Second Life

I think that second life could be a fun thing for my students to do on their own, but I'd want to be able to make sure that they understand the risks with being on websites like that, and that they know to not give out any personal information to anyone. If its one of their actual friends from calss, I would prefer if they only give out personal information through a closed chatroom or e-mail, so that nobody can get their information exept for the person that they send it to. I'm not really sure that I could incorporate second life or an avatar into my classroom, but if their is a safe way to do so, I would be willing to try it.

"Ethics in Education"

The ethics article that I read was Jeremy Moss' "Ethics in Education." This article basically explores the tension that often seems to take place between community moral standards and free speech, especially as it relates to emerging technologies like the Internet, chat rooms, etc. A large portion of the article is given to difficult case studies showing different places this tension might occur.

One of the difficult questions that emerge from this article is: who judges what is to be censored and what is not? This is an especially difficult question to answer since most of our technology, like the Internet, is global. Our country may have certain moral standards, while another country's standards may be completely different. Actually, even within our own country this would be an almost impossible question to answer. I think the best way to address this situation lies in improving software that can censor specific information on individual computers or computer systems. Then smaller communites can decide for themselves how they feel about the issue. For instance, a person might work at an office, attend a university, go to a church, and go home and at each destination have a computer with different content filters. I think this is the best solution. Along with this local level content filtering, I'd advocate taking steps to make Internet Service Providers more accountable for what content they allow.

My own personal view would likely involve more censorship than will ever happen becuase I think many who abhor censorship believe that as long as someone out there thinks something or wants to do something that makes it ok--objective moral truths do not exist in their thinking. Others, I think, place less weight on the moral side of the scale than they do the practical side. For instance, it is ok to view this information, however morally offensive or dangerous it might happen to be, as long as it helps you get your school paper done. I don't have any expectations that this view of mine will be shared by enough people for it to actually happen though.

For a global technological community, there aren't easy answers to these (supposedly) hard ethical questions and they aren't likely to be answered satisfactorily in everyone's eyes anytime soon. We just need to keep working toward better understanding of the issues and better answers.

Avatar

Creating the avatar was interesting. I like how you can practically make the image look like yourself even though it starts out looking nothing like you. Avatars are a good way to put a face to posts on blogs, forums, wiki's, second life, etc. I think creating an avatar would be a fun project for any level of class.

Smart Board

Wow is all I can say about smart board! This thing is amazing and can be very very useful in the classroom. In essence it acts like a chalkboard/markerboard but with so many more functions. I was talking with my sister-in-law (who is a teacher) yesterday about smartboard and she said she uses one in her classroom that even records (audio and video) all of her lectures and everything she writes on smartboard.
The one negative I found was that it got out of alignment easily and it took some time and fix it.
All-in-all however I really like smartboard and hope that someday I will teach in a classroom that has smartboard.

Simulations/Second Life

I found the second Life program to be very very strange. It was almost like I was playing a game. I can't see spending too much time during my normal day exploring with second life. Maybe if I were younger without a family or even older and lonely I would spend more time exploring with it. I did at one point earlier in the year do a little exploring on You Tube and found some interesting stuff about Second Life...even a video about and O.U. Athens Second Life experience and it seemed somewhat interesting.
I'm not sure of the name of the simulation that I tried out but it had to do with building a virtual city. This to me seemed like a cool thing to do and something that could possibly be a good tool in a class such as government or economics. However I found it very hard to figure out and the instructions weren't real clear.

simulations blog

I started out using second-life when I did the simulations and I felt that it was kind of stupid. It reminded me of World of Warcraft but without the killing, and the undead monsters. I really felt that it wasn't worth my time, and I would have rather we did the real life simulation instead. Although I could have made that my second choice, I decided to go with Lemonade Stand since it's geared toward younger children. I did two days worth of lemonade selling in the simulation; the first day being sunny and I sold 39 cups of lemonade to 97 potential customers and gained 3% popularity. by the end of the first day I had no ice and very little other supplies so I had to go back to the store so I could purchase more. On the second day, it was raining, and I sold 21 cups to 93 potential customers with 83% satisfaction and gained 6% popularity. 29 of my remaining lemons spoiled that day. I actually enjoyed Lemonade Stand because when it came to the recipe they used whole numbers rather than fractions which was easier for me since I'm terrible at math, and you actually got to see people in the simulation buying your lemonade. I would use Lemonade Stand in my classroom.

