Week 14: Distance Education and Virtual Schooling

This week we learned about distance education and virtual schooling online including online degree options and game-based learning for students. Distance learning refers to education that focuses on the instruction, teaching styles and instructional systems design that aims to deliver education to those who are not physically present. We focused on distance education last week as well so I was more interested in expanding my knowledge regarding game-based learning this week. There are numerous benefits of online games and they can cover multiple fields of learning and careers such as sports management, advertising, education, and psychology. In addition to games, the rise of virtual schools and online classes was discussed. Based on a CNN report, many older men and women are now able to get degrees online from their home. There are also multiple fraud sights that will give candidates fake diplomas, which I did not realize was an issue. In several Universities and high schools around the United States, virtual or online classes are also offered. For the state of Florida, Florida Virtual School has been on the rise in recent years and nationally virtual schools are growing 30% a year.

The topics that we covered in class this week are definitely relevant to my career as a future educator. Virtual School is on the rise so it is possible that one day I could be a virtual school teacher. Therefore, it is important for me to understand how online classes work so that I can be better prepared. Also, game based learning has a direct influence on the role of educators. Games, whether they are academic or not, have multiple positive effects on students; students can strengthen their reading, math, and analytical skills. In the third grade classroom I volunteered at this semester, the students use programs such as FCAT Explorer to strengthen reading comprehension skills and Brain Pop, which covers a wide variety of topics and information for students to learn. Since technology is so prevalent in our society today, it is vital for me as a future teacher to recognize and explore multiple online games that may strengthen my student’s learning in the classroom.

I chose to embed this video for the week because I felt like it gave some valuable information regarding game-based learning. The video defines game based learning as “a learning approach that incorporates the use of educational computer games or software programs.” Game based learning can assess and engage students in the classroom. This video introduced me to the term edutainment, which incorporates entertainment with education, and to the term training simulators, which train students in certain skills. Serious games, however, are games that are not designed for education but rather for education. This video was very informative and expanded my understanding on different theories and terms in reference to game-based learning and how it can be used in my future classroom.

Week 13: Creating a Professional Web Presence

This week we learned about what it means to have a web presence by learning how to create our own professional website through Google. A web presence refers to a collection of web files on a specific subject that includes a home page. For example, many companies, organizations or individuals have a single web site address; this is the home page from which you can get to other pages on the site. In addition to web presence, we also learned about distance education and virtual schooling. Distance education, also referred to as distance learning, is a field of education that focuses on the instruction, teaching styles and instructional systems design that aims to deliver education to those who are not physically present. Different types of distance education courses include correspondence through regular mail, internet, broadcast through radio or TV, CD-ROM that can be transferred to a computer, and student access through mobile devices.

A professional web presence and distance learning are both relevant to my future career as an educator. Especially for when I graduate from the University of Florida, it is useful and practical to have a web presence. Through my own personal web presence site, I can allow employers to look at my website and learn more about me. Employers can see my personal information including skills and hobbies, my resume and academics, and skills that I have gained that can help me in the classroom. A professional web presence is a great marketing tool, especially or a college graduate searching for teaching positions, as I will be. Distance education is also an important aspect of the field of education to consider. I know especially in Florida, Florida Virtual School is becoming increasingly popular every year. It is possible that I may one day be a teacher for Florida Virtual School or I will have students who are taking additional classes through this system. Therefore, it is vital for me to understand the impact and teaching strategies for classes that do not require students to be present physically.

I chose to embed this YouTube video from Florida Virtual School because it is relevant to the topic of distance education from class. The video is biased toward the advantages of Florida Virtual School; things that I definitely need to consider in my future career. Some advantages presented in this short clip include students receiving more personalized attention, teachers being available more often, online study groups with other students, and the fact that a student can work whenever it is convenient for him or her. For parents, they have more access to the students work and can contact their child’s teachers with greater ease. While there may be disadvantages to the idea of virtual school, I found it interesting to note some of the advantages discussed in this video.

