Wk 11 Personal Reflection: Simulation and Games.

Simulation and Simulation Games
Taking note on simulation and simulation games which provide learners through visual interaction, learners were able to explore real life simulation that challenges individual activities that lead to success or failure.
Games make it possible to lead virtual civilizations and or explore others activities from perspective of educational pedagogies. Either simulation or simulation games are a push “technologies” that has contributed to development in education and the way the students play, interact, and learn. Simulation and the games are power tools, the benefits of using simulations and the games to show the ideas, concepts, and application of games manufacturing tools are well recognized. Other use of simulation application is for problem solving, on piece flow, work balance, and quality improvement.

I enjoy this particular topic because future games will employ deeper simulation in order to achive greater levels of interaction and complexity, while simultaneously simplying the learning curve for new player.
Educational simulation is about life simulation that gives opportunity to learn how people really live in other countries. It brings to life different cultures, political systems, economic opportunities, personal decisions, health issues, family issues, schooling, jobs, religions, geography, war, peace, and a simulation game exploring sustainable management of renewable resources. Each turn you must decide how much effort to devote to fishing. The goal of the game is to find the profit-maximizing level of effort and to end with a sustainable population. The important aspect of game design is the relation between the game goals and the learning goals.

What will future brings on simulation games?
The future of simulation and the games are looking bright, moreover, more research are been conducting for using multiplayer and online games to study the effectiveness of games based training. The environments studied are developed and maintained using an online interactive virtual environment platform. More games are been design to give people a view into future. Designed to stimulate innovation, emotional intelligence and strategic foresight, participants are supported by facilitators and futurist, strategic and creative tools and techniques to meet purposeful outcomes.
Although simulation has been around for some years, collaborative with simulation games provides new model for social organization, and improve the literacy’s in the community. There are many ways people learn through media nowadays, either through simulation or simulation games; Video games are emerging as a new medium for learning. “Advance in molding technologies, graphic libraries, and games editors are making the creation of educational gaming multi-million dollars industries.” The games of the future will rely heavily on much more complex, high fidelity world representations that will allow for more emergent behavior and unforeseen player interactions. Taken together, these next-generation design paradigms are not simply improvements over older models, but represent a fundamentally different approach to simulating real-world physics, handling artificial intelligence and interface usability Havey Smith, (2005).

References:
Designing Game-Based Learning Environments. A series of links to academic publications describing game technology and design tools. Retrieved Nov. 13th, 2007 from http://website.education.wise.edu/kdsquire/research.html

Horn, R. E. (1999) The Convention Game (prepared for the 30th Anniversary issue of Simulations and Games) A keynote speech to the North American Simulation and Gaming Association 30, 4, Dec. 1999, 456-475 (html)

Horn, R. E. (1970-1980) The Guide to Simulations/Games for Education and Training. (Ed) 1970 (with D.W. Zuckerman), Cambridge: I.R.I.; 1973, 2nd edition, Research Media, Inc.1976, 3rd edition, Didactic Systems, Inc.; 1980 4th edition, (with Anne Cleaves). Los Angeles: Sage Publications

Simulation and Advanced Gaming Environments for Learning - A university research consortium exploring the impact of simulation, simulation-games and games in education. Retrieved Nov. 13th, 2007 from http://website.education.wise.edu/kdsquire/research.html

Smith, H., (2001). The future of game design: Moving beyond Deus Ex and other dated paradigms. Multimedia International Market. Retrieved Nov. 20th, 2007 from http://www.igda.org/articles/hsmith.future.php.

Week 11 Walker’s Reflective Response

Simulation and Gaming

I enjoyed sampling the simulations and gaming software we all shared via the URLs. I’m sure we all got to experience that sense of engaged excitement that justifies the use of this type of software with students in the classroom. I find it interesting that the environment one lives in conditions them for a different way of learning. Students today are raised in a more interactive style of learning. They have come to learn by observing and doing while in years past it was learn by simply observing. J.C Hertz, as cited by Jerry Seay (1997) states it best, “But whereas TV turned kids of the fifties and sixties into a nation of screen watchers, videogames have created a cadre of screen manipulators.” Simulations and gaming can be a powerful learning tool when it is properly used. I can definitely empathize with the average primary aged student who has been born into a world of Jillian’s and Dave and Buster’s yet when they get to school they are handed a bland way (in comparison) of learning the curriculum.


