EDUC 6177 WEEK 8 Assignment 1

            For this week's assignment, I had the privilege of choosing three different blog posts from my colleagues who are enrolled in the, "6177 -Using Technology to Enhance Adult Education" course. The three chosen technologies are listed below, along with the summative responses from my colleagues.

            In week seven, Seher discussed the importance of digital citizenship and creative content. The link that Seher provided lists the importance of raising awareness of creative rights for the information found on the Internet. As Seher stated, some students do not know much about digital ethics when they choose to download information they find on the Internet. I agree with Seher when he states that it is important that learners respect the creator of the information they find. This site, along with many others, is so important because it explains exactly what the proper etiquette is on the Internet. It is our job as adult educators to create awareness of creative rights and copyright issues.

    "One of the technologies related to digital citizenship is Digital Citizenship and Creative Content. The URL for the     

  site is http://www.digitalcitizenshiped.com/. The site aims at teaching learners ethical use of digital content. It is a free, instructional           program. It teaches students respecting creative rights through case studies. Raising awareness about creative rights is the main                              focus of the program, and that is why I selected this technology. Most of our learners do not know much about digital ethics, and                 they download and use many creative works without acknowledging the creator. It is important that learners respect the creator of             the work. I can use the scenarios, lessons and real world applications that can be found on this site in my lessons. I can use them to improve their reading and writing skills while creating awareness of creative rights and copyright issues. For example, at the end of each unit, I can ask them to write a reflection about what they have read. I can also group my learners, and assign each   group with a unit. Next, I can ask them to prepare a presentation about what they have studied. After all the presentations are completed, I can ask them to do a class debate. Such activities would help my learners understand and appreciate creative rights."

                                                                                                                                                                - Seher Balkaya Bulat

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            The next technology I chose was reported by Melita Williams. Melita reported about Eve Online which is a game that allows students to pick a business format in which they are interested, and gather information on how that particular business is run. The students are then allowed to record their findings in a video format  and share it with the designated group. This is an interactive game that teaches students economic skills when researching and developing a particular product. Melita was able to create two exemplary examples on how she would use this particular game-based technology within her classroom.

                "The first video game I will reflect upon is Eve Online according to Kirk (2012) “Eve Online is an online  space   
                  game that teaches adults how to work together, as well as many of the basics of                                             
                  industrial production. The game includes a battle mode, but the key in it is research and                                                             
                 development to discover new products for your fleet. Eve Online emphasized the need to spend                                             
                 money on research and development and increase the efficiency of a production line in your factory. It also 
                 teaches basic economic skills as players manipulate the economy based on the supply of products available on 
                 the market. Players learn business relationships by creating contracts with other players.”

                I choose this game because I feel it gives learners a great way to learn a lot of skills to use                                                
                in professional aspects and get a feel of how to operate a business and how to save and spend                                            
                money in order to run a business.

                Example one

                The first way I would use Eve online with learners is by having them design a business plan where they 
                are have to  hire employees and partners and make their company successful by designing a                                        
                 business that can be productive and show gains and losses of making and spending money.

                Example two

                The second way I would use Eve Online is by having students pick a business they are interested                                    
                into going into and then gather information on how that business is ran and then video record their                  
                findings and share it with the group."

                                                                                                                                                                - Melitta Williams               

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The final technology that I chose was one that was reported on by Izlem Atai. Izlem chose a restaurant game in week five that supports English language learners in regard to learning about the British culture. The game allows the player to engage in a scenario by being a waiter in the British Café. There is a menu provided and the students/player must become familiar with different menu items and the proper word associations for those items. This is an excellent game for English language learners to experience the British culture.

