The Disruptive Power of Second Life

How is Second Life a disruptive technology?
According to Dr. Thornburg (Laureate, 2009), disruptive technologies are those that may change the way things are done, but have the same abilities and functions of the old technology while functioning more efficiently and effectively. Second Life was launched in 2003 and it enables the users to interact in virtual worlds and socialize in real-time with user created avatars. Second Life is considered a disruptive technology because it surfaced rather quickly. It applies technology to create virtual worlds that have the can and possible will replace traditional computer games, and possibly change traditional face-to-face and distance learning.

What technology or innovation did it displace? Second Life enhanced the video gaming technology. It allowed the user to become more involved in the process or the game, and the effects of 3D made it more realistic.

How many years do you think Second Life has left before another emerging technology or disruptive technology replaces it?
In 2008, Linden Lab in cooperation with IBM pioneered an open virtual world grid. The avatars that the users created would be able to travel freely between Second Life and OpenSim virtual worlds. According to Livingstone, OpenSim offers institutions greater control over their virtual worlds and greater ability to make backups using virtual assets called XML-based archive formats.
What are the social benefits of Second Life, and what might be the social implications of virtual worlds in your industry?
Second Life gives companies the option to create virtual workplaces to allow employees to meet, hold events, practice corporate communications, collaboration, conduct training sessions in 3D immersive virtual learning environment, simulation of business process, and prototype new products (Wikipedia).

Reference
Laureate Education, Inc. (2009). Emerging and future technology. Baltimore, MD: Author.


Livingstone, D. (2011). Second Life is dead, long live Second Life? Retrieved from
http://www.educause.edu/EDUCAUSE+Review/EDUCAUSEReviewMagazineVolume46/SecondLifeIsDeadLongLiveSecond/226180

Wikipedia. (n.d.). Second Life. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Life%23Education


Blogs that I responded to:

Module #6 responses

http://jjslearning.blogspot.com/2012/02/this-new-post-is-my-first-attempt-at.html?showComment=1329867014948#c4993887702521779704

http://rodrussell-roderickr.blogspot.com/2012/02/module-6-use-of-games-to-encourage-or.html?showComment=1329867260667#c3727461265602545832

http://helloworld-educationaltechnology.blogspot.com/2012/02/module-6-critical-thinking-in-distance.html?showComment=1329867422293#c3770808397792692763

http://michellenotes.blogspot.com/2012/02/educ-8842-video.html?showComment=1329867504164#c4967907413823771975

http://techedu-irish.blogspot.com/2012/02/second-look-at-second-life-irish.html?showComment=1329867910208#c1193388329577837677

http://juliekaplan.wordpress.com/2012/02/11/module-6-best-practices-in-discussion-forums-final-project/#comment-54

Module #6--Final Presentation

Annotations:

1.

Dittman, D. R., Hawkes, M., Deokar, A. V., & Sarnikar, S. (2010). IMPROVING VIRTUAL TEAM COLLABORATION OUTCOMES THROUGH COLLABORATION PROCESS STRUCTURING. Quarterly Review Of Distance Education, 11(4), 195-210. Retreived from ebscohost.

Annotation:

Collaborate in a virutal team is a necessary skill for people to have effective work. Members are responsible for their individual task. Communication is key to success with collaboration. Collaboration is a world wide phenomenon. Most people do not have the necessary skills to be able to collaborate effectively. Collaboration has been in place for many years, and there are numerous ways to work effectviley with it. It all depends on the goals that are set by the group and the amount of effort put forth.

2.
Knackendoffel, E. (2007). Collaborative teaming in the secondary school. Focus on Exceptional Children, 40(4), 1.



Annotation:

Collaboration can be described as an attitude rather than a certain way of delivering services. One of the steps to collaboration involves determining colleagues' willingness to collaborate. It provides a process and structure to guide problem-solving sessions. Teachers who have used this process state that the outcomes of their problem-solving sessions are very successful.