cyber bullying

Before the video, I had a little bit of prior knowledge of how bad cyber bullying was. I noticed a lot of it in the news where a girl was beat up by 5 girls that she thought were her friends and they posted a video of the beating on youtube. Another thing I noticed in the news was about a girl who had been harrassed on myspace and ended up commiting suicide. These are some of the extremes of cyber bullying. I honestly didn't think 5 years ago that something as bad as bullying could reach the world wide web more intensely than just a few threatening e-mails every once in a while. It makes me feel that my own children won't be safe on the internet unless I monitor what they will be doing. In some cases, that would be a good thing, especially if the monitoring was a mutual agreement; which shows that you'd have to have the right approach with your children so that they don't think you're just being nosey about what they are doing on the internet. I mean, if your children can't feel safe sitting in front of their own computer, then where can they feel safe? I've never had a problem with bullying on the internet, but since my adolecence is from a different era than that of my children's, there's no way of telling how things will be a decade from now when my children are teenagers.

Simulations Blog

During our last class session, we spent time exploring simulation and second life websites. The two simulation sites I spent the most time on were Electrocity and Eduplace. From a teacher's perspective, I found both of these sites to be very valuable. In Electrocity, the student is able to create and run their own city. I think doing this simulation would help students get some hands on experience with the concepts of economics and politics, not to mention the implicit lessons on planning, responsibility, decision making, and consequences. At Eduplace, I looked at a 6th grade lesson on Energy, Forces, and Motion and a lesson called Continuity of Life. The former dealt with acceleration and weight with an entertaining elevator simulation, while the latter had several interactive bacteria experiments the students could take part in. All in all, I think the students would be more engaged--and so learn more--if these websites could be incorporated into the curriculum.
The second life website was fun for me and I'm sure the students would enjoy it. I found it to have limited educational value, though--at least compared with the simulation sites. Even so, it is good for a teacher to be familiar with such sites, as many of the students are surely involved with it.

cyberbullying

until watching the video I was unaware of the impact or breath that cyber bullying had on kids. I guess I always thought that kids were safe at home from bullies but with more and more kids spending time online the bullying can come to you in your own home. We as teachers and parents need to keep on our kids about treating one anoter with respect and understanding.

simulation blog

I spent time in class on monday exploring the world of second life and simulation. I found both experences enjoyable. They were a nice break and a good way to get away from the "real world". The only problems I could see is spending too much time in these created worlds and neglecting the problems and responcibilities on the real life of the user.

Simulations blog

In class we visited several different sites for simulations and second lives. I found these resources to be very helpful not only for students, but we as future educators in knowing what the students are dealing with and spending time with outside of the classroom.
I felt that the different simulations that we had the opportunity to play with were great resources for the students to use within the classroom. I really enjoyed the Lemonade stand, and I think that students can get a real life feeling of different adventures by doing it through these simulations. The students were able to create a lemonade stand and track the sales, profit, and inventory of the stand. This would be great for the students to do as a group project seeing whose stand would better achieve goals and make better profit if it were to be done in the real life.
The Second life was a nice experience of creating my own avatar and going into a whole new world making new friends. This site gave me the opportunity to make the avatar look more like myself and make new friends. I was able to walk or fly wherever I wanted to go. I could also chat with a person from somewhere else. I felt that this was a great experience as a future teacher to see what the children may be doing on their own time, and gives a better feel of the Second life.