                "The Restaurant Game is great for English language learners to learn about the British culture. The                                
                  player acts as a newly employed waiter at the Brit Café, who is trying to serve customers the right                                           
                  food. The menu consists of traditional British food, and the main aim is to familiarize the player with these 
                  dishes. There are three categories in the menu: starters, main course, and pudding and                                              
                  each has a number of scenarios in it once you click. I selected this game because I think it is                                  
                  important for learners of English to learn about the culture of the language they are studying, and                                         
                  food is a big part of the culture. I could use this game in class in my lessons for teaching purposes                                  
                  or I could assign certain scenarios as homework for my learners to learn some meals by exploring                                  
                  themselves, depending on how independent my learners are. I could test their achievement by                                              
                  giving them a quick True/False test in class. Another way of incorporating this game into my                                   
                  teaching is to turn certain scenarios into role-play activities in class. I could assign a different                                    
                  scenario to pairs of learners and ask them to learn every food on their menu. Then, in class, pairs                                             
                  could act out this scenario. I think this game is a fun way to teach learners of English about the                                      
                  British culture, and it could be integrated into the lesson in many ways.

                                                                                                                                                                - Izlem Atai

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References

http://melittawilliams.wordpress.com/2012/11/29/week-5-discussion-games-simulations-and-virtual-environments-for-learning/

http://seherb.wordpress.com/2012/12/13/digital-citizenship-technologies/

http://izlema.blogspot.kr/2012/11/week-5-assignment-1-games-simulations.html

EDUC 6177 WEEK 7 Assignment 1

           The two technologies related to digital citizenship, ethics, and netiquette that I chose to discuss this week are, “ISafe” and “Common Sense Media.” These two web-sites are dedicated to improving the lives of students of all ages, and children who use the internet. These sites have a firm belief that students of today spend more time with media and digital activities than they do with their own families or in school. (Common Sense Media, 2012). This enormous amount of time that is spent in the digital medium affects the development of all who participate. Common Sense Media proposes that the digital world, and experiences students gain from it, affects social, emotional, and physical development. Therefore, Common Sense Media prides itself on providing trustworthy information, education, and independent voice that is needed for a student to operate in a world of digital technology. They are a non-profit and non-partisan organization that has a belief system to protect children, and all students from the negative aspects of the media they consume. The site offers pre-evaluated educational resources  advice on games, movies, web-sites, and apps for learning. They also specialize and focus on advocacy and policy on the internet.

            Common Sense Media is a great place for educators of all kinds to review educational resources that have been reviewed by internet professionals.

         The next technology I chose to report about was, “ISafe: The Leader in e-Safety Education.” This site is dedicated to safety-education for the net. They provide safety education to all 50 states. They offer an online safety tutorial program called I-mentor that instructs internet users on internet safety and how to be a respectable digital citizen. The site even offers promotional opportunities where students, teachers, and even law enforcement can take the knowledge they obtained and share it with their peers and community.

            The ISafe web tutorials offer education for students by revolutionizing the way the world looks at Internet safety education (iSafe, 2012). iSafe knows that every student can navigate through the net and explore the world. Students have the opportunity to travel to intelligent realms or to the darkest most detestable realms of the human imagination (iSafe, 2012). With these ideas in place, ISafe suggests that having filters on the internet service you provide is not true internet safety. They suggest that education about the internet is safest way to educate people to become responsible digital citizens.

References

http://www.commonsensemedia.org/about-us/our-mission

http://www.isafe.org/about

http://www.teachers.cape.k12.de.us/~scoleman/mesclab/Internet_Safety.html

EDUC 6177 WEEK 6 Assignment 1

      This week we were asked to investigate two open and distance education technologies. During my research, I came across a web-site for the, “Foundation Center.” This company was founded in 1956. They specialize in educating the world as the leading source of information about philanthropy worldwide. The specific technology that is used for the Foundation Center is, of course, the internet. This site serves as a connection for people who want to change the world and provides them the information and resources they need to do it. The site also operates research, education, and training programs designed to advance the knowledge of philanthropy at every level (FoundationCenter, 2012). The site provides lists of grants that are available to those with charitable ideas, and they even connect charities with grant writers. The purpose of this site is to identify and make known the available charities for people looking for philanthropic work to do.

 

 

      The next open educational technology site I discovered was the, “Open Educational Resources Kit”, hosted by, PBWORKS. This site serves as a source of information about open educational resources and gives a detailed overview about the:

 

 

•        Definition of Open Educational Resources
•        Management of Open Education
•        Learning and Teaching involved in Open Education    Platforms
•             Legal Aspects of Open Education
•        Different Programs offered

                                                                                                     (OER,2007)

 

 

        This site is a great source of direction for people looking for specific topics and subjects. the site also gives a brief history of how the acronym was formed and by whom.

