikis” Offer Knowledge-Sharing Online Wikipedia’s one million entries larger than Encyclopedia Britannica by anick Jesdanum.
The articles starts with a story about a man who used wikipedia to look up his hometown, when he did not find an entry he chose to write one of his own. This is due to new wave of online communities called wikis that let people add delete and edit entries.
There are some wikis dedicated solely to things such as cookbooks, guitar players, manuals, and more. Downfalls to wikis include spammers and other sorts of mischief. The word wiki comes from a Hawaiian word “wiki wiki” which means quick. The first wiki was created in 1995 and wikipedia followed in 2001.
The article then goes into detail about Wikipedia and its many forms. Stockepedia, and Wikitravel are two other types of wikis that have information about investments and travel.
Some of the downfalls to wikis are the fact that anyone can post and edit on them. One security company refuses to work with these sites because the workers did not have enough time to go through all the entries everyday. The other downfall to wikis is that the information on them might not always be the most up to date or the most accurate. The entries do not have to be approved in order to be posted so they might not be correct. On the other hand the array of information these websites can provide is much more vast than any regular encyclopedia or book can give you.
This is a great tool for students and teachers. Wikis cans provide a “one stop shop” idea for information. Wikipedia is great for finding credible information about things you would otherwise be unable to find information about. For example, the boy above that input an article about his hometown. The downfalls are as mentioned above, the availability of the site and editing to anyone makes some sources less credible. But as long as students are careful and make sure the article comes from a credible source they should have no problem.
I personally think Wikipedia is great. I use it for everything and recommend it to everyone. I think that the most well known wiki, Wikipedia, is making great strides in making everything on their site a credible source. Other smaller sites should try and advance their sites by doing the same.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6112915/

Blogging

In the article titled Fred Thompson Posts Ideas Online for Potential White House Bid by the Associated Press, blogging in campaigns is the focus. Fred Thompson, an actor turned politician, resorts to blogging after seeing fellow candidate Barack Obama’s success with campaigning over Myspace.
Thompson is well known for playing Arthur Branch on Law and Order. The internet is becoming a great way for presidential candidates to campaign. In 2004 Howard Dean predominantly used the internet to campaign, and has grown with candidates since. Many are using Myspace and other social networking sites to appeal to a younger crowd.
Thompson has been blogging on such sites as, Redstate.com, the Pajamas Media blog, the National Review Online, and The Fred Thompson Report. This extra work on his part has shown to help him. As of May 2007 he was running closely to Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich but has since dropped out of the 2008 race.
Most of the younger generation is geared towards the internet and spend large amounts of time using computers. Blogging is a great way for the younger generations to learn about presidential campaigns. Blogging in general is a great way for kids to learn either by having one of their own or reading other’s. By having their own they learn how to be creative, to write better, and to use the internet for informational purposes. By reading other’s blogs they can learn about other people insights and views on issues which can help them develop their own opinions. It can also help their reading skills, communication, and tact.
I think this is a great way for students to learn. It makes things more interesting and fun. For the future, I think that websites should be designed only for students to blog. Translations would be available for them to see insight from their peers in different countries.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,270067,00.html