3.
Laymon, S. (2010). Implications of Collaboration in Education. Academic Leadership Live The Online Journal, 8(4).

Annotation:

There are numerous examples of collaboration in education. Administration to teacher, administration to student, teacher to student, and teacher to teacher are justa couple of the examples that play a crutial part in the success of a school. Having a collaborating environment is not easy. There are several key factors to collabortaion:

1. voluntary

2. parity among participants

3. mutual goals

4. shared responsibility

5. share resources

6. share accountability

4.
Philip Bloom. (2011, December 2). Collaboration is the Key to Success [Web log post]. Retrieved from http://philipbloom.net/2011/12/02/a-focus-on-collaboration-why-its-important/



Annotation:

What makes collaboration successful? According to Bloom, collaboration is the basis of the success to almost everything. It sparks creativity with a group of people that normally you would not be working with such as people from other countries with different prespectives on ideas. There are three different forms of collaboration that can exist in either roles, relationships, or skill sets. One of the biggest driving forces for collaboration, according to Bloom, has been the way new audiences are established.


5.
Google. (2007, May 31). Google Apps Quick Tour [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJT3pagjd8s



Annotation:

Gives a tour of what google apps can do in regards to collaboration. I contains email and collaboration tools for groups such as iGoogle, Google Docs, Picasa, and Google Reader.

6.
Blog. (n.d.). In Wikipedia.Retrieved January 3, 2012, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blog



Annotation:

Defintion of what a blog is in regards to group collaboration. Blogs are a great way for groups, world wide, to share ideas and information through chat and posts. People can view a blog and comment on the ideas.

7.
Wiki. (n.d.). In Wikipedia. Retrieved January 7, 2012, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiki



Annotation:

Definition of what a wiki is in regards to group collaboration. Wiki's are used to allow members to add, delete, and modify content using a web browser. Pictures, videos, presentations, and information can be uploaded to share with the members.

8.
Conoley, J. & Conoley C. (2010). Why Does Collaboration Work? Linking Positive Psychology and Collaboration. Journal of Educational and Psychological Consultation, 20, 75-82. doi: 10.1080/10474410903554902



Annotation:

Collaboration is the key element to the success of students in a classroom, especially students with special needs. A collaborative team can help build the needed support to help students have success cross curriculum. Social support is an important aspect of a collaborative teams role with student engagement.

9.
Lay, J. (2009, February). Collaboration in Action: Joining Forces with Peers to Create Positive Impact. The Data Crunch. Retreived from http://acteonline.org



Annotation:

Collaboration is needed according to all educators. Discussions of the value of collaboration and where is it heading in the network. There have been improvements made based on collaboration, but if colleagues do not reinforce the ideas it will not be “important.”

10.
Thomas, M. (2002, March/April). What is Collaboration to You? Library Talk.



Annotation:

Collaboration is used widely in the education field. Most schools want to improve upon their instruction through collaborating with other team members in different academic settings. Collaboration study needs to stay with the demand pace for the practice. Observing good collaborative practices will be critical to individuals that struggle. Staff development and awareness needs to be brough to the attention of the faculty.



11.
Hong, H.Y. (2011). Beyond Group Collaboration: Facilitating an Idea-centered View of Collaboration through Knowledge Building in a Science Class of Fifth-graders. The Asia-Pacific Education Reseacher, 20(2), 246-260.



Annotation:

A study completed with 52 5th graders in two Science class. Data mainly came from students' online activities recorded and interviews regarding their collaboration. They found that students that collaborate are more likely to have success in the classroom and later in life. They are becoming more social with their peers and will ask for help on a common goal.

12.
Keast, R. & Mandell, M. (2009). What is collaboration? Advancing Collabortion Practice. Retreived from http://aracy.org.au



Annotation:

Collaboration is a part of a joint plan that is working on the relationships. Working together is the key to help address problems in an organization. Cooperation is a vital element to sharing needed information with the group. Collaboration can be a challenge for most organizations, but there are perks in the future.

