Morning Wendy!

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A podcast can be submitted simply by using a telephone and making a recording as if you were speaking to an answering machine. Using Gcast it is free and quick to set up.

Wikis in Plain English

Blog 5

Wikis in Plain English

Nancy White posted a video by Lee and Sachi LeFever explaining the advantage of using wikis versus email. For a novice at technology this provides a comprehendible explanation of how many people can contribute and edit a single webpage without having to know html language. With only a working knowledge of word processing everyone has the opportunity to make changes in a collaborative effort. Had I seen this video before I had to post on a wiki I would have been less apprehensive. I posted a comment to the authors at the Common Craft wiki site. A link is provided to the entire video transcript at their wiki. I plan to use this video to introduce wikis to my students. I have provided link to the original wiki page http://www.commoncraft.com/video-wikis-plain-english

The cool Disney video that talks about Fair(y) Use

Blog 4 
The cool Disney video that talks about Fair(y) Use 
This link shows a YouTube posted video that explains in simple terms why 
one must be cautious about copyright infringement. Using excerpts from Disney
cartoon movies; this eye catching video explains the fair use policy that is implied
with copyrighted material. There are five chapters: “Copyright Definition, 
What Things Can Be Copyrighted?, Copyright Duration & Public Domain and 
Fair Use. In chapter five titled “Why Use Disney Cartoons?” the film’s maker, 
Eric Faden of Bucknell University, made a statement against the Disney 
corporation’s stance on prohibiting the use of their copyrighted material.  
 If firewall issues involving YouTube can be resolved in my building, I plan to 
incorporate this video into my lesson plans at the year’s beginning to emphasis 
to students to need to thoroughly investigate materials that they export from the web. 

Friday’s Pick: EO Wilson and the Encyclopedia of Life

Blog 3

For me this blog presented some exciting news. It spoke of the launching of a new dynamic website to which people from all fields could contribute to celebrate and document the biodiversity of the planet. This is to be the Encyclopedia of Life. The acronym. TED, was coined to proclaim a mergence of the fields of technology, entertainment and design to spread ideas that may change the world globally. A prize of $100 000 is awarded annually by TED to an individual to fulfill their wish to change the world. A podcast by this year’s recipient, E. O. Wilson,  discussed the need to preserve the diverse  forms of life found on Earth. His prize money will help fund this internet endeavor. In his invitation to the world,
Wilson asked for content contributions to this information. It is his hope that these practical applications will inspire new biologists in the next generation.The Encyclopedia of Life is designed in the Web 2.0 format accepting submissions from leading scientists and the public alike. The purpose of this website is to offer a plethora of digital resources and to provide a database of species open to the global public.I look forward to investigating this internet asset..

Brave New World—MUVE

Blog 2

Can gaming be incorporated into the classroom? Can learning be fun? A MUVE may be the tool that delivers both. A MUVE is a multi-user virtual environment that seems to be suited to the inquiry process of problem solving. Past, present day and future time scenarios can be created through the use of computer generated animations (CGA) that put real world technology into the hands of the students. This is the world that many students visit daily. A new task is always better received when a familiar component is involved. This is not new technology, just improved and more accessible technology. This new world is intriguing. In this blog I learned of The River City Project: A Multi-User Virtual Environment for Learning Scientific Inquiry and 21^st Century Skills developed by Harvard University and Arizona State
University. This collaboration has created a learning world geared to middle and high school students. Why reinvent the wheel while there are others out there that think alike? I would like to investigate this further but I was unable to access this site from my school due to the installed firewall. Similar sites like Second Life were also blocked. This is virtually (no pun intended) impossible to accomplish at home due to the slow speed of my dial-up access.If a firewall exemption was allowed there are other hurdles to overcome. Implementation considerations must include school hardware capabilities and overcoming past teaching prejudices of teachers and administration. http://blogs.uit.tufts.edu/id/2007/01/fridays_pick_before_second_lif.html

Blog 1 Second Life

I had seen a news clip about Second Life on the CBS Sunday morning program but I had forgotten about it until I read this blog.  Apparently Second Life is a website where one can create an alternate virutal reality.  Since Second Life required a fee and who has time to build a virtual life when REAL LIFE is out there waiting,  I gave it no further thought.  David Warlick’s comments started me thinking about the possible uses of Second Life in building and establishing interactive ecosystems with environmental study applications for Ecology class. One posted comment also mentioned about students creating medical scenarios of pandemics (an idea that has possibilities in my Biology II class).  Might this possibly be a tool for observing the evolution of a organism based on student parameter input?   I liked the idea that another posting presented of creating ‘virtual dioramas.’  Not being proficient nor knowledgeable in the creation of avatars (I didn’t even know what one was) or the virtual world, how much time would be needed to instruct students in its initials use?  This sounds like a virtual role playing game; a world with which the young are at ease.  Having not visited this site, is there a way for groups of students to work collaboratively on building an environment?  Funding this virtual real estate in this present school budgetary atmosphere is doubtful but it does seem intriguing as a method of inspiring to learn using a inquiry approach that is student motivated.