Educational Technologies

            Incorporating technology in the classroom is the wave of the future. It allows learners to collaborate, share, and understand (Tamarkin & Rodrigo, 2011). It allows for collaboration in real time and the learner to be able to demonstrate that they know why and how something works (Tamarkin et al., 2011).

            When reviewing the blogs of my fellow learners over the last eight weeks, there are several technologies that standout. The first one is from Adam Pierre’s week 7 blog. This is the week we discussed digital citizenship. The technology he talked about was at http://www.ongaurdonline.gov/media/game-0005-id-theft-faceoff. This is a game that can be played by students to warn them about identity theft, and the hazards of putting too much personal information on the Internet. Although my students are not allowed on the web, they are very vulnerable to having their identities stolen. I would use this game as a starting point to discussing this problem with them and what steps they could take to protect themselves (Pierre, 2015).

            The next technology reviewed was from Week 5, Angela Harris’ blog that discussed games, simulations, and virtual environments. The technology discussed was Second Life, http://www.secondlife.com. This site is interactive and would open up learning environments to my students that they have never experienced before. They would be able to walk through history, and experience other parts of the world without having to leave the state. There is no limit to what can be studied thru secondlife (Harris, 2015). I would use this technology to show the men the world beyond the walls of the prison, and the boundries of state of West Virginia.

            The third technology reviewed was from Week 4, Shirmen McDonald discussed iPads. For more information on iPads, you can go to www.apple.com. iPads have made technology easier to access, are cheaper than a computer, and are mobile. Ease of mobility and affordability has made iPads the technology choice for higher education. Through the wireless capabilities of the iPad, the user can access video-conferencing which allows for increased collaboration among learners, researchers, and teachers (Tamarkin et al., 2011). Through the use of information technology, learners can collaborate in real time and learn on a deeper level. I would like to use this technology in my classroom to extend the lesson, and keep the men in class longer.

            In a 21^st century classroom it is important to have the learners use the technology that is available to them to advance the learning process, and to make sure that the process is a meaningful one.

References

Harris, A. (2015, November 26). Games, simulations, and virtual environments [Blog message]. Retrieved from: http://angelakharris.blogspot.com

McDonald, S. (2015, November 20). Mobile learning technologies [Blog message]. Retrieved from: https://shirmenblog.wordpress.com/

Pierre, A. (2015, November 9). Digital Citizenship [Blog message]. Retrieved from: http://adampierre.blogspot

Tamarkin, M., Rodrigo, S., & The 2011 Educause Evolving Technologies Committee. (2011). Evolving technologies: A view to tomorrow. Retrieved from: http://www.educause.edu/ero/article/evolving-technologies-view-tomorrow

 

 

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Digital citizenship, ethics, and netiquette

            We are all digital citizens of the world. In the real world, we have to treat people with common courtesy and respect their personal boundaries. So too do we have to adhere to social constructs in the cyber world. The first technology that I explored regarding this topic was isafe. The URL for this site is: http://www.isafe.org. This site was founded in 1998 and is dedicated to teaching responsible digital citizenship to children and adults. It is teaching responsible citizenship to prevent the misuse of the technology they are using such as: cyber-bullying, illegal downloading, plagiarizing, using cell phones in class, and going to pornography sites (Uchebee, 2012). This site offers a combination of traditional curriculum and technology to help students with their critical thinking skills and decision making skills (Ladd, 2014).

            The second technology that I looked at was 5 minute film festival. The URL for this site is: http://www.edutopia.org/blog/film-festival-kindness-empathy-connection. This website is host to many films that are only 5 minutes long that explore topics such as protecting your identity, kindness, netiquette, and empathy. These videos are appropriate for all ages, educational levels, and learning methods (Ameliandlovu, 2013).