 

 

              "The term Open Educational Resources (OER) was first introduced at a       

               conference hosted by UNESCO in 2000 and was promoted in the context of providing  

               free access to educational  resources on a global scale (OER, 2007)."

 

 

            The site offers links to the biggest OER hosts in the World. There are links to American, British, Irish, Japanese, Chinese, and French Universities and Colleges who have their own OER courses and programs. This site can easily get an individual anywhere in the world started on a true OER destination.

References

 

 

http://foundationcenter.org/

https://openeducationalresources.pbworks.com/w/page/24836860/What%20are%20Open%20Educational%20Resources

EDUC 6177 WEEK 5 Assignment 1

This week I chose to discuss the virtual simulation entitled “The Trillium Trail.” The “Trillium Trail” virtual simulation allows you to travel through a simulated North American continent. This created world allows learners to explore the forests to learn about different types of flowers, plants, and trees (Virtual Fieldtrips, 2011). The Trillium Trail is an immersive learning simulation, and virtual environment designed to simulate a real world field trip to a North American deciduous forest and wildflower reserve (Virtual Fieldtrips, 2011). There are also fact cards that are paced around the virtual world that give the learner an option to click and read. There are voiceovers within the virtual simulation that teach the various wonders that the learner finds while exploring. This particular virtual simulation teaches the learner about the forest, ecology, watersheds, photosynthesis, and much more (Virtual Fieldtrips, 2011).

   Another important educational technology is that of the Nintendo DS. This is a game console or system that has actually produced several adult education games. The hand-held Nintendo gaming systems are no longer for the kids. The Nintendo DS has language games to help you learn a foreign language, brain teasers and even a cooking coach game. These games run anywhere from 10 to 80 dollars. One game in particular that I find enjoyable is the game entitled, “Brain Age.” This game includes activities that require the player to quickly solve simple math problems, drawing pictures, reading classical literature, and even playing the game, Sudoku, the popular number puzzle game. These games are designed to not only reveal your particular brain age, but also stimulate the mind and expand it.

There are so many educational games, simulations and virtual learning opurturnites out there today. Currently there are more games designed for younger learners but as this technology is researched and refined, adult educational games will continue to be created.

As an adult educator, I currently use video games and virtual simulations to teach ESL and English Culture. I find that using this type of technology in the classroom assists learners but also adds incentives within the educational experience. I look forward to this up and coming industry.

Jeremy

 

References

http://www.virtualtrilliumtrail.com/

http://www.educationalgamingreviews.com/nintendo-ds

EDUC 6177 WEEK 4 Assignment 1

                This week we were asked to investigate two mobile technologies that enhance adult learning. I chose to write about mobile software applications that contribute to learning in general.

                One website that I find to be most beneficial is entitled, "Asia Society." The Asia Society website is the leading educational organization, specifically dedicated to promoting strength and mutual understanding between leaders and institutions of Asia and the United States in a global context (AsiaSociety, 2012). The Asia Society website works within the fields of art, business, culture, education and policy. The website also provides insight, generates ideas, and promotes collaboration to address challenges, while creating a shared future between the two countries (AsiaSociety, 2012). The Asia Society was founded in 1965 by John D. Rockefeller III, and serves as a nonpartisan, nonprofit institution maintaining its headquarters in New York (AsiaSociety, 2012). There are also offices all over the world and there is one in South Korea, where I am currently located.

    Recently, the website published a piece entitled, " 25 Apps for Global Mobile Learning." The writers were so gracious to mention some of the most compelling subject-oriented educational apps that are out today.

    One popular Math App is called, iLiveMath: Animals of Africa and Asia. This app is a series that combines math and zoology. This app goes beyond typical math equations and flashcards, and tests students with questions that have been illustrated and challenges their applied math skills (AsiaSociety, 2012). The iLiveMath series encompasses photography, wikis, videos, and sounds to stimulate learning, and allows for different levels of difficulty (AsiaSociety, 2012). Although this application is written primarily for younger age groups, it can be easily used for adults. On a personal note, I had lots of difficulty with math throughout school. I am as "right-brained" as they come, and doing a simple math equation that most people can do in their head, actually takes a bit of time for me if there is not a calculator or piece of paper handy. These types of applications stimulate the mind, and allow adults, who might be out of mathematical practice, to return to a G.E. educational course with assistance.