References

Alessi, S.M. & Trollip, S.R. (2001). Multimedia for learning: Methods and development. Massachusetts: Allyn and Bacon.

Higgins, G.A. Playing Games to Learn Complex Skills: Computer Simulation for Medic Training. Visions 2020 Report . p. 41 – 44.

Seay, J. (1997). Education and simulation/gaming computers: An eductaor’s encounter. Technology and Education. Retrieved November 14, 2007, from http://www.cofc.edu/~seay/cb/simgames.html

Week 10 Walker’s Reflective Response

Learning Objects and Educational Repositories

When asked to give my own personal definition of a learning object, the first thing I did to assist me was to reflect on what a learning objective is. The truth of the matter is that no agreeable definition has been concluded for a learning object. Even though there is exists opposition the one core definition to maintain some sort of focus I think one must stay in tune with the goal of objects which is to provide useful educational resources available. From what I have read, there was a lot of hype and promise over what learning objects would be able to do within the realm of education. It was soon discovered that the simple reuse feature of learning objects was not that simple because in some cases the learning situation may call for some contextual tweaking. Learning objects are not built for contextual tweaking. The debate rages on.

References

McCord, A. (2003). Institutional repositories: Enhancing teaching, learning, and research. Educause Committee Report. Retrieved November 7, 2007, from http://www.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/DEC0303.pdf

Harvey, B. (2005) Learning objects and instructional design. IRRODL (July 2005). (Online Journal). Retrieved November 7, 2007, from http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/227/310

Week 9 Walker’s Reflective Response

Learning Management Systems and Content Management Systems

This week’s readings on LMSs and LCMSs were better understood after I saw a connection with them and teachers and school administrators. Now I feel a tad bit better at determining whether a software application can be categorized as an LCMS. The primary indicator would be whether it offers reusability of the material and designed using a learning object model.

References

Greenberg, L. (2002). LMS and LCMS: What’s the difference. Learning Circuits, ASTD. Retrieved October 31, 2007, from http://www.learningcircuits.org/2002/dec2002/greenberg.htm

Stacey, P. (2001). Learning management systems & learning content management systems: e-learning an enterprise application? Retrieved October 31, 2007, from http://www.bctechnology.com/statics/pstacey-oct2601.html

Robbins, S.R. (2002). The evolution of the learning content management system. Retrieved October 31, 2007, from http://www.learningcircuits.org/2002/apr2002/robbins.html

IM

Lori:

Like you I am in motion most of the day and many evenings. I find I am particularly useful in setting up conferences with individuals in different locations. In human services, we can do a case conference and reduce the amount of travel time. In the educational setting I can work with study groups of adult students times that they feel are convenient. My experience with instant messaging in this class is that all of us are busy and at the evening is the best time to connect people. I do agree that the technologies that we have reviewed have many possibilities which will be discovered in an on going way as we move forward.

Frank

Week 7

This week was interesting as the others. There is so much knowledge that I am getting from this class that I don't know what to do. I feel like its information overload. I like the IM. The only downfall is that you don't ever know when someone is going to be online and sometimes I use my laptop and my IM pops up on my desktop. Anyway, I have talked with a few people, but I have not had a chance to chat with Tim yet. I work two jobs and I am in class now, so my life is busy.

Overall, this class has really added to my technonlogy life. There are a lot of ideas that I am trying to bring to my students, so that we can be really with it.

Trick or Treat?

