Virtual Classrooms

I found this article on learning circuits .org and the title is “Virtual Classroom Starter Guide” by Bob Maiden. Webcasts, Webinars and virtual classrooms are some terms used to describe live online events. These synchronous online events are mostly short in duration, ranging from 30 minutes to 2 hours. They are usually led by a live instructor and an assistant to the main presenter. These programs allow hundreds of learners but there tends to be about 25 people. The handouts, manuals or quick reference guides are typically handed out before the event and everyone participating will have the same support tools as in a physical classroom.
What participants will typically see are PowerPoint slides, multiple-choice surveys, websites, live applications such as Word and Excel, whiteboard and electronic flip charts and annotation with tools with arrows, bullets and so forth. What participants will typically do is answer yes/no polls, hands-on practice with software applications, answer multiple-choice surveys, visit websites and much more. Students will also be able to question/comment via public or private chat with participants and instructors.
If your computer has internet connection you will be able to be a participant in a virtual classroom. This type of technology is a great addition to teaching and learning, I feel as though virtual classrooms are another way to make learning more convenient. If students have a lot going on their lives and can't get into classrooms, virtual classrooms are a great way to make their lives a lot easier. I think further research would be necessary because I am curious to find out what kinds of subjects and grade levels are available.

Video Streaming in Education

I found the article, "What is video streaming?" on rhode island pbs.org.Video streaming is an excellent way to display student video projects. Incorporting this technology into classroom curriculum is a great way to access education programming. Video streaming enables the real time or on-demand distribution of audio, video and multimedia on the internet. It is the transfer of digital media so that it is received as a continuous real-time stream.
Finding these videos is easy too, a simple keyword search of the database can locate grade ad subject content. These videos are transmitted and received and can be played in applications such as Windows Media Player and QuickTime Player and in most computers these applications come standard and if not they are easily dowloaded.
These streamed files are simultaneously downloaded and viewed, but leaves no file on the viewer's computer. Also, the files play back the audio and video as soon as enough data has been received. Each video that you can download are indexed which means you can view the entire program of watch a shorter clip.
Some providers of these downloadable streamed videos are Rhode Island PBS and the subscription gives you access to more than 4,000 length and 44,000 clips of indexed main core-curriculum video programs over the Internet.
I think some advantages of using video streaming are the content of the videos will catch the students' attention to keep them focused. These videos are always available from any internet-enabled computer, so if a student misses class they can go back and watch the video that was shown. An advantage for teachers would be that these videos are accessible anywhere so lessons can be planned from home. I think the only further research that I should do is to find out what kinds of videos are out there that would be useful for me.

Podcasting In Education

My article is called "Podcasting" and I found it on learninginhand.com. A podcast is a series of audio or video on the web that can be cataloged and automatically downloaded. Students and teachers everywhere are learning and teaching from audio and video programs on ipods, desktops, and many other devices. Putting audio and vdieo on the web isn't something new but in 2004 a new way of downloading audio and video emerged, called podcasting. A podcast has a news feed that allows to be cataloged in various directories like iTunes and others. A popular directory is Podcast Alley, when you find the one you want to, simply click its Subscribe button.
There are three kinds of podcasts. Audio are usually in MP3 files and are the most common. Enhanced can have images and audio and are AAC file. Video, the last type of podcasts are movies with complete sound are usually MPEG-4 files. Teachers will find podcast episodes for students for listen to or watch.
Creating podcasts also has many educational benefits, students are able to create a product to share with a world-wide audience. Knowing there is an audience gives students purpose and motivation to create a great product. I think having podcasts in classrooms can only help the learning process. Audio and video that relate to the subject being taught can be used in any grade and I believe that it will be effective.

Multimedia in Education

I found my article on visionlearning.com and it is titled "Teaching Effectively with Multimedia" by Jessica E. Zimmer. The article brings up the issue that all students learn differently and respond differently to information presented. That is why teachers will normally combine lecturing, text and the hands-on approach. Now that we have the Internet there are more ways to present information. The web allows the incorporation of animation, moving pictures and sound into lessons.
Videos and CDs are always a good purchase to present lessons with but may be limited with school budgets. Another disadvantage of using these tools is since teachers are so busy with their schedules that it can be hard to review the multimedia materials and to incorporate them into lesson plans. The author says that teachers need a system that blends text, images, simulations, video, audio and other materials in a single coherent environment that would be available from school or home.
This type of technology greatly relates to teaching and learning because students are being able to learn from videos and CDs and this gives them more options of learning. Students can use this type of technology for projects and the opportunities are endless. I think multimedia in education has brought a lot more knowledge to students, with all the videos and other things out there there is so much to see. Further research would be helpful with this form of techology because it is always changing and everyday there is more added.

Digital Imagery

The article I found is titled "Increasing Visual Literacy Skills With Digital Imagery" by Dr. Lance Wilhelm and I found this article on the journal.com. The article talks about how the use of images is becoming more popular in schools and they are being adapted to teacher's lesson plans. In order for students to become more versitile in today's society they must have visual literacy skills. A good example for teachers to increase visual literacy is digital cameras. Digital cameras are becoming cheaper and easier for younger children to understand. The article brings up the point that in most colleges now, students in the college of education are reqiured to take courses that deal with technology and they deal a lot with digital camers due to their growth. With the use of digital cameras, teachers can transfer photos onto powerpoint or Word.
Teachers can also take digital photos of notes and if a student misses classes they will have the notes in a picture and teachers won't have to make copies and copies of papers. Another good way classrooms will be able to use digital imagery is when students have projects they can bring back photos of science experiements and field trips and transfer them to a poster board or however they want to display it.
Digital camera technology changes all the time and I think further research on this type of technology would be very useful.

