Walden Contest on Creating Change

Through Walden, I am becoming a change agent. I am not all the way there yet, but by the time I am finished, I hope to make a significant change for children that are growing up in poverty.

Virtual Worlds Video Project

This has been such an amazing process. What a sense of accomplishment :) It was a lot of researching and learning how to use new technology, but it was worth all the work. I used trial versions of Camtasia and Magix, and YouTube to learn how to use them. These are both programs that I would like to eventually purchase. There is so much more to learn and different strategies to incorporate. It was at moments frustrating, but when I got over a hurdle, it was exciting. This project was a reminder that I need to set more short term goals.

My project was on Virtual Worlds in Education from a Higher Ed perspective. There is also a focus on collaboration through professional organizations and professional development. I believe that there are many opportunities to use this type of technology in the classroom. The strategies need to be developed, but the possibilities are limitless. I hope you find the information informative and gain a little stronger understanding of how Virtual Worlds tie into learning.

Dynamic ans Static Learning with Technology

When I think about static and dynamic uses of technology, I am reminded of a typical day for my son. He is on his x-box gaming with a friend with his headphones on collaborating during the game. At the same time, his is Instant Messaging his friends and looking up content in his itouch. It is a total immersion in technology that slides up and down the scale of static and dynamic.

I think I spend more time on the static end of the spectrum for everyday use due to my job and what is required. I have to read and send emails, analyze data, and create Power Points etc. I really don't have time or the job description that allows for dynamic use of technology.

On the flip side, in my school and personal life I spend more time in the dynamic side of technology. For school it is 50/50. Many of my classes require me to step outside my comfort zone and create with technology. On the other side, I am working on my KAM and that is straight reading and writing. In my personal life I am a digital scrap booker. I try to learn new ways to use technology on a regular basis. I have taught myself PhotoShop Elements and I am currently learning how to use flash. I am signing up for a class on using Jata so I can learn how to create objects. My goal is to someday to have a job that allows for a more dynamic use of technology.

Engaging Learners with New Strategies and Tools

Durrington, V. A., Berryhill, A., & Swafford, J. (2006). Strategies for enhancing student interactivity in an online environment. College Teaching, 54(1), 190−193.

Siemens, G. (2008, January). Learning and knowing in networks: Changing roles for educators and designers. ITForum.

Text: Anderson, T. (Ed.). (2008). The theory and practice of online learning (2nd ed.). Edmonton, AB: Athabasca University Press.

Project Story Board

Story Board PP

Project Outline

This is going to be very general at this point. I am one of those people who has to see the big picture before I can put it in small pieces. I still have a few articles to read. I have read quit a few already and the information is interesting, new, and intriguing. There are so many facets to virtual worlds in education. Limiting my information to 5-6 minutes will be difficult. However, 5-6 minutes of good video is a little intimidating :) I am going to develop the information around my mock speaker who is on of the creators of AET, which is a university that takes place in a virtual world. All of the students go to school as avatars. So I am still developing a plan, but this is an idea of the sequence.

I. Virtual Worlds in Higher Education
A. Where they started and where they are today
II. Bringing a physical sense through teaming
A. Harvard (Second Life)
B. Experiments and Projects
III. Developing Professionally
A. MIT (Second Life)
B. SLED
C. List Serves and Professional Organizations
IV. Online classrooms
A. AET Active World
B. What does it look like
C. What do the students have to say
D. Challenges of on-line learning
V. Background and Introduction of Guest Speaker

Assessing Collaborative Efforts

In my opinion, participants in a collaborative learning community should be assessed on both their individual contributions and their contribution to the group. These two scores should be added together to get a final grade. Of course, this depends on if the project shows individual contributions along with the group contributions. If it is only a combined effort that shows up on the final project, peer evaluations would be a key factor in determining the grade.

As Siemens (2008) pointed out, a "balanced diet" is a focus for collaborative work. There needs to be a balance between individual work and group work. It ties back to learning styles. Some participants will prefer individual work where as others will prefer group work. However, it is important to grow student's week areas as well, so it it is a balanced approach, then not only will the individuals strenghts show, but their area of weakness will grow.

If students do not want ot work in a learning community, then the members in that community should first try to break things down into assignments and build a relationship with that student. They may just need encouragment. If that does not work, then the instructor should become involved. Ultimately, if a student does not participate in the project and this is varified, then it should hurt only the individuals grade and not the groups. Expectations and how grading will be handled in all situations should be set at the very beginning. Contracts and group goals should be set before the project begins (Palloff & Pratt, 2005).

Laureate Education, Inc. (2008). Principles of Distance Education. Baltimore: Siemens

Palloff, R. M., & Pratt, K. (2005). Collaborating online: Learning together in community. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.