Education in Second Life

In Second Life, there is a vast array of educational communities. A location I found beneficial in Second Life was EdTech Island, supported by Boise State University. This island’s community is for Teacher Education in Virtual Worlds. There I was able to find video tutorials for self-guided instruction, free educational technology surveys, and an abundance of free tools for teachers to teach in Second Life. The tools consisted of objects such as a script generator, a picture changer, a book creation tutorial, a professor starter kit, and links to different classes. EdTech Island also has different workshops available. I visited the Scripting and Building Workshop. Here, I met other educators looking to educate themselves on Second Life and what it has to offer in the classroom. Most of the people I spoke to were as new to Second Life as I. This Second Life environment created a community of practice in the area of education. I met educators from all over. We all seem to have one thing in common: best practices for students.

Virtual Environments Enable New Models of Learning

This article discusses the ways educators are using Second Life in and as a classroom. It gives plenty of links to education case studies. It even gives information on starting your own Second Life project by meeting other teachers who have already created one. This can be found under the New Educator Pilot Program. Finally, this article gives links to connect with other educators and nonprofits by using Second Life. This can be found under the Plug Into the Education Community in Second Life heading.

Educational Uses of Second Life

This site provides a slide show titled, “Second Life in Education.” It gives screen shots of different lands one can visit while in Second Life. This is a great tool for someone who does not know much about Second Life and what it has to offer.

Real-Life Teaching in a Virtual World

This article, “Real- Life Teaching in a virtual World” was written by Denise Harrison. What is interesting is the fact that the one thriving entity in Second Life is education. It gives information on how educators are using Second Life. One particular way is that Second Life is being used to create universities as a replica of the real ones. These replicas are being used as recruiting tools for students and to donors. Other places in Second Life hosts real classes. This virtual environment allows for a hands-on approach rather than just sitting in a classroom listening to a lecture.

Teachers, college students lead a Second Life

This article by Beth Sussman for USA Today focuses on universities using Second Life for educational purposes. Professors think this is a great way to supplement or teach their university courses. They say that their students are more interactive with the course and with each other. This article also explains how Second Life is useful for group activities or for seeing new places.

I would really like to use Second Life in my classroom. I think a major benefit would be for students to see things (worlds, art, places) that they may never see in real life. I think this is a great tool to supplement classroom readings.

Podcasts in education

Podcasts are a great way to ensure different types of learners are getting the needed information in the classroom. Everywhere you go, you see a kid with their headphones on. They try to sneak it on in school, although many schools do not allow its use. By incorporating podcasts as a pat of the curriculum, students would be able to use their ipods or headphones to listen to class information via podcasts along with written information. The use of podcasts can also be beneficial to a student when presenting information. Many students have a fear of public speaking. Podcasting may be a way to alleviate that fear, and will be able to provide students a different way to communicate their information. The student will take more ownership in their education when they are producing their own quality work. These podcasts can then be shared with other members of the school, the parents, and the community. Learning no longer needs to be in the confines of a classroom setting.

Podcasting in the Classroom

This site gives great tips and information on using podcasts an how to promote learning using technology. There is a guide for teachers on how to incorporate podcasts, time allocation, and technology use. Technology skills are enhanced for those students who may be unfamiliar with the podcasting process.

Podcasts intend to 'enhance classroom setting'

This article, written by Vivian Giang for the University of Georgia’s independent school newspaper, redandblack.com, discusses the school’s integration of iTunes U for instruction. Students subscribe and are allowed free access to learning content. These podcasts allow for students to review class lectures that allows for more focus in the classroom.

Podcast trumps lecture in one college study

This article, by Dennis Carter for the eSchool News, discusses researchers findings that, “students who listened to a lecture via iTunes U outperformed those who attended in person.” The main reason for this finding is that students were able to listen to the lecture at their own pace, and to continue going back to certain sections when needed, AND with note taking. This also helps those students who have work or family commitments and are not always able to attend the classes.

Classroom Uses of Podcasts

This article, written by Tammy Andrew, explains ways teachers can use podcasts in the classroom setting. Some of these ways are by incorporating prerecorded podcasts, and creating new ones. These podcasts are available for students who may be absent in school that day.

Podcasts and Learning

This article explains how classes are using podcasts to supplement or replace traditional classes. It also explains how those not taking classes can subscribe to these podcasts for the simple point of learning new information.

