Week 15: Games for Teaching and Learning

This week we read and found out about games and their influence on education.  More specifically, we looked at Second Life.  I have never heard of Second Life before and was certainly surprised when I saw the video about what Second Life is.  It is basically a virtual world in which people live.  However, this is completely virtual and on the computer.  One can live as if he or she is in the real-world.  Educational aspects are also incorporated and there are games that help students read, write, and do math.  I think that as far as education is concerned, Second Life is a great invention.  This is a fun way for students to learn and can easily keep them interested.  However, I think that this can also be detrimental because it can have a potentially negative impact on real-world socializing.  Students can start to rely on the virtual world too much and forget that they are indeed in the real-world and forget how to communicate with people.  I always think that as far as computers and virtual games are concerned, there needs to be monitoring.

As a teacher, I would definitely look into using Second Life or something similar to it.  I think that gaming is a great way for students to learn and to stay engaged.  However, as mentioned, I think that computer games should be supplementary to the teacher actually teaching.  I would not treat computer games as a lecture, but would include them as an addition to a lecture.  This way students can reinforce what they learned form me through a more interactive way (by students' standards).

I found a quick review about Second Life on YouTube.  This video looks at how Second Life can help students with exam reviews.  The video uses the SAT and the ACT to show how students can have review sessions through Princeton Review in the virtual world.  I think that this is a great way to get some important information about education and the exams that are necessary for college entrance.

Week 14: Distance Education and Virtual Schooling

This week we looked at distance eduction and virtual schooling, as in online schools and classes.  This is yet another way that technology has been changing education.  Having all of our classes online is now a possibility.  There are even online colleges where a person can receive a degree without ever stepping foot in a classroom.  This is certainly due to the new technological resources.  As noted in class, there are a lot of benefits to online education, students can, in a way, be their own teachers and follow their own pace.  Nonetheless, I think that it is important to limit entire online education, because communicating and socializing with other students is limited.  Also, we looked at how gaming has an effect on education.  Some of the websites that are posted for this week are extremely helpful to students and teachers.  For example, Star Fall has a word hunt which students can use to practice words and spelling.  Another site, Planet Buster, lets students do math problems.  All of these are beneficial to students.  They also use technology, the computer and the internet, which is becoming more and more popular in classrooms and something that just about all students are familiar with.

I think that using technology and websites, especially the ones that are presented in this class, is a great way to engage students.  I think that they can easily mix education and fun.  A lot of students can be impatient when they need to use a paper and pencil to do work, so being able to go on the computer to complete assignments would certainly be more fun.  Also, I think that a lot of students will go on the computer and will play games anyway, so we might as well provide them with educational activities and games.  As a teacher, I will definitely look up websites that students can use to help them with classwork and homework.  I think that by the time I become a teacher, technology will be even more advanced, therefore, I need to prepare for this fact.

This video discusses virtual schooling.  The video recognizes some of the benefits of virtual schools by looking at a young student who is able to pursue here athletics as well as her academics. Virtual schooling helps her stay on track with education as well as providing her with the time to practice tennis and travel for tournaments.  This certain virtual school is free and provides books and computers for students to use.  The parents also see the benefits and entirely agree to this type of schooling.  This video is good at showing some of the benefits that students experience because of online schooling.

Week 4: Copyright, Plagiarism, and Ethical Issues

This week we read about copyright laws as well as fair use and other ethical issues.  We read information on what exactly copyright laws are, what they are needed for, and why they are important.  I learned that copyright laws are necessary in order for authors to protect their original ideas.  It is important to give credit to the people who came up with the ideas.  In order to use peoples' information and their ideas users need to read up on fair use rights so that they understand what information they can use and how.

For me it is important to understand copyright laws, fair use, and plagiarism because I need to be able to teach students that plagiarism is wrong and teach them the correct ways in which to use resources.  If I do not understand the copyright rules then it is impossible for me to teach others.  Also, the tools and resources that I will use in class have certain copyright laws that I need to be aware of when planning my lessons and using other people's ides.   

I looked at a website that offers some general information about copyright laws and fair use for teachers.  This website related directly to what we learned in class as well as to the occupation that I want to pursue.   

Week 2: Mac vs. PC

During the second week of class we were introduced to the differences between the Mac and the PC.  We were presented with information about the Mac and the advantages of working with a Mac.  There was also a marketing video that we were able to look at and the video provided a funny explanation of the advantages that the Mac had over the PC.  Also, we got an in depth introduction on how to use a Mac computer.  It explained the different parts on a Mac computer as well as comparing it to the PC, so that people who are more familiar with the PC are able to relate the new information to something.  Furthermore, we were told how to create and save files and folders on the Mac as well as additional information that is necessary for us to know in order to use the Mac effectively.

Knowing how to use Mac computers is important to me and for my major because I am an elementary education major and computers, usually Mac's, are most often used in the school setting.  Even when I was in school, elementary, middle, and high, we used Mac computers for the majority of the time.  Mac's also seem to be very compatible with the new Smart Boards that have become popular in schools.  When I volunteered last semester at an elementary school, I noticed that most of the teachers had Smart Boards and used Mac computers to access their lessons and activities that they used the Smart Board for.  Also, it is important to know how to used the computer, especially in education, because our world is becoming more modernized each day and mostly everything now is accessible online.  This is important because teachers need to keep up with the new changes and one way to do that is by researching and looking up this information online.

This article describes the pros and cons of the Mac and the PC.  It states how there has and there still is an ongoing battle between the Mac and the PC and which one is better.  The article compares the cost, selection, operating system, security, and service between the two.  What I found interesting about this article, however, is that the author avoids being biased and simply states the facts, instead of favoring one computer over the other.