Module #5 responses

http://durffsblog.blogspot.com/2012/02/concept-map-static-versus-dynamic.html

http://sue-educ7102.blogspot.com/2012/02/concept-map-static-versus-dynamic.html?showComment=1328815599727#c8773058274072681370

http://wojoedtech.blogspot.com/2012/02/module-5-static-vs-dynamic-tools.html?showComment=1328815726823#c4845479835299915339

Module #5 Concept Map: Static versus Dynamic Technologies Reflection

Static means not changing and indicates where technology comes from. Dynamic basically means changing.In information systems we talk about Dynamic services or content as coming from databases or real-time feeds of data. This means that as systems change, the information shared between the users of the data changes as well.

There is a wide range of learning technologies within the areas of communication, collaboration, and content in education; the spectrum includes dynamic, middle, and static technologies. Static technology examples for the area of communication include video streaming, email, phone calls, and instant messaging. Collaboration in static learning technologies are not interactive and include chat rooms, discussion forum, message boards, and bulletin boards. Content is spread througout static learning technologies such as web pages, eBooks, and podcasts, and blogs. Dynamic technology examples for the area of content generation include Study Island, ipad apps and games, simulations, and twitter. Collaboration in dynamic learning techologies are very interactive and they include video conferening, discussion boards, document sharing, and elluminate sessions. Communication is dynamic learning includes programs like wiki, text messages, phone calls, and skype.

With some of the listed programs and innovations, I am very comfortable using and use daily such as discussion forum, message boards, blog, wiki, text messages, phone calles, and Study Island. Some are dynamic, but most are static. As an educator and a student, I need to step out of the box and learn to use more of the dynamic forms of technology to promote collaboration, content, and communication.

Module #5 Concept Map: Static versus Dynamic Technologies

http://prezi.com/j3v8fjronbbb/static-versus-dynamic-technologies/

Collaboration Video

This is the most current video without the music and sound. 

Still editing the script and voice over for the video.

Module #4 blog responses

http://principlesofdistanceeducationblog.blogspot.com/2012/01/graphic-organizer.html?showComment=1327699175550#c3375895789311690195




http://slayeduc.blogspot.com/2012/01/module-4-assignment.html?showComment=1327787862930#c3231658093847629996

Module #4 Assignment: Reflection of Graphic Organizer

For this week's assignment, I designed a graphic organizer that shows web tools and strategies that are best for  learners in regards to knowledge, communication, and collaboration. The teacher is the person who creates and organizes the material so that it can be effectively used by the learners (Siemens, 2008).


The web tools that promote student engagment in communication with their peers and instructors are technologies such as email, instant messaging, and skype.  For example, students can email their teachers to ask them for extra help on a homework assignment. Also, teachers can skype with students to help them work through a math problem over long school breaks. Anderson (2008) discusses that communication tools offer students direct communication to their instructors; also they allow students to avoid time constraints.


The web tools that I chose that will help learners build content knowledge are podcast, educational websites, YouTube videos, and textbooks. These tools will be very beneficial to students. They can be easily accessed and used with the core curriculum in any grade level. For example, students can use any educational website from home to work on standards that they are struggling with in class at their own pace. Also, they can use the textbook websites from home to study for their assessments. Additionally, students can download YouTube videos to their iphones to watch while they are riding to school and vice-versa. Videos could contain songs or skits that would help them understand a standard.

Web tools also can promote collaboration among students. For example, wikis. class cafe's, discussion boards and blogs allow students to post projects that they can edit and modify. Students and teachers can offer feedback to help with understanding for the creator. Also, Google Apps can be used for a variety of collaboration modes such as Google Docs allows people to share documents with other students and teachers.


Reference:


Anderson, T. (Ed.). (2008). The theory and practice of online learning (2nd ed.). Edmonton, AB: Athabasca University Press


Siemens, G. (2008, January). Learning and knowing in networks: Changing roles for educators and designers. ITForum.