The digital divide in Ohio schools

Ohio schools continue to be funded based on local income, property values and local tax revenue as the main source of income for school districts. Even though the Ohio courts have ruled this format of funding unconstitutional numerous times. As a result of this economic structure for schools in Ohio, the haves and the have nots are very far apart in the opportunities that students are given to use technology in the classroom.
Technology varies from schools with computers at every desk, connected to smart boards that are in each classroom. To schools that have one computer lab that numerous teachers share. In most cases these computers are old, out of date, with minimal functions. This difference in opportunity happens in inner city schools as well as rural schools across our state. Teachers can help students curb some of this digital divide by encouraging use of libraries and community centers with computer access. However only a few students actually take advantage of these outside the classroom technologies. The students that need the extra push to open their eyes to these technologies rarely have the time or initiative to devote to learning outside the school on their own.
This difference in the quality of education in Ohio due strictly to the digital divide has a long term effect on employment and the social economic issues that effect our society going into the next generation. If our school funding is not changed into a more equal distribution of funds students from low income rural, and inner city alike will not have the opportunity to succeed that more affluent students have.

Simulation/ Second Life

I spent the most time investigating the game Electro City. This game was very user friendly. I can see it being used in both science and social studies classes to peak students interest in how energy and its by products effect our society. This game not only gives students an environmental look into society it also gives a cost impact. This game can inspire excellent classroom discussion on issues from taxes to what type of energy to use and their long term effects on society.

I also explored Second Life the virtual classroom with a tour of Princeton University. The game was not user friendly for beginners. Logging on alone took over 30 minutes. To use this type of game in the classroom a great deal of preparation would need to be used. The learning potential of the virtual classroom is endless with technologies advancing everyday. The ability to teach advanced science and math in a virtual arena would be phenomenal. However with any new technology on the web inappropriate activities are always a concern. With a proper monitoring systems the benefits out weigh the negatives.

Simulations/Second Life

One of the simulation websites I checked out was Old Favorites, with games like Oregon Trail and Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego. I think it's funny that they call them "old favorites" because we didn't even have computers in school when I was growing up, but that's beside the point. These games can teach social studies, geography, budgeting, etc. I can see using this in the classroom if there was time.

Another site I looked at was Discover! Simulations Science. This is for elementary school kids and had audio with it. It was easy to use and the info was relevant, but I think kindergartners and first graders would get bored listening to the guy talk.

Some simulation games I am familiar with at home, although I do not play them are Roller Coaster Tycoon and Zoo Tycoon. It teaches kids all the aspects of running a business. They must build the park/zoo, have enough money to pay employees and run it, make sure enough visitors are coming to increase profit, and then they can add on. Another popular game around my house is Deer Hunter, where the player gets to go hunting with all that entails. Last but not least, my husband joins a Fantasy Baseball League every season. You get to run a baseball team with actual MLB players on your team. Whatever they do in real life you get points for. (You can tell I live with 3 males.)

Second Life could be fun and entertaining, and maybe have some educational value, but I would not use it in a school. There are too many dangers that could happen, like meeting strangers.

Simulation Blog

In class, I explored three different simulations: Electrocity, Discover, and Lemonade Stand. Electrocity was a game that allowed you to build your own city. You could be mayor and balance out the city’s growth, but you had to keep in mind the impact that your city had on the environment. Players had to take into consideration how much electricity was to be used, whether to cut down trees or save them, etc. I did not care for this software and would not have this in my classroom. Discover was a program that enabled you to choose from grade levels and topics. It would require students to enhance their problem-solving skills. This program was user friendly and I would have this software in my classroom. Lemonade Stand was an interesting program that required the user to have a lemonade stand and try to make as much money as they could in thirty days. The user opens their own business and has complete control over all the economics of the business. Students are responsible in how their business does, whether they make a profit or go bankrupt. This program is a good tool for math skills, but might be difficult to understand for younger children.

Second Life is a 3D virtual world that is used to create content and applications for the classroom. The user can join groups, chat, or have live debates and discussions with people around the world. It is neat to be able to have conversations with people around the world; I myself do not feel comfortable doing that on the Internet. It can be used as an instructional tool where learners are immersed in a virtual replica of another place. Users can go to foreign places around the world, go inside the mind of a person who is schizophrenic, or look at famous paintings. Students would be able to walk in someone else’s shoes for a day without leaving their house. I think this software is a little high tech for an elementary classroom.

