Virtual Worlds in the CLassroom

"Walk, Fly, or Teleport to Learning"

-Maureen Brown Yoder

20 millions kids will be members of internet based virtual world by 2010, and for educators this should be enough supporting evidence that teaching kids to use technology is not recommended, but should be required. Kids that participate in a virtual environment learn more "creative, social, and technical lift skills." It is also a way to keeping the students engaged and playful while learning, as long as proving to help improve their self esteem. MUVE's, a virtual game that has educationally oriented varieties of iterations, while kids can make their own "virtual person" while playing games like flying, walking, learning, and traveling the world. Kids are able to make cities and fantasy lands, and having to deal with problems with in their land. It teaches kids to deal with real life experiences but in a virtual way, and giving them social responsibilities. They brought this virtual game to incarcerated teens who have not been able to experience real life situations, how are they able to go back into the world and survive? This game teaches them the situations that they may come across along with gaining practice and the ability to learn how to deal with problems.

I think this is a great way to get kids more engaged in their classrooms and learning. What kid doesn't want to play video games? With this virtual aspect of education, it teaches kids real world activities and what it's like to deal with problems that are really happening. I could easily incorporate this into classroom lessons, with the first one coming to mind of history. The kids could build their house and a community, and see what it's like to pay bills, how the government works, and what it's like to have big responsibilities. It teaches them decision making skills, which is an important thing to kids needing to get used to. It's hard to get students interested in learning about important things, but by adjusting the lesson to fit their needs would have a greater outcome. Virtual lessons here we come!

Spanish and Technology

"Spicing Up Spanish Class"

Trying to engage first year spanish students may be a hard task for teacher's as a language is usually required to graduate, not necessarily a "want to take" class. Getting students to become engaged is a challenge, but would the help us technology help to make it easier? Getting students in a first year Spanish class to talk with people of other countries was a required assignment, to hopefully get them to relate more to the culture they were learning about, but how do you do that if you are no where near that country? This is were the wonderful use of technology and computers come in; they are required to talk to people through online chats and hear from the countries natives what their lives are like. In addition to online chatting, they used: blogs, wiki, excel, online databases, graphic organizers, email and photo story to "sheen a country report". After extensive research the students were required to give a power point presentation based on the facts and information they found about their country.

Trying to get students more evolved and excited about doing reports is what needs to be done to obtain better grades and an understanding that will last with them, rather than cramming the knowledge just for a report and good grade. Letting the students have online chats with people from other countries gives them the knowledge from a person their age, a point of view they can relate to. Being able to give a power point presentation in a 3rd grade class would be a great experience for the teacher to see where the students are in the technology area. Students need to learn how to use wiki and proper research data bases to receive the correct and probable information to complete a truthful project, especially research projects. Having the option for all the different technology resources available will, in my opinion, help to further a child's education.

Literature and Technology

"Writing for Real Purpose" --Chinwe H. Ikpeze

Chinwe Ikpeze informs us of a fifth grade teacher, John Blain, who wanted to incorporate technology into his literature lesson plans. Blain assigned a couple readings, Because of WinnDixie and The Tiger Rising, and required the students to take part in an online discussion, a cross between a blog and wiki type discussion room. Blain generated questions for the students to take part in as well as the students needing to create own question and concerns they had with the readings; Blain then took the most popular online discussion questions (open ended questions) and brought them into the classroom for a more engaged conversation about the reading and their thoughts about the book(s). Another part of the activity was for the students to write about the main theme for the book and then talk about whether they agreed with the theme or not, and back it up with evidence and explanations. Blain noticed there was more engagement from the children along with higher reading and writing test scores.

I think this is a wonderful way to incorporate technology into the classrooms, and I think it's an easy way, too. There always comes the problem of some students not having the opportunity to have access to computers and internet, but I would like to have at least two computers in my classroom. Another idea for the problem would be to offer after school time for students who do not have access to computers, to stay and work on the computers in the classroom to make sure they are still getting the technology lessons and still being apart in the classroom activities as well. Students need to know how to incorporate technology into all lessons as it can be a successful solution to problems or questions they may need answered. 

Chatting online, is it beneficial for students?

Chatting It Up Online: Students Talk to a Favorite Author.

-Pamela Livingston

Mary Pope Osborne, author of the Magic Treehouse series was expected to be online and available to answers questions from young fans. At a elementary school in Philadelphia, the all boys 3rd grade class had the opportunity to have an "online chat" with one of their favorite authors, Osborne, and ask questions they wanted more information on. Herb Booth, Jackie Gwen and Barbara Wybar, school faculty members, went through a process to make an online chat accessible for their students; Wybar explains that to "get the children more engaged in reading" she needed to find a unique way to entice the students. Wybar went through the process of signing up for an online account, emailing the network ahead of time with questions the students were interested in, making sure network walls were down, having back up technical plans, and practicing the online chat situation before hand to make sure things went smoothly. The students were sent to the computer lab during the day of the scheduled chat, and had an experience they loved. They were able to ask open-ended questions, since simple questions could be found elsewhere, and the online chat with the author of a series of books they loved, ended with success!

The way these teachers took the initiative to find a new way to entice their students into a different learning environment is something that I would want to do for my own students. Livingston gave great examples of how to successfully complete an online chat, and it makes it seem easy enough to incorporate into my own classroom. Students would not only be learning about their favorite authors, or learning how to successfully write but they would be becoming more skilled and advanced in an era that soon will be based solely on technology. Students could be more successful in education if they were to become more familiar with computers and technology; if they have questions on a certain subject, the answers could be just a few mouse clicks away.

Current ISTE nets for teachers include: Facilitating and Inspiring Student Learning and Creativity, which involves promoting and supporting innovative thinking and to model digital age working and learning to name a few or many. The students ISTE nets are basic operations and concepts, knowing technology productive tools, and knowing how to communicate productively through technology. ISTE nets are important in making sure the teacher and the child are on the same page with the new technological advances.

Standards: NETS4