Social Media

1.What is the appeal for the young and old alike to network in online places like the ones you examined this week?

There are different appeals for each age group BUT the underlying reason that the young and old alike network online is to keep in touch with others in one-way-shape-or-form.  Some are geared more for older – Facebook (or so my kids get me), LinkedIn is geared for professionals, any social media that allows people to meet other people to date or old high school classmates, and most individuals use Instagram and google.  These websites keep individuals together for various reasons but the key point to remember is that social media allows individuals who may or may not be in the area of the user, allow the user to connect with other individuals.

2.If used in a classroom, how might networking websites positively and negatively affect teaching and learning?

Closed networking websites such as  Edmodo, TodaysMeet, Kidblogs, or Edublogs are an asset to the classroom, while social media sites such as SnapChat (my teenage children’s favorite social media site) can be a distraction in the classroom. 

3.In what kind of site might you tend to spend most of your time networking online and for what purpose?

Before I got my current job, I used LinkedIn quite a bit to connect with others that may have opportunities for me.  I’ve been on Facebook for several years.  I prefer Facebook to stay in touch with long distance friends and family but have found recently that it can be a gossip social media tool, which drives me to stay away.  I use Pinterest for recipes mostly, although there are other items like to pin other things like place I’d like to go, which is nice because I get to see pictures of area I would not know about otherwise because I don’t know they exist! 

4.In what ways will this benefit you and what do you think might be the drawbacks?

LinkedIn gave me some leads to jobs before I found my current employment.  I like Facebook to keep in touch with friends and family but don’t like some other posts that my friends post because, honestly, I think people tend to post too many personal things about themselves or vent too many opinions.  Pinterest tends to feel pretty innocuous to me compared to Facebook and much more enjoyable because I get to choose the content rather than content given to me by my “friends.”  I guess other drawbacks that I have noticed is that people are “addicted” to social media and/or children not having the ability to speak to other individuals because their sole communication is through social media. 

Future Trends

Describe 3 of the games or applications you explored in this lesson. Create links when needed so readers can go directly to the games or sites you mention.

Microsoft Kinect, “Stroke Recovery” uses the Microsoft Kinect for Windows software development kit (SDK), that uses the Kinect sensor’s three-dimensional camera to capture the movements of 48 skeletal points on the patient while he or she performs the therapy the movement data supplied by the sensor, enables the system to measure and evaluate the patient’s movements; this information helps the doctor asses the patient’s rehabilitation progress and uses the patient’s scores from previous sessions to adjust the level of difficulty for subsequent therapy sessions.  This is also supported by the Horizon Report 2014 which says, “Researchers from Microsoft Research Asia and Seoul National University developed a program for Microsoft Kinect called “Stroke Recovery,” a gamified exercise platform that offers an efficient, cost effective method of therapy that can be done at home (Johnson, Adams Becker, Estrada, & Freeman, 2014).”  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVgiEtDbsQM

Edutopia addresses the issue of the difference between Sims and Games.  "The difference between computer simulations and computer games is subtle but important. At the core, the distinction is that simulations are about things (or systems) and how they behave, and games are about a fun user experience (Prensky, 2007).  The tools that children gain from simulations are solving complex problems by employing scientific deduction, thinking laterally and strategically, working cooperatively in teams, and making ethical and moral decisions.  Civilization VI and Rise of Nation are two examples of simulation games.  http://www.civilization.com/en/games/civilization-beyond-earth-rising-tide/. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ymqm5AopxZw.

I would be remiss if I did not mention Minecraft.  All of my children have or still love Minecraft and enjoy sharing what they've built.  It's amazing to see the creative spirit come out.  People also record themselves creating their own Minecraft worlds that my children would mimic and then add their own special touches.  Another great feature is people can interact in their worlds and get challenged by having to obtain goods to create the world and defend the world against Creepers.  Minecraft is amazing in its ability to bring out creativity and spatial understanding.  https://minecraft.net/

Explain how the three genres of technologies (Games/Simulations, Virtual Reality, and Augmented Reality) have the potential to change the way we teach and learn.

According to Virtual Reality Blog, virtual reality in education helps present complex data to students in a way more accessible that is fun and easy to learn, as well as children have grown up with technology so virtual reality is not a foreign concept and allows for education without interaction (2015).  The benefits of Games/Simulations was addressed with the couple of examples above.  As far as Augmented Realty (AR), it "is a live, direct or indirect, view of a physical, real-world environment whose elements are augmented by computer-generated sensory input such as sound, video, graphics or GPS data (Mashable, 2016)."  The real world can be manipulated and allows for the user to be interactive.

Johnson, L., Adams Becker, S., Estrada, V., and Freeman, A. (2014). NMC Horizon Report: 2014 K-12 Edition. Austin, Texas: The New Media Consortium.
Mashable.  (2016).  Augmented Reality.  Retrieved from http://mashable.com/category/augmented-reality/.

Presnky, M.  (2007).  Sims vs. games:  The difference defined.  Edutopia: What Works in Education. George Lucas Educational Foundation.  9 March.

 Virtual Realty Blog.  (2015).  Virtual Reality Site.  Retrieved from: http://www.vrs.org.uk/virtual-reality-education/.

Open Educational Resources

Open Educational Resources (OER) are an amazing advance in education.  These resources allow anyone with internet access to educational meterials whether it’s K-12 or higher education.  “The goal is that OER materials are freely copiable, freely remixable, and free of barriers to access, cultural sensitivities, sharing, and educational use” (Johnson, Adams Becker, Estrada & Freeman, 2014).  All lectures and learning materials are available at the touch a finger rather than in paper form, saving money on resources.  "In schools, digital textbooks have been the most widely used open educational resources, as projects have been launched to address he high cost and shortages of hardbound materials (Johnson, et al, 2014).”  The limitation that still exists is getting interact access to everyone, but this limitation is shrinking.  

There has been another limitation to sharing educational content.  Licensing.   The Creative Commons grants copyright permissions to content creators including large organizations, institutions and even individuals.   These copyrights are not quite the same as “all rights reserved” of copyrighted bound books.  These copyrights are more like “some rights reserved” allowing for more freedom to share the content in a variety of different ways (Creative Commons, n.d.).

On a personal note, I have mentioned in at least one other post, my children attend a school district that utilizes Chrome Books and Google Drive.  Although the elementary school utilizes more “paper” resources, by the time students get to high school, most if not all of the books and homework are on Google Drive.  I’ve seen my daughter do an entire report on her phone!  I absolutely love OER and the sharing that done through the cloud. 

References

Creative Commons (n.d.). Retrieved from https://creativecommons.org/about/.

Johnson, L., Adams Becker, S., Estrada, V., & Freeman, A. (2014). The NMC Horizon Report: 2014 K-12 Edition, Austin, Texas: The New Media Consortium.