Simulation Software

Second life software has many uses for educational purposes. It can be used to tour exotic places around the world, to explore famous paintings, to interact with professional networks. It can bridge language barriers, advertise products, be a virtual classroom or host a debate.
While I believe that the software has potential for many good uses, I do not believe that I would use it in an elementary classroom. I do not think it is appropriate for young users.

It was very interesting to “walk” around in the virtual world and to converse with people from all over the world. Perhaps with practice, I would find the program beneficial for personal use and professional development.

Discover is a wonderful science simulation software that is arranged by grade level and topic. It was very user friendly and enjoyable. It involved higher level thinking. I would definitely recommend this program.

Lemonade Stand was also a good program for elementary students. It involved consumerism – making money, supply and demand, etc. I also evaluated Evolution Lab. I felt the program was difficult to understand and not appropriate for young students.

Simulations Blog

Overall, the simulations seemed useful.  A few of them were not working right, but that may be because there was no animation or multiple slides.  The ones that worked were well done.  The Second Life program is a good concept, but there are several bugs to be worked out.  Mine had  so much delay that I could not even tell what I was doing.  I think that a program with a separate world/environment for each class, as developed by the teacher, would make a great learning device, but the Second Life's world is too big and complex for use in a classroom.  One major problem would be a lack of control, since the teacher has no way of making sure his/her students stay where they are supposed to.  Also, the teacher may not be able to control the content his/her students access.    

Simulation

In Seocondlife, a "virtual world", I felt it was a little odd and humorous because you can fly to anywhere you want. I had never done anything like that before and felt uncomfortable talking to a stranger in another world. You as an avatar could explore places that you probably would never go like to Japan or to a museum across the world, but I do not think I would use this in a classroom. Kids could have too much freedom and you could not really monitor what they were doing. You could build a school in Secondlife but every child may not have access to the internet or a computer. I think Secondlife is fine for an individuals free time but not a classroom.

I also explored some simulations; Nation States, Electro City, Discover, and Lemonade Stand. I really enjoyed having a lemonade stand. You were in charge of a lemonade stand for 30 days and you want to try and get as much money as you can in that amount of time. You have complete control over almost every aspect of your business. Including the inventory, pricing, quality control, and purchasing. One thing you do not have control over is the weather and that effects your sales and pricing, because a person is not going to pay the same amount on a cold day as a hot day. It teaches kids to monitor money and inventory and how some conditions change business sales. It is a great tool for math. I had fun playing this game as will many students.

Cyberbulling

Cyberbullying is becoming the new-age bullying for students using facebook, myspace, blogs, texting, emailing, IMing. There are many types of cyberbullying including flaming, online harassment, cyberstalking, and masquerading, and exclusion.
Cites such as facebook and myspace are places to connect with others but is also a good cite to get bullied. Anyone with an account can post anything on anyones wall where it is hurtful or not. I would suggest changing the settings on your profile so that no one but your friends can see you. The only problem is, your fiends may be the ones posting the hurtful messages.
Masquerading is someone getting online and acting and posting messages and photos as someone else and is a common way of cyberbullying. This is a result of letting your usernames and passwords get out in the open. Students need to pick usernames and passwords with caution by not using anything to do with you name or birthdates.
People who cyberbully think it is better to do online becasue they feel they can not get caught; they feel that what they post is annonymous. They usually say more online bullying than they would in person.
To prevent cyberbullying and fighting it, the police and investigators say that kids do it because they want to get a reaction so instead of fighting it out take action and tell an adult. If it severe keep a file of all the posts and the date, time, and the address it was sent from. They can use this information to catch the person quicker.
Cyberbullying can be so severe that it casues depression and suicide. So if you think that someone is having trouble with cyberbullying, step in and help the person emotionally so it does not lead to suicide.