Walker’s Instant Messenger Experience

Even though I had casually used the one-on-one IM chat feature prior to this class with acquaintances of mine, using it and its other features as a graded requirement with people I didn’t know (beyond their name on the screen) had me a bit tense. Once I got beyond that I did find that it was easy to use and it did help foster interactions with classmates that were more personable. Engaging people in chats was just a selection and click away. Files and pictures that I sent out were easily accepted by classmates and described perfectly. The difficult part for me was thinking faster than I could type. Especially when comments are flying fast on the screen and you’re trying to respond to the comment before that one but the next two comments are now up. I guess you can tell I’m not a fast typist. Therefore the audio feature, once I got synced, was smoother to use for me. Earlier in the quarter I attempted speaking on my landline phone while engaged in an IM chat with a classmate. I found that difficult and awkward but not impossible to do. I did learn that hitting the “enter” key sends the message through. During one chat I was trying to put spacing in between a group of sentences and winded up chopping through my thought. I will have to continue the IM way of communication post EDUC 8823 to improve and become even more comfortable. Its very 21st century—hip and modern. I never would have imagined having a crystal clear, real time voice conversation through a computer unless I was on the set of Knight Rider. With that said, my overall IM experience has been a treat. Happy Halloween everyone!!!

Week 8 Walker’s Reflective Response

Wireless Technologies

I found it fascinating to learn of the various ways mobile technology is being successfully used with students in colleges and universities across the country. I could almost feel the excitement come through the monitor as I read how the technology was being applied. With all of this good news I could not help but give some thought to the adverse effects and/or unintentional consequences that this type of technology may bring. With respect to the environment, will this disposable technology ever become recyclable? How much unintentional damage are we causing to our health by using these devices? And if we were to get sick and go to the hospital, how much interference would our life saving ventilators and other machines experience due to the fact that more and more doctors are using PDAs?

Week 7 Walker’s Reflective Response

Synchronous Learning Environments

In reflecting back on the readings and sites I visited concerning synchronous environments, I have come to the realization that this platform is as complex as it is costly. In my readings I ran across information on simulteaching and course software. This is where the teachers present face-to-face lessons to students in the classroom while simultaneously presenting to another group of students online. Imagine the many possibilities of using that.

Needless to say, I am a little worn from the project but I’m bouncing back. In producing it, I had a couple irretrievable lost data scares. Why do the technology gods play with you like that on the very day things are due? Prayerfully, I was able to rescue the information and make backup copies. I enjoyed using some the bells and whistles that supported Alessi & Trollip’s (2006) summary of general features that the Power Point program offered. I had planned on using rollovers on a couple of the pictures but I couldn’t figure how to compose it in Flickr and then transfer that into Power Point. I didn’t see any rollover features in Power Point unless I overlooked something. Power Point, by the way was not my first choice as a presentation medium. I intended on using the Audacity software to podcast but I ran into exporting problems. Oh well, its over and it is, what it is.

Resources

Alessi, S.M. & Trollip, S.R. (2001). Multimedia for learning: Methods and development. Massachusetts: Allyn and Bacon.

Robler, M.D. (2006). Integrating Educational Technology into Teaching. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall.

Week 6 Walker’s Reflective Response

Chapter 8
Podcasting and Screencasting: Multimedia Publishing for the Masses.

I have been enjoying crusing the techno-waters of programs presented (and some not presented) in this week’s reading. I think I might use “Audacity” to record and share the audio and sound files for my multimedia project. I’m really grateful for the undo feature; it made doing test recordings less frustrating.

I am definitely curious about producing my own screencast-once I get a better handled on podcasting. I read screencasting is a step up from podcasting (Richardson, 2006). I felt the John Udell link in the text on “Heavy Metal Umlauts” summed up the essence of screencasts well. It was like I had a private tutor and I clearly understood what a screencast was when I finished.

Radio Willow Web news performed by the elementary students in Nebraska gave me ideas of how lessons could be presented in my own classroom. It gives the students a nice blanket of security. Believe it or not, some students in my school cannot be photographed because of court issues that are occurring within their family. At registration, some of their parents never sign the release statements. With podcasting these students can still participate because you don’t see their images, you only hear their voice and you can give them pseudo-names for extra protection.