Week 12: Social Tools & Cloud Computing

In class this week we discussed and learned how to use cloud computing tools such as Google Docs and social bookmarking sites like Delicious. Cloud computing refers to data access, computation and storage services that do not require the user to have any knowledge of where the configuration of the system in which the information came from. Cloud Computing is the ability to use a server-based application rather than being tied to a specific platform or place on a machine; a person can access his or her information anywhere on any computer. Sites like Google Doc allow users to share, collaborate and change in “real time” documents, presentations or spreadsheets with others. Sites like Delicious that have social bookmarking tools that allow users to organize, store and manage bookmarks for resources online; this is a great organizational tool.

As a future educator, cloud computing sites such as Google Docs and Delicious are tools that can definitely be useful. Through cloud computing sites teachers can share documents, presentations or spreadsheets with other teachers and administrators. This is also a great way to communicate and share information with students as well. For example, students could easily view a presentation online or collaborate with other students in the class on group projects or class assignments. Social bookmarking is also a great tool that teachers can use in their classroom. Through sites like Delicious, teachers can share annotated bookmarks with a class to help research a given topic. In addition, students can perform their own research and share useful websites with the class. These are just some of the many ways in which cloud computing tools can be useful for educators.

http://www.brighthub.com/education/k-12/articles/62228.aspx

I linked this website because I found it to be useful and relevant to the topic that was covered this week in class. This webpage article talks about the social bookmarking site Diigo and how it can be used by educators in the classroom. Diigo, in addition to bookmarking sites, allows users to highlight text or pictures and add sticky notes in a variety of colors to a bookmarked page. In addition, Diigo lets you take screenshots of bookmarked pages and archive the pages so that if the content is ever changed or removed, you will always have the original page. Communication with this site is limited to the teachers and students only, which is important for safety. Bookmarking sites like these can be used by teachers so that they can share research sites with students, allow students to have online discussions over a topic or have bookmarking sites be useful for group projects or class activities. Sites like Diigo, have a lot of potential for teacher use and they give the opportunity for students to collaborate and further their knowledge. This site not only introduced me to a new social bookmarking tool that I could consider as a future educator, but it also discussed the site’s relevance and useful benefits for educators.

Week 11: Open Source Software

This week we learned about open source software and explored different software tools and how they relate and can be applied to our career fields. Open source software refers to computer software that is available in source code which allows users to study, change, improve, and often distribute the software. This type of software is developed in a collaborative and open manner. The move for this type of free software started in 1983; open source software allows individuals to modify the software and share it with others. Through resources like Open Office.org, an open source version of Microsoft Office and other sites like SourceForge.net, which allows users to view and explore numerous open source software programs, open source software is easily accessible and free to all users.

Open Source Software is a resource that can definitely be applied and used in my future career as an educator. By going on SourceForge.net, I found numerous open source software programs ready to download, designed for the field of education. Some of these software resources include Paidei Education Platform, Turn-In, and easy p2p. Paidei Education Platform is a great tool for an educator that provides forums, exams, gradebook, and chat for students, teachers and administrators. Turn-In is a resource is a document submission system that allows students to submit homework to specific classes or sections. Easy p2p is a student to student file transfer and chat network. Just from these three resources, it easy to see some of the benefits that open source software can provide to teachers. It can help with communication, for teachers and students, online submissions, grading, exam creation, etc. and it is free!

http://mairin.wordpress.com/2010/03/31/a-k12-educators-guide-to-open-source-software/

I attached this site because I thought it was relevant to my field and introduced me to even more resources that a K-12 Educator can use in his or her classroom. From this site and the PDF document attached, I was able to explore learning materials, community resources and other open source applications. Resources like Open Clip Art, which provides public domain of art that can be used by teachers, and Scratch, a tool that allows students to create interactive stories, games music and art, are just a few examples of resources educators can use. Exploring the tools provided from this site showed me how vast the availability of open source software really is, and how there are so many resources that can be used by all different types of people in all kinds of careers.

Week 9: The Sound of...Podcasting

This week we looked at tools for creating sound and using sound for teaching, learning and communicating. Sound files can come in the form of mp3 players or audio formats and can enhance presentations; they can also stand by themselves as podcasts. Podcasts refer to audio files that can be played on a computer or downloaded to mp3 players like the iPod. The ease of creating files and locating them on the internet has increased greatly in recent years. In class, we also learned how to create our own podcasts through programs such as Garageband on the Mac. The typical file format of a podcast is an mp3. After I recorded my podcast, I published it on the web for others to see and embedded it into my blogger.