Module #4 Assignment Graphic Organizer

Engaging Learners with New Stratagies and Tools Graphic Organizer

http://prezi.com/ksqspcneiexa/engaging-learners-with-new-strategies-and-tools/

New Storyboard for Module #3

Introduction of myself Music playing Motion media clip Reference of media clip:
Where conference will take place	Denver, Colorado June 27-30 at Colorado Convention Center Transition
Start introducing Collaboration: What it is? Reference:	“Collaborative practice is now central to the way we work, deliver services and produce innovations. Collaboration generally refers to individuals or organizations ‘working together’ to address problems and deliver outcomes that are not easily or effectively achieved by working alone”. –ARACY, 2009 Transition
Understanding Collaboration  in Education Reference of chart:	Transition
Introduce speaker: Karen Blumberg Where she is from; what she does; collaboration Title of speech: Collaborating with Google Apps in the 21st Century Reference:	Transition
Reference: Script discussing collaboration in general with in learning community by author
Reference:	According to Academic Leadership Live, an online journal, and Knackendoffel, there are key features in regards to collaboration to be successful. —  It is voluntary —  Requires parity among participants —  Based on mutual goals —  Depends on shared responsibility for participation and decision making —  Individuals who collaborate share their resources —  Individuals who collaborate share accountability for outcomes Transition Transition
Why is collaboration needed in education? Reference:	It is critical that organizations engage in collaboration among individuals and groups who share a common vision in order for those individuals and groups to achieve the vision as stated by Lay. Collaborative processes are ways for colleagues to share best practices and strategies that are effective in the classroom. Transition
Video clip from instructional coordinator about the importance of teacher collaboration in schools. Reference of media clip:
Reference of information: Reference of figure:	In a recent article about collaboration outcomes through process structuring, a group of professors discussed the importance of collaboration in a virtual team is necessary to have effective work.
Why does collaboration work? Reference Reference of clip art:	“Successful collaboration may work by providing individuals faced with stressful situations with material and emotional support, which allows them to broaden and build on their own personal resources” (Conoley & Conoley, 2010). Transition Transition
Conclusion

Module #3-Assessing Collaborative Learning

"Effective classroom assessment: is learner-centered, teacher-directed, mutually beneficial, formative, context-specific, ongoing, and firmly rooted in good practice" (Palloff & Pratt, 2005, chap. 4). Assessing collaborative learning seems like it would be an easy task for an online learning community professor, but it can be a challenge. There are numerous ways to assess collaborative learning. One fair assessment is to have a self assessment. The professor would be able to obtain feedback from the student to see how they feel about the product that they are producing in the course. Giving students a grading scale rubric is a great way for the group to do a fair assessment of the members. Members of a group may notice that a group member is not participating, they then need to notify the professor. It is not fair to a collaborative learning community to have one member not participating. The group members need to ask that person questions to make sure that they have a good understanding of what is expected of them in the class. They may not understand what is expected of them.

Reference:

Palloff, R. and Pratt, K. (2005). Collaboration online learning together in community. San Francisco, CA: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Module #3 blog responses

Here is a list of the blogs that I responded to:


Michelle Martens-Draglin
http://michellenotes.blogspot.com/2012/01/educ-8842-blog-post-assessing.html?showComment=1326226728040#c8631360091718234388

Julie Kaplan
http://juliekaplan.wordpress.com/2012/01/02/module-3-learning-communities/#comment-15

Module 3 Project Assignment Comments

Here is a list of the Storyboards that I commented on:

Jacquelyn Johnson 
http://jjslearning.blogspot.com/2012/01/social-presence-story-board.html?showComment=1326225928435#c8678279024200603203


Victoria Williams
http://victoriagwilliams.blogspot.com/2012/01/interactive-video-conferencing.html?showComment=1326226206656#c7550530071686593006

Storyboard for Module #3

Collaboration

Module #3 Assignment

Assessing Collaborative Efforts

In this module, you watched two video programs in which George Siemens discussed strategies for assessing collaborative learning communities in the online environment, and for creating and maintaining successful online learning communities. Both instructors and learners must take responsibility for achieving this goal. Occasionally, you may run across a student who does not like to work in groups or collaborate with peers. He or she may even request to work on a project alone rather than in a cooperative group.