I’m not a rapid reader, therefore some of the features of podcasting are attractive to me:
*Portability (can listen to when walking or driving)
*The power of the voice (the author or teacher’s “explaining voice”, as it was called in the text, can create a clearer understanding in the learner’s mind)
*Stop and Replay buttons (users has unlimited review and repetition at will)

This makes me wonder, will some of Walden’s textbooks one day be converted to podcasts? It would be nice to sit under the hairdryer handsfree as I listen to chapter readings.

It was interesting to learn that podcasts services such as “Ourmedia” will host your work “forever”. No expiration dates. I know I was wondering about that with blogs a couple weeks ago.

ITV did not impress me as much as computer based learning does; although I found a great article (posted in the course’s Discussion 2) that makes great use of integrating the curriculum through ITV. I would however use it as another source for teaching.

Oh yeah, just in case you’re wondering, one of extra things I explored was “Ning” http://www.ning.com/ where one can create their own social network. Its like having (or joining) your own online club. Check it out.

References

Campbell, G. (2005). There’s something in the air: Podcasting in education. Educause Review. Retrieved October 9, 2007, from http://www.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/erm0561.pdf.

Richardson, W. (2006). Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms. Thousand Oaks, California: Corwin Press.

Skelton, S. (2001). Edutainment. The integration of education and interactive television. IEEE International Conference on Advanced Learning Technologies. Retrieved October 9, 2007, from http://csdl2.computer.org/comp/proceedings/icalt/2001/1013/00/10130478.pdf.

University of Idaho. (1995). Instructional television: Distance education at a glance. Retrieved October 9, 2007, from http://www.uidaho.edu/eo/dist5.html.

Any LifeLock Members?

Has anyone else seen the LifeLock commercial where the CEO is passing out flyers to get people to sign up for protection against identity thieves while showcasing his own social security number on the fliers and on the side of a truck in a busy city? He also has it posted in the company's website: http://www.lifelock.com/default.aspx?promocode=WEBCOMP&engine=adwords!9824&keyword=&match_type=&gclid=CN-gv-XYjI8CFQhlHgodFVLKTQ The company insures you for up to one million dollars. Even though efforts to prevent hackers and others who illegally obtain and maliciously use sensitive information steadily improve, I'm sit a bit leery about future loopholes or slip ups. What are your thoughts on this?

I have been a victim of identity theft before and in an IM chat I had with Dr. Green, he shared the fact that he had co-written an article regarding security and technology that would put my fears to rest. I do not have a hard copy of the journal but I have attempted to access and read the article electronically and was unsuccessful. If anyone else is interested, below is the cover picture of the September/October magazine entitled Learning and Leading with Technology, vol.35: issue 2, pgs. 18-23.

Response to Lori's wk 5 reflections

Hello, Lori.

This week's readings have been very interesting. As a result, I am having a great time exploring wikis, podcasts, RSSs, and trying to polish my skills using this blogger.

I find it strange that when I log onto my blog, your blog and another person's are on my dashboard. I know I invited you guys to be authors, but so was the rest of the class and no one else can post like you can. This is a mystery. Does my blog appear on your dashboard when you first log in? I also see the document I attached to my blog on your blog. I was just experimenting and did not realize my uploaded document would be placed on your blog. Please forgive me.

Thanks,
Denise

Week 5 Walker’s Reflective Response

Chapter 5 (Richardson, 2006)
I have a clearer understanding of what RSS is and its purpose. The text defined it as “Real Simple Syndication” although I have also seen it defined as “Rich Site Summary” on various web sites. I can see myself using this as my research agent for supplemental information regarding my KAMs and dissertation. I attended a Walden residency where I met a student that was in the midst of his dissertation. Due to his many RSS feeds and other resources, he already has 100+ pages and he only halfway finished. I agree with Richardson (2006), having this information conveniently come to you is wonderful but it means nothing if you don’t know how to recognize and extract the nectar of your thesis without feeling you have to read or included everything from the article.