Study: class podcasts can lead to better grades

This article, by Jacqui Cheung, explains research indicating greater classroom success when using podcasts to take notes rather than the traditional way of learning. Again, not only listening to the podcast at the students own rate lead to success, but also the note taking while listening was a major contributing factor.

Kay Sweester, an assistant professor in public relations, said, “"You shouldn't use technology for its sake… You should only use technology when it improves students' experiences." I agree with this statement 100 %. There is a lot of technology out there, and new pieces developed every day. As educators, it is our job to properly identify what is best for our classroom setting and what will help students succeed the most.

RSS Feeds in Education

RSS Feeds is an application that has many great uses in the classroom. Because information is constantly changing and being updates, RSS feeds provides a simple way to sift through information quickly and easily. This is also good for students who need instant information and feedback and do not want to waste their time. When a student subscribes to a feed, the information will automatically be provided when updated. RSS feeds for news searches come in handy. Students can be provided information immediately not only for classroom information, but for topics they are interested in as well.

RSS Feeds also provides a way for teachers to communicate more with parents. Parents can simply subscribe to the classroom site and be constantly updated on their child’s academic information.

http://www.feedforall.com/academia-and-rss.htm

This article is titled, “Academia Adds RSS Feeds to Their Teaching Tool Kit.” It provides a list with explanation on how to incorporate RSS Feeds into classroom instruction. The list includes: Shared resources, class blogs, podcast lectures, monitor research, professional development, job searches, collaboration, study guides, scholarships, grants, school news, and student financial aid news.

http://www.techteachers.com/rss.htm

This site features an article, “RSS Feeds in Education,” and is from the www.techteachers.com site. Here it lists several pieces of information on using RSS feeds. This information includes links to background information, school feeds, and news aggregators. You can click on any of these links that will provide up to date information on information for using RSS Feeds to simply looking at how the feeds are used.

http://www.flairandsquare.com/archives/3

The title of this article is “RSS Feeds in Education?” and is from the flair & square website. This article explains, in simple terms, what RSS Feeds are and provides some examples on how to use the feeds. It also gives good information on how to subscribe to a class RSS feed that will allow the teacher to check those feeds provided from students.

http://blogs.earthlink.net/2006/08/how_do_you_use_rss_in_the_clas.php

This is a blog titled, How Do You Use RSS Feeds in the Classroom.” This is an interesting blog because it comes straight from a teacher who has actually used this Web 2.0 tool in the classroom successfully. The blog discusses the way the RSS Feeds help to communicate with parents and the community. Some other ways the RSS Feeds have been used is in the classroom for digital storytelling with classmates and parents, peer project evaluation, and classroom podcasting.

http://eduscapes.com/sessions/rss/

This site, titled, “Information Avalanche Rescue: RSS Feeds in the Classroom” is a great source for teachers. It provides activities and information on ways to use and incorporate RSS Feeds into your own website. There are links provided for information from science to poetry. This article gives links for the basic of RSS Feeds, aggregation tools, and feed creation tools. It also provides ten tips for using RSS Feeds in your classroom.

As an educator, these links provide the information I need to properly incorporate RSS Feeds into instruction. Many of them are step- by- step guides that would be useful for those teachers who do not think of themselves as technologically savvy.

Social bookmarking in education

Social bookmarking is a way for link and information to be classified into particular categories. Others who may be interested in the same topics use these tags for research. When doing research on a topic, many people may use search engines like Google. Social bookmarking is a way to find the links and information one is looking for, without having to distinguish what is reliable from a Google search. One way social bookmarking would be used as a viable source in the classroom would be for research papers in any subject. When reading a novel, there are many historical references made or locations a student may not be familiar with. By looking up that information via social bookmarking, students will be able to be more involved in the learning process because the background knowledge is now with them after their research. I have found many sites that explain how and why to use social bookmarking for research and academics.

www.mpla.us/documents/handouts/2008/reed.ppt

This site hosts a PowerPoint titled, “Using Social Bookmarking in Academic Research” by Adriana Reed. The power point is basically a “how to” in regard to using social bookmarking for research. Reed states the benefit of bookmarking is: 1. To track online sources and 2. To explore other publications that have the same or similar tags. Not only does it discuss del.icio.us, but also CiteULike. There is a page that discusses the differences between these two social bookmarking sites. The main difference is that del.icio.us is used for a social network, where CiteULike is more for an academic one.