As an instructor, there are several issues to consider:

• How should participation in a collaborative learning community be assessed? How do the varying levels of skill and knowledge students bring to a course affect the instructor's "fair and equitable assessment" of learning?
• If a student does not want to network or collaborate in a learning community for an online course, what should the other members of the learning community do? What role should the instructor play? What impact would this have on his or her assessment plan?

Reflect on these questions in your blog. Reference your readings and video programs from this module, along with another blog post dealing with the topic of assessing collaborative learning. Be sure to link to all of the resources you cite in your blog.

Response:
Siemens discusses the challenges that educators face in the fact that there is a struggles with how to assess students because there is a shift in the way that educators teach. We are going from individual learning experiences to collaboration between colleagues. How do we assess a group assignment? There are four ways that Siemens introduced for assessment in a collaborative environment. Peers can assess one another in a collaborative group by using a rating scale. Another way to assess is that students can receive feedback from the online community on their assignment that they have worked on. After obtaining the feedback, they can make corrections to the project. Not all assessments have to have a mark. Another assessment is that educators assess based on contributions such as using a wiki. Lastly, educators assess based on metrics from learning management systems.
What happens when there is someone that will not participate in the online community? Siemens discusses that there are some students that struggle with working in a collaborative environment. The best way to get these students to participate is to change the assessment. The instructor should play a big role by showing students how to effectively participate and be successful. Have a practical experience.


References:
Laureate Education, Inc. (2008).Learning communities. Baltimore: Author.
Laureate Education, Inc. (2008). Assessment of collaboration. Baltimore: Author.

Module #2 blog responses

Here are a list of the blogs that I responded to:


Jacquelyn Johnson--http://jjslearning.blogspot.com/


Cynthia Muna--http://helloworld-educationaltechnology.blogspot.com/

Module #2 Assignment

Elements of Distance Education Diffusion

George Siemens discussed the growing acceptance of distance education in today’s corporate and educational spheres, including three possible elements of distance education that are creating more effective learning experiences and giving distance education an identity of its own distinct from F2F courses: (a) global diversity, (b) communication, and (c) collaborative interaction. Do you agree or disagree with his view?

Select one of these three elements for your reflection in this module and respond to the following in your blog:

• How has this element evolved?
• What online tools are available today to facilitate these interactions among learners?

Assignment:

"Distance education is not globally confined" (Siemens, ). I agree with Siemens view on global diversity as it relates to online learning communities and technology. Siemens discusses how global diversity is a growing trend among distance learning. Global diversity has evolved in the sense that more universities are opening up there doors to the world and to online learning. The people that are involved in these communities often have the same mind set as discussed by Siemens. 

The online tools that are available today to help facilitate global interactions among learners are numerous. One tool that is very efficient is skype. Colleagues are able to talk over the internet through skype to discuss strategies face-to-face without having to travel far from home. 

Reference

Laureate Education, Inc. (2008). Principles of Distance Education. Baltimore: Author.

Module #1 blog responses

Here are a list of the blogs that I responded to:

Ransey's Blog Address--http://transeyblogs.blogspot.com/

Maria Padin-Arshad Blog address--http://arshadmaria.blogspot.com/

Module #1 Assignment

The Next Generation of Distance Education

During this course, you will post a reflection in your personal blog based on the topic of each module. If you are already a blogger, you can use your existing blog for this purpose. If you are not a blogger, you will need to create a blog for this purpose. You will utilize your blog in other courses as well. Please post the URL for your blog in the Class Café so your classmates can find it. You may want to use an aggregator like www.Bloglines.com so you can check the blogs of your classmates on a regular basis. An aggregator lets you see all the new posts to the blogs you follow since the last time you checked, and will save you a lot of time.  You only have to open your aggregator, rather than each blog separately to see if a posting has been made.