            The last technology that I looked at was Pixton. The URL for this site is: http://www.edmodo.com/publisher/pixton. This app can be used in the classroom by the learners to create warning stories in the form of cartoons. These stories can be about cyber-bullying, stalking, predator, and how to behave with proper netiquette when surfing the Web. This app centers on proper etiquette when on the Internet (Ameliandlovu, 2013).

            I would use these sites to introduce netiquette, digital citizenship, and how to use technology correctly so the learner can leave a positive cyber footprint. Also, these sites would be helpful to allow the students to learn the concept in several ways: auditory, visual and kinesthetic. With the app, students would be able to express their ideas about a given topic in a creative manner. The class could use the 5 minute films to have a starting point for small group or class discussions about the topic.

References

 Ameliandlovu, (2013, June 21). Digital citizenship, ethics, and netiquette [Blog message].
Retrieved from Emerging Technologies website:http://ameliandlovu.worldpress.com/2013/06/21/
digital-citizenship-ethics-and-netiquette/.

Ladd, E. (2014, October 21). Technologies related to digital citizenship, ethics, and netiquette [Blog message].
Retrieved from Wolfpack in the house website:http://wolfpack-in-the-house.mozello.com/params/post/176836/.

UchebeeClassroom, (2012, October 19). Technologies related to digital citizenship, ethics, and netiquette [Blog message].
Retrieved from Using Technology to Enhance Adult Learning website:
https://uchebeeclassroom.wordpress.com/2012/10/19/technologies-related-to-digital-citizenship/.

 

Educational Technologies

            Online education continues to grow due to its low cost, high accessibility, and flexibility (Staff writers, 2013). Open education offers the learner an opportunity to interact and collaborate with people from all over the world who have common interests.

            The first open educational technology I explored was iversity. The URL is: http://www.iversity.org. It is a European platform that was started in October 2013. It is free and open to everyone. It offers courses in several languages, has over 600,000 participants in 63 courses from 41 partner universities (Wikipedia, 2015). This platform offers instructors and students a convenient place to set up their courses and work groups (Staff writers, 2013). The iversity platform can offer a place to share ideas within your university or with other people across the globe. Professors can use Open Courses to share what they are teaching in their classroom with others. Open Courses offer classes by esteemed professors from around the world that allow people to interact and collaborate with each other. The developers of iversity believe that MOOCs will change the way we learn and teach (Staff writers, 2013).

            The second open technology that I explored was iTunesU. The URL is: https//:www.apple.com/education/ipad/itunes-u/. iTunes U is a completely free medium through Apple iTunes application where universities and colleges can offer courses to anyone who wants to take them. Over 800 higher institutions from all over the world provide classes and content to iTunes U (Breed, nd). iTunes U is easy to download and easy to navigate the app. You can browse by subject, by school, or by popular downloads. The content is directly delivered to your mobile device through lectures, videos, PDFs, or books. After downloading the content of the course, the learner has complete control over how they process the content (Breed, nd). They can learn at their own pace, and decide which mobile technology they would like to learn on. Downside of iTunes U is that there is no degree credits offered or not a discussion board to communicate with other students in the course (Breed, nd).

            The reason I chose these two open education technologies is that they could be downloaded on to an iPad and my students could take advantage of this app without having to go on the Internet to be exposed to courses that they may not otherwise get to take.

            Examples of how I would use this technology would be to have the men at my facility be able to take courses from colleges or universities that they would never be able to attend or afford to go to.  Also, I would use these programs to improve literacy skills and allow the men the freedom to learn at their own pace and independently of the instructor.

 References

Breed, M. (nd). What is iTunes U? Free college courses from top universities. Retrieved  from Money Crashers website: http://www.moneycrashers.com/what-is-itunes-u-                              university/.

 iversity (2015). Retrieved from Wikipedia website: http://en.wikipedia.org

Staff Writers (2013, March 28). The next generation of online learning platforms. Retrieved from Online Universities.com website: http://www.onlineuniversities.com/blog/2013/the-next-generation-online-learning-platforms.