Chapter 6 (Richardson, 2006)
Glad to get deeper understanding of the other social networking services such as bookmarking and folksonomies. I felt that an attractive feature of Furl was saving quotes and having your sources automatically formatted. Now if that feature could just check the format of the entire paper. No matter how many times I’ve checked my APA manual up against a paper or project, its always something that’s not quite right. I can never win for losing. I need to invest that APA software.

Chapter 9 (Alessi & Trollip, 2001)
This year, amongst other things that have changed, our new principal has decided to randomly check lesson plans. They must be fully written and on top of our desks each morning waiting for her if she happens to stop by. This has added extra pressure on many of the teachers. I’m afraid I’d get cut if I mention to my fellow colleagues what new technology would bring. They would also be required to change their teaching pedagogy and be equipped to know much more. This was the statement made in regards to microworlds (p. 308). I’ve concluded that this is not the year to bring up any technology revelations to them. I’ve been keeping the revelations within my classroom and with my students.

References
Alessi, S.M. & Trollip, S.R. (2001). Multimedia for learning: Methods and development. Massachusetts: Allyn and Bacon.

Richardson, W. (2006). Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms. Thousand Oaks, California: Corwin Press.

EDUC 8813

Funding Proposal

Scanterbury and Ogden

The task of providing education professionals with high quality staff development has become an urgent matter since the passage of the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act. While much of what passes for in-service training often consists of one-day sessions with little connection to actual classroom goals, Gordon (2003) contended that research shows that professional development will focus sharply on classroom instruction and content. It will be collaborative, intensive, and sustained, giving participants opportunities to examine and critique their own practice and one another’s. Gordon suggested strategies which may include master teachers mentor novices or student-teachers, organizing collaborative discussions of student work around curricular goals, and using lesson-study groups to share best practices and evaluate classroom instruction.

In order to make effective changes toward the implementation of technology in K-12 schools, Gordon (2003) argued that student-teachers must work closely with master teachers who are proficiently and effectively implementing technology in their classroom instructions. Grove, Strudler, and Odell (2004) discovered in their study that although most K-12 classrooms in which student teachers were placed had available technology, most student teachers did not routinely use technology during their experiences or work with master teachers or supervisors who could guide their use of technological tools. They also revealed that less than half of pre-service (student teachers) had opportunities to apply instructional technology and that cooperating teachers were often unable to advise students on these issues. Adding complexity to the issue of integrating technology in field experiences is the problem of locating technology-using teachers for these placements.

Through the Department of Education, the Institute of Educational Sciences is offering a competitive grant in the amount of $2,000,000 for innovative research on instructional technology. The purpose of the competitive research grants is to educators, parents, policy-makers, and the general public with reliable and valid information about education practices that support learning and improve academic achievement and access to education opportunities for all students. In carrying out its mission, the Institute provides support for programs of research in areas of demonstrated national need.

Therefore, we propose to conduct a study on the outcome of cooperating teachers (i.e., student teachers and master teachers) in the implementation of effective technological uses in instruction, management, and learning within a 5 year span. Not only will the study increase the proficiency and confidence of in-service teachers, it will enable master teachers to become more proficient and confident, as well as increase students to academic technology learning environments.

References

Department of Education: https://www.grants.gov.

Gordon, D. T. (2003). Linking teachers with technology for professional development and support. In David Gordon (ED), Better Teaching and Learning in the Digital Classroom. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Educational Press.

Grove, K., Strudler, N. & Odell, S. (2004). Mentoring Toward Technology Use: Cooperating Teacher Practice in Supporting Student Teachers. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 37, 1. Canada: International Society for Technology in Education.

Week 4 Walker’s Reflective Response

Week 4
Smooth reading this week that spawned just a couple thoughts.

Chapter 2
Weblogs: Pedagogy and Practice

If your blog is inactive, for let’s say a couple years; is there a blogosphere clean up crew or a way that the blog will eradicate itself? I understand that the Web is vast and accommodating and that inactivity is not an issue—yet. In fact the Richardson (2006) text states that, “…two-thirds of all blogs go for more than two months without being updated.” (p. 20).