http://www.pandia.com/sew/967-social-bookmarking-for-research-collaboration.html

This page is titled, “3 social bookmarking tools for research collaboration.” This site discusses three different types of social bookmarking sites, who they are developed by, and how they are used. They are: Zotero, Connotea, and 2collab. First, Zotero: it is only a Firefox plug in, so unfortunately it would not work through Safari. The pros are that it can integrate with online sources and will find and automatically save the reference. The cons are that it stores the information in files and not online, and it cannot be access from computers that do not have the plug in. Next, Connotea: It is touted as “an advanced Delicious for bibliographic references.” Finally, 2collab. This is mainly for research for science, technical, and medical. 

http://www.slideshare.net/rudibrarian/social-bookmarking-rss-for-research-teaching

This site shows a slide show, “Social Bookmarking and RSS for Research and Teaching.” The slide show discusses what social bookmarking is and how to incorporate it into teaching and using it for research. A good use of the social bookmarking tool is that the source can be bookmarked and embedded into a web page. Another positive in using social bookmarking is that a teacher can create a tag for a particular class and students will be able to find each other’s information under that tag.

http://www.educause.edu/ELI/7ThingsYouShouldKnowAboutSocia/156804

The Educause Learning Initiative came up with a list of seven things one should know about the use of social bookmarking. The use of social bookmarking in research is good for classifying information into separate categories. The information on one person’s site can be used for others for research. The tag’s popularity will show when one tags a bookmark, thereby allowing others to search more easily for certain topics.

http://www.education-world.com/a_tech/sites/sites080.shtml

This is an article, “Sites to See: Social Bookmarking,” from The Education Journal. This article discusses the use of social bookmarking and how accessible it is for others to view your favorite sites. This article also gives a list of social bookmarking sites to use in the K-12 classroom. Those sites include: del.icio.us, BuddyMarks, Wikipedia on Social Bookmarking, Tags vs. Trusted Sources, and 7 Things You Should Know About Social Bookmarking.

 

Twitter's use in education

Twitter’s use in education seems to be a highly debatable topic, however, this application is the fastest growing trend right now. Some people think Twitter is a waste of time, is limited in its 140 characters, has major privacy concern issues, and has no use in the classroom. Other, however, seem to think Twitter is the second coming in terms of educational use. Many educators like the instant feedback and enjoy the responses given by students who otherwise may never speak up in class, or can’t because of lack of classroom discussion time. Another thing educators like about Twitter is that students seem to be more involved in the lesson when they are able to use this Web 2.0 tool. Educators like the educational community being built outside of the classroom atmosphere that can be carried on even when the student is home. 

http://www.sjl.us/main/2009/06/twitter-and-education---the-twitter-experiment.html

This site shows a video titled, “The Twitter Experiment.” Here, Dr. Monica Rankin, Professor of History at The University of Texas at Dallas, was interested in the use of Twitter being able to use website and text messages to post comments. Rankin incorporated Twitter into the classroom to get more students involved in commenting on assignments, in her large classes. She also used Twitter as a way to communicate with the students outside of the classroom, to respond to comments, as well. Students feel empowered to express their views in class, where in a 50 minute class, they may not be able to because of time constraints.

http://cooper-taylor.com/blog/2008/08/50-ideas-on-using-twitter-for-education/

This site is a blog titled, “50 Ideas on Using Twitter in Education” by Carol Cooper-Taylor, based on Chris Brogan’s list, “50 Ideas for Using Twitter in Business.” The bog discusses the First Steps to Using Twitter, Ideas About What to Tweet, Some Sanity for You, The Negatives People Will Throw at You, and Some Positives to Throw Back. The positives include: Twitter helps one organize great, instant meetups (tweetups). Twitter works swell as an opinion poll. Twitter can help direct student’s attention to good things. Twitter in the classroom helps people build an instant “backchannel.” Twitter breaks news faster than other sources. Twitter gives institutions a glimpse at what status messaging can do for an organization. Twitter brings great minds together, and gives everyone daily opportunities to learn. Twitter gives your critics a forum, but that means you can study them. Twitter helps with staff development, find other teachers. Twitter can augment parent feedback.

http://searchenginewatch.com/3630980

Ron Jones’ article, “Using Twitter as an Education Tool,” focuses on the ways academia is using Twitter. David Parry, assistant professor of Emerging Media and Communications at the University of Texas at Dallas uses Twitter after much apprehension. Parry states sever tips for effective use of Twitter in education. Some tips are: Instant feedback, increase class chatter, create a sense of classroom community, track a conference or seminar, follow a professional or famous person, public notepad, writing assignments, grammar, maximizing the teachable moment. The article also has a PDF article titled, “& Things You Should Know About Twitter.” This article gives the who, what, when, where, whys, and hows to use Twitter for education.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wpdyn/content/article/2009/06/25/AR2009062504027.html