As a future educator, audio media and sounds, like podcasts, are definitely useful tools that can be utilized in the classroom. There are three main ways in which a teacher can use podcasts in his or her classroom. First, teachers can access podcasts created by others. This allows teachers to supplement lessons with sounds, often created by other teachers, in order to add to curriculum activities. Podcasts like these can be useful in supplementing foreign language textbooks, for example. Second, teachers have the ability to create their own podcasts. Teachers can use their own podcasts to help students review for tests or help to enhance student understanding of homework assignments. Finally, students can create their own podcasts. This allows students to enhance their research, communication and speaking skills. As one can see, podcasting is a relevant and useful tool for education.

I found this YouTube video to contain useful information about podcasting which helped to supplement what was learned in class this week. The video discusses how podcasting is different from traditional forms of media in that it allows you to go to a website and subscribe to a podcast, like in iTunes. The podcast then downloads to your computer; so, for example, if an author adds a new episode, then that episode will download automatically to your computer. All that is needed to podcast is a computer, microphone and some form of audio software such as Garageband.  The video then explains how to share podcasts and publish them on the web, which I found to be useful information for when I was trying to complete the extra blog post for this week.

Podcasting Extra Blog Post

My podcast above is about the hobby of Irish Dancing. I have been Irish dancing since I was six years old and I thought it would be fun to share some of my knowledge with others about this unique hobby. I talk about different types of dance shoes, music and competitions. Sound, like the podcast I posted above, is an important tool that I can utilize in my classroom as a future educator. Whether I have students listening to a recording of a novel or a sound clip for a presentation, sound is definitely a vital tool that I can utilize. Audio media, such as podcasts, can also be useful for classroom instruction. Educators can access podcasts to use in the classroom to supplement material, or they can create their own podcast to assist students. In addition, students have the ability to create their own podcasts which can help them learn how to research and be able to speak and communicate effectively.

Week 8: Digital Storytelling

This week was focused on digital storytelling technologies, audio media, and how these different tools and Medias can be used for teaching, learning and communicating. In an interesting newspaper article from the New York Times, the irony of digital storytelling was explored. It seems that as digital technology becomes more advanced, many people yearn for the simple Polaroid period of the past. In regard to audio media, I learned about the history of audio formats and about the most popular digital audio formats used today. An audio format is a medium used to store sound and music. Today, music is recorded and then distributed using numerous audio format varieties. The first media format was the phonograph cylinder in 1877; it became known as “records” during its popular era. The most recent audio format since 2008 has been SlotMusic, which is a type of memory card that is preloaded with music in an MP3 format. An audio file format refers to a file format that is used to store audio data on a computer system. There are several different types of formats including uncompressed audio formats, lossless compressed audio formats, and free and open file formats. A well know proprietary format today would be mp3. This week, I also explored the Prelinger Archive to view a variety of commercials and images from past eras which allowed me to see societal changes in values and how technology has advanced.

Audio media is an important tool that can be used in several ways in the field of education. Last week I explored how digital storytelling can help to improve student’s analytical skills by presenting pictures and slideshows to enhance class lessons. Similar to this, audio media, such as podcasting, includes important tools that can be utilized in the classroom to enhance presentations and share information. Allowing students to create podcasts or listen to audio, can help to stimulate the imagination, evoke emotional responses and help those students who are aural learners. In addition, audio media, like visual media, can help improve student’s analytical skills. For example, an audio clip from NPR may be a useful tool to use in my classroom in order to broaden or add to a specific lesson from class.

http://www.webopedia.com/DidYouKnow/Computer_Science/2005/digital_audio_formats.asp

I found the link to the website above to be informative and an easy way to understand some of the common audio formats for PC computers. Before, based on the articles from class, I was having a difficult time understanding the difference between the three main different types of audio formats. I now understand that uncompressed audio formats means that all data is available at the risk of large file sizes, while lossless compression doesn’t degrade the quality of an audio file. Finally, lossy compression has a small file size and tosses what is sees as irrelevant information. I took note of common Windows compatible audio formats such as MP3 and WMA. In addition, the key terms section at the bottom of the webpage also helped me to grasp a greater understanding of audio formats and the language that is often associated with the subject.