Virtual Worlds Storyboard

The following document is a rough draft of my storyboard that will be used to create a video presentation about virtual worlds. Your feedback is welcomed and encouraged!

https://docs.google.com/document/d/11dHNQTaTBipkG0jD7lNg8sii2h1ewmbGlmVk1jUBonQ/edit?hl=en_US#

Module 2: Distance Education Diffusion

In the growing acceptance of distance education, the ways in which students participate in collaborative interactions has evolved. Dr. George Siemens (Laureate Education Inc., 2008) explains the benefit of growing a comfort with online discourse, explaining the Triple Helix Model of Education. This is explained as where, “we have universities, we have government, and we have business. And the three of them together form a strand of interaction to provide and to equip students for this online environment” (Laureate Education Inc., 2008). As collaborative interactions have evolved, all aspects of society are working together to use distance education and collaboration tools for interacting and completing tasks synchronously and asynchronously.
To facilitate such interactions, online tools such as wiki pages and blogs can be used by students for working in groups and collaborating on ideas. Virtual worlds also give students the opportunity to collaborate globally online and gain practical experience with new hardware and software tools.

http://minerclass.edublogs.org/2010/12/31/collaborative-interaction-in-distance-education…/
In supporting all of the aspects of collaboration in distance education, Micah Miner (2010) posted in a blog that, “wikis can promote collaboration in group assignments, encourage negotiation, and make students comfortable with new generation of technology tools” (2010). This refers to the same growing comfort with online discourse explained by Dr. Siemens, allowing students to feel as though their contributions are recognized as a part of the group.

http://k12-virtual-worlds.com/2011/01/25/bringing-the-classroom-into-the-21st-century/
In this blog by K-12 Virtual Worlds (2011), a teacher explains the reasons supporting educational virtual worlds, stating that, “Avatar Storytellers allows you to engage your K-12 students in virtual worlds for learning, while teaching them valuable 21st Century computer and technology skills.” Not only has the level of technology increased, but the evolution of collaborative interactions between individuals and groups has motivated students to engage in more distance learning and communications.

http://blog.pbworks.com/
This blog by PBworks introduces an improved tool for collaboration called LiveBar. It is an innovative tool that would be useful and worth diffusing for businesses. Its capabilities continue to evolve as it adds on new features.
Tiffany Harrell

References

K-12 Virtual Worlds. (2011). Bringing the classroom into the 21st century. Retrieved from http://k12-virtual-worlds.com/2011/01/25/bringing-the-classroom-into-the-21st-century/

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2008). The future of distance education. [Video webcast]. Retrieved from http://sylvan.live.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=5701360&Survey=1&47=9580570&ClientNodeID=984645&coursenav=1&bhcp=1

Miner, Micah. (2010). Collaborative interaction in distance education. Retrieved from http://minerclass.edublogs.org/2010/12/31/collaborative-interaction-in-distance-education…/

Module 1: The Next Generation of Distance Education

After examining resources this week about the evolution and diffusion of distance education, I found similarities and differences in the views of how it will impact the next generation of learners. According to Dr. Michael Simonson, “in an evolutionary way, we are going to begin to use distance education technologies almost across the board in the teaching-learning process: K-12 education, higher education, professional education, and in the training environment in corporations and businesses” (Laureate Education Inc., 2008).Specifically in my field of work in elementary education, it is necessary to prepare students with the knowledge and skills necessary to learn through distance education. Similarly, Huett, Moller, Foshay, and Coleman (2008) find that as distance education technologies change the teaching and learning processes, “It is incumbent upon all professionals with a commitment to the potential of technology in education and training, no matter what their theoretical or ideological bent, to think outside the box, to collaborate and to advance the common vision” (p. 66). In a blog posting, Munoz (2011) supports these views of distance education stating, “As technology advances with knowledge, there will likely come a time when education will truly lie in the hands of those who seek it, not just those who can afford it.” Although there is often hesitation from educators to explore teaching through virtual schooling, I agree with these views that all fields of distance education must work together to improve how it is used for instruction and student learning.


These two views show similarities, but they also have contrasting views on the equivalency of face-to-face and online courses. Simonson (Laureate Education Inc., 2008) believes in an Equivalency Theory, stating that the two types of education should have the same learning outcomes, and provide equivalent experiences to meet those outcomes. Yet, Huett et al. (2008) believes that “the effectiveness of distance education has more to do with who is teaching, who is learning, and how that learning is accomplished and less to do with the medium” (p. 63). I would have to agree more with the positions of Huett et al. (2008) because I believe that distance education is meant to create more of a variety of options for experiences than that of a face-to-face classroom, not just equivalent experiences. It should focus more on the learner and the instructional tools that can be used to address each student’s learning styles. As students in the 21st century are exposed to evolving technologies, it is necessary to incorporate those tools into the ways students learn in order to keep them motivated and engaged.