Your instructor will assign you to a group of four to five learners so you can read and respond within a small group  learning community throughout the course.
For your first blog for this module, reflect on the following:

• After reading the three articles by Moller, Huett, Foshay and Coleman, and listening to the Simonson video programs, compare and contrast the reasons these authors believe there is a need to evolve distance education to the next generation. Do you agree with their positions? Why or why not?

Be sure to link to these resources in your blog, so others who read it will be able to reference them. After you have posted your blog, visit the blogs of other members of your learning community and read and respond to their posts.

Response

The number of adults that are participating in the online learning or e-learning experience is vastly growing. Adults are wanting to obtain higher degrees to help secure their jobs or climb the economic ladder to success. For myself, I want to obtain a higher degree to help keep the students in the classroom engaged. With learning about new technology that can help my students succeed, then I feel successful as an educator.

Moller, Foshay, and Huett state "It seems plausible that, given the lack of collaborative learning background of many learners, our educational system is producing learners who prefer, or are able to only interact with the content  and/or instructor, but not each other" (May/June 2008). I disagree with this statement. I know that there is a lot of peer interaction in all classrooms. As educators we try to incorporate this daily so that we are preparing the students for the work force where they have to work with people that they do not get along with. I know for myself that I took my first online class in March of 2009 and was very successful. I enjoyed the amount of interaction that I had with my colleagues and professors. The best part is that I could complete assignments and communicate with them while I was in the comfort of my own home. Online learning may be a little more expensive, but you do not have to worry about traveling and changing your schedule around to be at classes on a certain day and time. 


I do agree with Moller, Foshay and Huett in that web-based instruction may not be beneficial for everyone (May/June 2008, p.74). Some people need to be able to have the face-to-face interaction with their peers and instructors. Also, Moller, Foshat, and Huett discussed in part two of the essay that the faculty that is "deploying the online courses should be required training" (July/August 2008, p.69). This is a very true statement. I know that some people who have taking online courses have had a really bad experience because of the lack of experience that the professor had involving the online program.

In the last part of the essay, Moller, Foshay, Huett, and Coleman state that distance learning may become a "dumping ground" for credit recovery and alternative setting for problem students (September/October 2008). I disagree with this because online learning is beneficial to working adults and classroom students. Online learning should not be used as a punishment for children because they will learn to resent computer based learning. What happens when they enter the work force, and they have to take a course to prepare them for their job that is on the computer? They would give up because they new online learning from school was not successful for them when they were in school.

References:
Moller, L., Foshay, W., & Huett, J. (2008, May/June). The evolution of distance education: Implications for instructional design on the potential of the Web (Part 1: Training and Development). TechTrends, 52(3), 70–75. Retreived from: http://web.ebscohost.com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/ehost/detail?sid=1c5b4c2b-db1a-4c72-8922-807f0d3b56f6%40sessionmgr115&vid=1&hid=125&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#db=a9h&AN=33281719

Moller, L., Foshay, W., & Huett, J. (2008, July/August). The evolution of distance education: Implications for instructional design on the potential of the Web (Part 2: Higher Education). TechTrends, 52(4), 66–70. Retreived from: http://web.ebscohost.com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/ehost/detail?sid=44e22096-c573-4919-98d6-0d47ef15bd5a%40sessionmgr112&vid=1&hid=125&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#db=a9h&AN=33991516

Huett, J., Moller, L., Foshay, W. & Coleman, C. (2008, September/October). The evolution of distance education: Implications for instructional design on the potential of the Web (Part 3: K12). TechTrends, 52(5), 63–67. Retrieved from: http://web.ebscohost.com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/ehost/detail?sid=8e31a47c-714e-488d-84eb-3b75d9d3615c%40sessionmgr111&vid=1&hid=125&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#db=a9h&AN=34729472