The article, “Some Professors' Jitters Over Twitter Are Easing: Discussions Expand In and Out of Class,” by Susan Kinzie, discusses educator’s reservations about using Twitter in the Classroom, and overcoming them. Many professors’ apprehensions come from the fact that some courses require deliberate thought, while Twitter’s use is for instant notification. Another concern is privacy, as all who are registered with Twitter can see posts. However, other professors see the use of Twitter as a positive in the way of using Web 2.0 tools in the classroom.

http://www.tienetwork.org/content/view/302/

This site discusses Twitter and its use in education

Uses for Blogging in the Classroom

This is my first-ever blog. In my research, I have found many educational uses for blogging. As the computer and Internet have become the foremost in communication, it would be assumed that the uses in education are exponential. Teachers are using blogging for lessons. Students are using blogs for research. Teachers and students are using blogs for communication.  One key use for blogging seen in many of the site is for pen pal type messages. A classroom in America could be learning about the holocaust and would be able to blogs with students in Poland about the same subject. This allows for a great and quick communication that could never have existed without this type of technology. What educators seem to like most is that blogging is a way to encourage students to become more proactive in their writing. Blogging fosters a community outside the traditional classroom to allow students and teachers to interact with not only each other, but with others they may never have known existed.

Here are a few sites that discuss the use of blogs in education:

The site, http://www.emergingedtech.com/2009/05/blogging-in-and-out-of-the-classroom/, titled “Emergent Internet Technologies for Education”, discusses the use of blogging in coursework for the teacher and the student. The site provides links to five different examples of how blogging is used in different disciplines in the classroom. It also provides seven strategies on how to incorporate blogging into the classroom: 1) post a homework question 2) start a discussion 3) invite outsiders to comment on student work 4) have students post discussion questions for tomorrow’s class 5) have students post their notes for the day 6) post progress reports on team projects 7) have students create their own blogs for any independent study.

The web page, http://www.ion.uillinois.edu/resources/pointersclickers/2003_05/page3.asp discusses the use of using blogging for an online learning community. This is an article written by Dr. Ray Schroeder, the director of The Office of Technology-Enhanced Learning at the University of Illinois at Springfield. Schroder discusses the benefits of using blogs, especially for the ability to use a Site Meter.

The site, http://media.www.thespartandaily.com/media/storage/paper852/news/2006/02/23/News/Blogs.Used.For.Education-1625875.shtml, “Blogs Used for Education,” an article by Jill Rae Seib, describes many uses for blogs used in education. It also describes the many positive aspects of using blogs as a supplement; such as it can create a sense of community outside of the classroom.

In the New York Times, Jeffrey Selingo wrote the article, “In the Classroom, Web Logs Are the New Bulletin Boards,”  http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/19/technology/in-the-classroom-web-logs-are-the-new-bulletin-boards.html.  This article discusses the way certain elementary school teachers have successfully used blogging in the classroom as a means for discussion and journal writing requirements.  Another great use for blogging, as is discussed, is the fact that education does not have to stop in the classroom; students can continue to add to or learn from the blogs at home or anywhere outside of the four walls.

There is a great article, “Educational Blogging”, by Stephen Downs, http://www.masscue.org/publications/archive/educational_blogging.pdf, that begins by discussing blogging from a student’s perspective. There is a discussion of five uses for blogging in the classroom: 1) use blogs to replace classroom web page 2) instructors can link items relevant to the course 3) used for organization of in-class discussion 4) organize class seminars or readings 5) students can write blogs for class grades.

Will Richardson states about blogging, “This [the blogging process] just seems to me to be closer to the way we learn outside of school, and I don’t see those things happening anywhere in traditional education.” Since much of a student’s learning is done outside of the classroom, educators who have previously shied away from integrating technology have various resources to finally integrate. The world of education is not confined onto the classroom box. The world of education is endless. Educators can use blogging for myriad of activities, from discussing a field trip, to researching any number of topics. The idea of integrating blogging into anything from homework to classroom discussions will help to reach some students who just do not know how to work in a traditional classroom setting, when they have been raised using only technology.