References

Huett, J., Moller, L., Foshay, W. & Coleman, C. (2008, September/October). The evolution of distance education: Implications for instructional design on the potential of the Web (Part 3: K12). TechTrends, 52(5), 63–67.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer) (2008). Principles of distance education: the next generation. Baltimore, MD: Author

Munoz, L. (2011). Evolution of distance education. Retrieved from http://lynnmunoz.wordpress.com/2011/09/12/evolution-of-distance-learning/

Learning Management Systems

After reviewing learning management systems (LMS), I created a presentation that explains how they can be beneficial to the way instruction is delivered and students learn and share their work. The main LMS I evaluated was RCampus. http://www.rcampus.com/index.cfm Enjoy!

http://voicethread.com/#q.b1881498.i9913320

My Reflection on Integrating Technology Across the Content Areas

Throughout this course, I have learned a lot about myself as an educator. I have had the opportunity to reflect on the ways that I am introducing technology to my students, and set goals to enhance my students’ learning through the integration of problem-based learning, collaboration and communication, and digital storytelling. Each week I blogged about my personal GAME plan, to enhance my use of the NETS-T standards, by setting two goals. I wanted to inspire student growth and creativity, and engage in professional growth and leadership. Through the actions I took, and monitoring and evaluating of my goals, I feel that I was successful in making progress towards these two goals. Through the technology-based lessons that I created in this course, my students are able to express their creativity and grow in their knowledge of the standards and technology tools. As a professional, I have been taking a leadership role to share new web 2.0 tools with my co-workers and help them find useful ways to integrate technology into more of their lessons. I have also had a discussion with my principal about starting a Technology Club next year for interested and inspiring fourth and fifth graders. I hope that the students will take interest in this and there will be a growing number of students interested in learning through technology.


Through the GAME plan process, I have learned the importance of setting goals and how to appropriately carry them out. Now that I have a deeper understanding of how to apply the GAME plan to my learning, I feel confident in my ability to use it for helping my students set learning goals for themselves. Since I am still teaching Pre-K, I will still find ways to integrate technology into my lessons that does not require reading. I have been looking into online picture stories and creating them through my SMARTboard software. I also plan to continue to create lessons and units for upper grade levels, in hopes that I can share them with other teachers and improve technology integration throughout my school.

Implementing GAME Plans with Students

Since I have now had the opportunity to develop my own GAME plan and carry it out, I feel confident that I will be able to lead my students to create their own GAME plan. Basing their goals on the NETS-S standards will help them develop proficiency in the technology standards and indicators. Before the students start to develop GAME plans, they must have a basic understanding of what the standards are expecting them to be able to do. I would first go through each of the standards and indicators with the students to clarify and questions or misconceptions that the students might have about technology and the NETS-S standards. I want the students to understand how the new standards can help them develop new knowledge and gain a deeper understanding of their content standards.


After my students have an understanding of the standards they are working to meet, I will ask them to decide on one standard that they feel that they need to improve on. Because I teach elementary school and this will be my students’ first time creating a GAME plan, I think starting with one goal would be best for them to actually be able to carry out the plan. I would ask them to closely look at the standard they have chosen as their goal, and explain why that is an area they would like to improve on. Using the vocabulary in the standard to plan their goal will help to ensure that they are continuously reminded of the purpose of their goal as they put their plan into action and monitor their progress. Blogging is also a web 2.0 tool that I have been introducing my students. I feel that blogging about my Walden GAME plan experience has helped me to keep track of my progress and continue to effectively carry out my plan. Therefore, I would probably use blogs to help my students carry out their personal GAME plans. As my students carry out their GAME plans, I will continue to create, teach, and guide lessons using technology. This will allow them to put their technology GAME plan into action and see how they can apply the NETS-S standards to their learning to meet the content standards as well.

Revising My GAME Plan

As I progress through my GAME plan, I have evaluated how it has been going, and there are a few changes that will be helpful in meeting my goals. The goals I had set for my GAME plan were to facilitate and inspire student learning and creativity, as well as engaging in professional growth and development. Throughout my Walden course, I have learned many new tools and strategies to integrate technology into my classroom. I have created lessons to use problem-based learning with my students, which will allow them to express their creativity. I have also read several articles to learn more about the future of technology in classrooms, and taken a serious look into continuing on to receive my Specialist’s degree. After reviewing the expectations and content that I would be learning through this degree, I have realized that this is definitely the direction that I want to go in with my career, and I will be able to grow as a professional through this goal. Since I still have two courses left to take for my Master’s degree, and as I will always be striving to develop as a professional, I consider this goal to be life-long.

After reviewing the NETS-T performance standards, I have set a new goal to design and develop digital-age learning experiences and assessments. All of the new strategies that I have been learning through my course have given me the confidence to create learning experiences for my students that will really be meaningful and educational for them. This goal will also help to support my current goal to inspire student learning and creativity. As my students learn through problem-based projects and experiences, they will be able to use technologies to creatively share what they have learned in a format that is comfortable to them.

In the future, I will try attending workshops and professional development classes to learn new ways to integrate web 2.0 technologies. There are so many tools available through the internet that students can use to express their creativity and learning, and I want to learn more about them so that I can also integrate them in my classroom. I have enjoyed my courses at Walden, and I hope to be able to continue learning new teaching strategies as I further my own education in the future.