I couldn’t help but reflect back on the days when I published a weekly class newsletter and many of the close calls I had with not getting copies made to send out to parents. These experiences, while nerve wrecking, have humbled me especially since the digital environment offers things such as class portals and online filing cabinets.


Chapter 3
Weblogs: Get Started!

After reading this chapter, I began thinking about the path my blog will take after 8823. At first I said I would discontinue it but after reading deeper into the chapter I found that it would be helpfully to have a personal example to share with my students. It is only fair to engage in and experience all of what you are planning to share with your students. Also, I can continue to become more of an expert in this new medium. Will you actively continue your blog after 8823? Why or why not? If so, what direction do you plan on taking it?


Chapter 4
Wikis: Easy Collaboration for All

I found it wonderful that wikis (and weblogs) give students experience in how to truly approach the process of writing—through critically reading. If students can get this at this early stage they are well on their way to honing doctoral level research basics, “…they need to read critically first, if they are to find the areas where information is missing or disorganized.” (p.67).


Reference
Richardson, W. (2006). Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms. Thousand Oaks, California: Corwin Press.

The Trees Would Love Me More

This week’s reading allowed me to think about how much paper and time I would save through the use of classroom weblogs and wikis for many student activities and projects. The teachers at my school receive a box of ten reams of paper for the year along with any donated reams from parents of the students in your class. Needless to say, I and many other teachers run out well before the school year ends. And let’s not get into the spasms and breakdowns the copying machine endures each month and the sharp warnings we get from our tech person about running multiple copies on our workstation printers. I can see how using a weblog could not only cut down on my paper consumption and copying machine woes but the schools as well.

Another paper related issue Richardson (2006) unveiled was that textbooks are becoming a thing of the past. This is amazing because when I was in elementary school my parents had to pay a book rental fee for me. Does anyone know if standardized testing for elementary schools is or will go completely digital? My assistant principal, who’s charged with the security and accurateness of all the test booklets and scantron sheets would be elated.


Reference
Richardson, W. (2006). Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms. Thousand Oaks, California: Corwin Press.

Hello, Lori.
How are you doing with this blogging? I am learning something new each time I interact with it. Thanks for inviting me to be an author.
Denise

I Am So Green

...well maybe lime green not forest green.

I was in the middle of an instant messenger conversation with a classmate this week when the phone rang. It was an important call that I had to take. I found myself awkwardly holding two conversations at once while trying not to let either party know that I was slightly distracted. Yes, I could have told our classmate to hold on but, I wanted to ride the techno-multitasking bike without training wheels. Aside from the increased typos in my MSN window and a couple, "I'm sorry would you repeat that again." to the person on the phone, I'd give myself a "C" on that one. Has anyone else been caught up in this type of multi-tasking that comes so easily for our "digital natives"? I read that they write term papers and all at the same time. What was your experience like?

P.S. I picked the right color for my template, didn't I?

Week 3 Walker’s Reflective Response

Whew! I thought I’d never finished the require chapter readings for the week. It was quite lengthy and informative. I will share a few things that made me go “Hmmmm.”

Chapter 4 - Tutorials

I was surprised to read that, “Many commercial programs that identify themselves as tutorials…” are not truly authentic. Therefore anyone can crank out a program and call it a tutorial without any regards to the “rules of thumb”. There are no regulations on what is legal to advertise as tutorial. Making it even more important for parents and educators to do extra research on their own in order to truly weigh a product’s worth.

I found it interesting that “negative words” (p. 102) and phrases such as “None of the above” or “All of the above” should not be used in tutorials. Ironically the Financial aid Entrance Interview contained a question or two in which the correct answer was one of the phrases. So if this is the case in some instances, I wonder why it is cautioned against? I don’t find those questions easy to guess.