Simulations Blog

I tried out KidsPlace when checking out simulations.  This site has a section for educators, students and families.  Students have access to their grade (K-6th).  Students are able to click on a different unit they are learning about, and make more discoveries.  The kindergarten unit allows the student to move a microscope over different objects and have more info read to them. Questions allowing them to click on the correct item are also present.  I like that each unit is simple and DAP.  I think it would be another extra tool to use in the classroom, and especially beneficial for the visual or audio learner.

I also tried out 2nd life by becoming an avatar.  I found a lot of it confusing and not as engaging as I was expecting.   In fact it was boring compared to what else is out there.   I can see how they tried to make it an educational place, but I would not want a child in my classroom exploring it. When I pushed on search at the bottom of the screen to try and change geographical locations, I found disturbing places for a child to visit.  When you clicked on an object you would be given educational info about it or the place you were in, but it was simply boring to learn about.  The designs weren't that stimulating either.   

Simultations and Avatars

created an avatar in second life. The process was simple enough, but I'm not sure how I feel about the whole idea of using it in a classroom. The simulations were a neat experience because I was able to communicate with other avatars. I was not sure if it was actual people I was talking to, or if it was a computer generated avatar. The idea of using them in a classroom would be useful to have multicultural interactions, but I don't think that it is a tool that I would use frequently. I am cautious about communicating with people especially individuals that you do not know. The problem is that when I created my avatar I could have simply lied about my age, and pretended to be whoever I wanted to be. In this sense I did. My avatar had its own name and background. I communicated with others. It was an interesting experience. I felt like I was playing a more advanced SIMS.
One thing I really did not like about the Second life was the fact that you can experience life as though you are someone else. The example given was being in the life of a person with schizophrenia. The avatar had people around him yelling "you are nothing." Repeatedly yelling insults to the avatar. That type of experience would not be beneficial in my opinion. Overall it was interesting to use the avatars, but I don't think I would use them in my classroom. If I did us them it wouldn't be consistently.
The simulation games were fun. i had to manage a lemonade stand and do the business aspects of it. I learned that business is not my strong point. However, I do think that this would be a useful tool in the classroom. The students would be able to have a pretend business and have to weigh the important costs, really manage things so that they receive a profit and don't lose money in their business. I would use these simulations in the classroom as a way for the students to learn about different responsibilities that go with different things. For example on one of the simulations the student can create their own nation, and they dcide what kind of governement they would create.

Simulation Blog

During the simulation blog I tried the Electrocity. This is a simulation website that you can create your own village and in order to keep residents you must purchase resources that encourage the villagers to purchase. The more money you make the more you can build. You must create a environment that you keeps your residents happy and the more you build and expand the better the city and invites more residents to live there. You can sell land and build ski resorts, farm land, industrial plants.

I personally was not very interested in this game and would choose something more on the level of pre-school age games. This game would be great for middle childhood education.

Simulations Blog

The simulation that I tried was Discover! Simulations. I found it very very informational. It gave many different grade levels and  many different activities for each grade level. I tried a couple different activities at different grade levels. The overall simulation was very similar but the information given was different. For all the grades the information was very bountiful. I do believe that if I could change something about this program I would make the simulations progressively harder as the grades get higher. In this program the simulations are as easy for kindergarten as they are for the sixth grade. I think that a kindergarten student could do the simulations for the sixth grader the only difference being the kindergarten student will not retain any information because the information is too complex.

Cyberbullying

After watching the video the general thing happening here is that more and more kids are using the internet to say hateful things about other kids for pretty much all to see. They do this is a multiple of ways. Some ways include stealing a password and acting as the person you want to hurt. They also are using blogs to degrade and attack other kids and get other kids to see that as well. They feel that posting things online is not as bad as saying to the person directly. I feel like this is very sad that kids are doing this to other kids because it can get very dangerous. Kids need to know that they should not give out their passwords to anyone and contact an adult if they are feeling like they are being attack so they can figure out what to do and not let the kids just get in deeper danger. By trying to handle the situation themselves. Even though most kids do not want this I think that parents should really be aware of the things their kids are doing online. Not peering over their shoulder but by having a relationship with their children where they feel safe going to their parents when they are having problems like this with other students.