                Another popular application is one entitled, "iTranslate." This app can translate English into more than 50 different languages. You can also reverse it and translate the foreign language into English. Some, of the languages offered come with a text-to-speech button, which allows you to hear the phrase in the specific language and to see how it's written (AsiaSociety, 2012). The app also includes a few languages that have voice recognition translations. This is an amazing app for any student trying to learn a foreign language; and it encompasses all the way from six grade to adult. In my work, I use an app called Genie Talk which performs the same tasks as that of  iTranslate. Genie Talk is specifically written for Android, as iTranslate is written for the iPhone and iPads; hence, the name.

                I encourage you to check out the website link that I have posted. Scroll through some of the apps to see if you would find some of them to be conducive in your particular learning environment. I am not fond of using mobile phones during a classroom session, but I am quite supportive of learning applications that are offered while a student is traveling or doing some other leisure activity.

Jeremy

References

http://asiasociety.org/education/resources-schools/partnership-ideas/25-apps-global-mobile-learning

EDUC 6177 WEEK 3 Assignment 1

The two technologies om which I would like to report this week are Classroom 2.0 and EFL Classroom 2.0. These two educational technologies are SNSs that were created for the purpose of networking, exchanging instructional ideas and the continued training of educators around the world. The two sites are similar and owned by the same company. Classroom 2.0 and EFL Classroom 2.0 assist teachers in developing an online educational profile and presence in the education world.

As a member of these sites, you can create a private or public classroom or group where you can make pages, teach, and have your own mini-community (eflclassroom20, 2007).

These SNSs allow you to search other member pages and connect with like-minded teachers who are in your professional field of study.

EFL Classroom 2.0 has one of the world’s largest libraries for ESL instruction (eflclassroom20, 2007). The site keeps all of its members informed of all the latest resources and teaching trends. The site offers online seminars and training for teachers that does not cost their members a thing.

EFL Classroom 2.0 is also connected with other social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, and linked-in. This allows further networking within your field and allows you to broadcast news and content across the Web (classroom20, 2007).

These two sites assist educators by the availability of continued support from teachers in the field, forums, communities, blogs, latest educational trend updating, and so much more. These two sites are comparable to a Facebook account but is specifically designed for educators.

Jeremy

References

http://www.classroom20.com/

http://eflclassroom.com/

EDUC 6177 WEEK 2 Assignment 1

The two technologies I choose to report this week are most helpful in my current educational setting. I use a digital projector in my current setting which is a modern version of the overhead projector that was used in the classroom for some time. I also use educational games to assist me in teaching ESL in my current classroom setting.

       For me, using a digital projector is most helpful because they can be mounted in the ceiling of the classroom or set on a desk or table. The strategic placement of the projector can allow students to view information on a grander scale (projectorreviews, 2011). Digital projectors can be connected to a computer, allowing the teacher to play educational movies, games, tests, and anything else for students to view (projectorreviews, 2011).

       In my current educational setting, I instruct employees on policy and procedure within our company and translate these ideas and terms into a simpler understanding; depending on the English level of the employee. It is so much easier using a digital projector because I have the ability to instruct more students in an auditorium setting without the confines or obstacles in a normal classroom.

       Another great educational technology I have been able to come across is an ESL gaming program that incorporate fun and interactive language learning games. When I am not training corporately, I am able to hold two ESL courses a day within the company. These English language learners are able to benefit from a gaming exercise that incorporates phonics, print, sentence structures, and comprehension of English texts. These games also assist in pronunciation which is the biggest concern for my students. The games are fun and assist me in my ESL educational setting.

Jeremy Gale

Technological References

http://www.projectorreviews.com/classroom-projectors.php

http://jollylearning.co.uk/jolly-shop/jolly-phonics-games-cd/