Storyboarding

I found my article on e-articles.info and the article is called "How to storyboard your web site" by Dr. Walter Smith. Storyboarding is when planning to make a website you intergrate your objectives, target your market information, and your findings and your own ideas. A website storyboard can be seen as a blueprint or a first draft. A storyboard consists of main page or home page at the top, then central navigation bar and subsections and so on.
Storyboards can be created with a software program, sheets of paper or any other mechanism. Once the first draft is done, you should go back and review the website from the competitive analysis viewpoint. Make sure you have included all must-haves and leave an opportunity for the elements that fit into the "would-be-nice category". Remember to keep the layout simple and logical, don't move on wit the web development process until the layout of the storyboard is finalized.
I think this type of technology is a great tool for students and teachers because students can create their own websites and post their own thoughts. Students can participate with storyboarding at any age with assistance by their teacher.
After reading this article I understand all the hard work and preparation that goes into making a website.

Week 3 Discussion

I found my article at howstuffworks.com and it is entitled “How Wikis Work”. The most famous wiki is called Wikipedia; it has become so large that you will come across many times in Google. People seem to find wikis easy to use and navigate through, like e-mail and blogs, wikis also perform a very useful service in a simple way. A group of people can log on to a wiki site and are able to edit bits of text. These bits of text can be viewed and edited by anyone visiting the site. Some people think the idea of being able to “edit” information means the sites are unreliable, but wiki supporters claim this is an incorrect assumption. A wiki is nothing but a collection of web pages connected with each other through internal links. The wikis website pays someone to write the articles linked to the site. I think knowing all about wiki sites is vital because some people believe these sites aren’t accurate so teachers can decide whether or not they will allow the use of these sites. Most of my college professors urge my classes not to use these sites. I think that these sites can be accurate but you have to be careful what information you use from these sites and double check the information. I think further research is necessary with sites like these.

Week 2 Discussion

My second week's article is entitled "The Blogging Phenomenon:Who? How? Why?" and I found the article on digital divide .net. The article starts out talking about how the word blog was voted word of year in 2004 and ABC news declared bloggers People of the Year. Blogs can be focused on one specific idea written by one author who can incorporate different ideas or by many writers focused on one or many topics. Blogs are made up of many different types of media, including writing, images, video clips and pictures. The pictures can be taken with digital camera and now with mobile phones.
Blogs have been around since the mid-90s but in the past couple years blogs have been especially embraced. In the past couple elections, both political conventions were covered by bloggers. In the U.S alone there are more than 8 million blogs and now 6 million Americans now a large portion of their news and information through blogs. When blogs started out the average blogger was a white male but in recent times surveyors have found that women and minorities are starting to blog more and more. One feature that makes blogging different than other forms of information media is the ability for readers to provide feedback by posting a comment.
I think the technology of blogging relates to teaching and learning because I believe it is a good way for students that might be too shy to participate in class to come back and post a blog about his/her comments from the class and the teacher and students can come and comment to the blog. Also, for an online class since there is no face to face meetings this is a perfect way to communicate with students and the teacher.
I think blogging would be a positive experience for teachers to use it more with class discussions and assignments. I think further research is necessary because teachers that aren't using should consider using it in their classrooms.

Week 1 Discussion

The article I read by Juli S. Charkes it was published on March 25, 2007 entitled, "In the Region", I found the article on New York Times.com. The article talks about a middle school in White Plains that has seen the Amazon rain forest in Brazil in a virtual field trip and talked to their peers in Sri Lanka and have watched scuba divers along the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. Charles writes, "Virtual field trips rely on interactive, videoconferencing, the same technology that businesses have used for decades". She goes on to say that the equipment used for a virtual field trip consist of camera, projector, special hardware and Internet signal.

The students at White Plains Middle School have also visited the Iditarod sled race in Alaska, chatted with NASA officials and the students played their music for the members of the Cleveland Philharmonic. The principal of the middle school, Joseph Cloherty said, "This brings with it an understanding of the world, students begin to have an understanding of themselves not just as citizens of White Plains, but of the world as well". Although these virtual field trips seem like a good idea to everyone, some educators think that schools need to consider what will be lost when real-life interaction is replaced with just virtual connection. These educators think that it won't submerge the students into the culture.

I think that these virtual field trips are a positive addition to teaching and learning. I think the students and parents would rather not have to pay for field trips out of the country, but still want their children to get to experience new cultures and sights. I think students should get to experience the virtual field trips and the out of school field trips. Virtual field trips give the students oppurtunities to come back the location again and again. The students will be able to get something out of every visit because they will be able to visit the location again and talk to other students there.

I think further research would be very helpful because with more research educators would be able to find more places to visit with their students and more and more schools would be able to participate in virtual field trips.