In previous classes, I’ve read that giving a student immediate feedback is best. The reading however suggested that in all cases, immediate feedback is not best. A delayed feedback, depending on the situation is a better choice. After thinking about it, it made sense to me. My view on returning feedback to students has expanded.

Lastly after reading this chapter I was puzzled as to the categorization of a program previously used in another Walden class. Do any of you remember using the online text by Trochim that we could only access through a site called “Atomic Dog”? Would you consider it a tutorial or something else?

Reference
Alessi, S.M. & Trollip, S.R. (2001). Multimedia for learning: Methods and development. Massachusetts: Allyn and Bacon.

Week 3 Walker’s Reflective Response

Chapter 5 – Hypermedia

The first thing I noticed was that there is a lot of unchartered ground that needs to being studied and developed in the hypermedia world. Until then, much of the information was considered “rules of thumb.”

I wondered why one of the “density” rules of thumb (hiding the links until the user requested it by using a keypress) is not used in any Web browsers or commercial hypermedia programs. Especially since it was the suggested rule of making reading more effective and improving the aesthetics of the display. (p. 157)
I was unaware about the mouse feature in some Web browsers in which one can hold the mouse button down to receive a set of options. (p. 158)

Has this happened to anyone? In terms of “marking”, many times I entered the Walden Library database and links to articles I know I did not select have already been selected. Does this mean someone else is using my account (which I pray not) or does it just show what students a couple minutes or hours before me (on that page) have selected?

I love the idea of giving users a choice of navigation tools and the clarification made that if there were only one tool, it would not be considered hypermedia.

Reference
Alessi, S.M. & Trollip, S.R. (2001). Multimedia for learning: Methods and development. Massachusetts: Allyn and Bacon.

Week 3 Walker’s Reflective Response

Chapter 11
Web-Based Learning

I can understand the confusion of whether or not to consider the Web a software methodology. I found it interesting that Alessi & Trollip (2001) considers it “…a methodology for course delivery or a methodology for developing a learning environment.” (p. 377). Yet, they admit that only in theory is the Web void of any methodology. “It is possible for a Web site to include multimedia programs that are tutorials, drills, simulations, games, and any other methodology.” (p. 377). Interestingly, Web-based learning has roots in hypermedia. Therefore, I think I have discovered the answer to my puzzling question from chapter 4 regarding the Trochim text online.

I wonder how “electronic performance support systems (EPSSs) work? (p. 381) I know I lose some of my book sharpness when I leave some of my classes because I don’t always have the opportunity to exercise, in a real school situation, some of what I learned.

The goals and needs of a variety of learners can be met through the combining of Web approaches and traditional approaches. (p. 382) This ties in with suggestion to mix the learning theories.

Reference
Alessi, S.M. & Trollip, S.R. (2001). Multimedia for learning: Methods and development. Massachusetts: Allyn and Bacon.

BLOG Initial Reaction

Anxiety was my first reaction to creating a BLOG on my own. Ironically, this is my first experience in the "blogosphere" and I am a bit embarrassed to admit that. Thank heavens for this class, otherwise my 2nd graders would be baptizing me into this and its past time for me to know about and use some of the technical horizons before they do. I am aware however, that I am not the only (educator) neophyte in this world of blogging. I attended the NECC in Atlanta this past June and the session on an introduction to blogging was packed beyond the amount of chairs they had available--I winded up sitting on the floor with many, many other interested people. The session was informative but there is nothing like working with the technology yourself which furthermore supports the adage, "Experience is the best teacher." As with anything, the more practice I get, the better I'll become. The initial anxiety I once felt subsided with the creation the account. Now I feel like many kindergartners on the second day of school--ready to go back because it wasn't so bad after all.

I could use blogging in an online course to further discussions that may have closed in the official class portal. Blogging can also be used as a meeting site for members of a group when working on group projects. I could also use blogging to solicit and acquire updated information or issues reagarding any topic of interest from bloggers around the world. I could post KAMs, dissertations, and other papers for assesor and/or peer review. Lastly, I can see using a blog to save all online coursework and class discussions.