Gaming Education

Recently in class we learned about the use of games as a learning tool. With the extensive technologies it is now possible to do more than ever before on the internet. We have learned that cloud computing, open source software, and social networking and media have all been recent additions to the teaching curriculum for younger students. It really amazes me how much technology has advanced since I was a kid. I remember when the first sims game came out (sim city) and roller coaster tycoon. That was just the beginning of interactive online games that taught users how to budget, earn money, and take care of "living" people. Now the sims games are more interactive, and the graphics are insane. Not only that but we learned about Second Life, which is like a more interactive version of the sims, that people actually invest real money in and can even make a profit. I was shocked to learn that there have been real law suits regarding money and copy rights in the video world of second life, it is instances like this that the legal issues and ethical lines become blurred.

While Games such as second life and the sims don't have much to do with my major, I do acknowledge the importance of getting youth to learn in many different ways. For my major I'm going to have to learn a lot about television, and broadcasting, and it may be helpful if there was some kind of game to virtually learn those things. I remember in high school in AP bio we used a computer program my teacher created to virtually dissect animals that we would not have the opportunity to do otherwise. It also had quizzes scattered throughout so we really learned the material. The group with the most points for correct answers won prizes or extra credit points on their test. I think creating games such as this would be very beneficial to a wide variety of subjects, and with the continuous advancements it shouldn't be too hard to keep them entertaining.

Distance Education

A couple of weeks ago in class we learned about distance education and its increasing popularity. As our society continues to become more and more centered around technology, it seems logical that getting a degree online would be possible. Many highly acclaimed universities now have distance learning available, which has been quite the controversy recently. First, if someone is taking classes online at UF but never sets foot on campus, can they call themselves a Gator? Or if they get their education from Phoenix online, and are competing for the same job with the same major as you, should they be set to a lower standard? There are pros and cons to online education, but first the pros. Being able to take classes online is very convenient for those who have weird schedules. If you have class online you don't need to be in a classroom at the same time every day, and can do the work (by the deadline of course) at your own pace. In addition, it teaches responsibility and time management, because It would be easy to put things off or forget to do them if you didnt have to go to class every day to get reminded. Alternately, people argue that it is lazy, and that its a lot easier.

There are some very prestigious schools that offer online classes, but there are also a lot of scams out there. There are websites that you can pay to get a fake degree. In class we learned about a dog who got an online degree. If you are taking only classes online it is very important to make sure it is legitimate. I think for the most part online classes are a great thing. Sometimes if you need a class, but the only openings are online you have to wait to take it another semester, but with the addition of distance education, it can be taken online which can be very helpful and save a lot of time!

Professional Web Presence

Recently in class we learned about, and created our own personal Professional Web Presence websites. With the advancement of internet, and our dependence on it, has created many positive opportunities, as well as some that can be detrimental. As discussed in previous blog entries facebook and other social networking websites can often portray people in a negative way. For example, if a future potential employer were to google your name and the only information they could find about you was on facebook, would that be a negative or a positive for you? Odds are it would be inaccurate at the very least. Creating your own web presence is a great opportunity to share information about yourself that reflects your positive assets.

My web presence was really easy to make, and there was a lot of flexibility and room for individual creativity. We used sites.google.com for this particular assignment, and was easy and helpful just as all other google applications are. There were a few times when I couldn't figure out how to do something, so I entered my question and it was immediately answered.

Having your own web presence is very important to any person particularly in my generation. It is almost like an online resume except it can be more personal. For example, on mine I added a section where I was able to give some background information, explain my interests, etc. I also had a section like a resume, and another section where I was able to display some of the work I had done in this class. The best part about having my own web presence, is I can update it whenever I want to/need to, so as I continue to grow and become more experienced, I can display that in my site.

Here is the link to my site!

Concept mapping with Webspiration.com!

I found the concept mapping with webspiration.com to be very easy to use and helpful! I mapped some of my thoughts for a paper I'm about to start writing about the Daniel Goldhagen Debate. It made it very easy to see the different sides, and separate them by color and shape, so at a glance anyone can follow the organization. I think this is a great way to organize many things, whether its an outline for a paper, a to-do list, or even a for a visual for a presentation. I will definitely remember this site, and its usefulness in many different areas!

Web Technology

There is no question that we live in a technology obsessed society. But how can people keep up with all the new advancements of the internet and web 2.0? It has become possible to do almost everything from your computer. It is now possible to live without ever leaving your home. Groceries can be ordered and delivered to your home, you can work many jobs, even live alternate lives with the use of interactive video games and avatars. I found a pretty useful video to help people get up with the web 2.0 lingo, it made me laugh a few times (Although I don't think it is meant to be funny)

In its 40 year existence, internet it has changed dramatically. As I mentioned earlier is has become possible for people to do virtually anything from the comfort of their homes from just using their computers. People often argue that there is too high of a dependency on internet, that it can be detrimental to people, particularly children. It is said that children who are too involved in the internet often have self esteem issues, or get a skewed view of reality. In addition to this, in class we were introduced to cyber bullying and were made aware of how easy it can be for children to get involved with a cyber pedophile without recognizing it. Alternately, it can be argued that the use of the internet as an educational tool can be very beneficial when monitored correctly.

Web 2.0 has opened many doors for anyone with access to internet, and it is mind blowing to think about what we could be capable of doing in another 40 years. In my opinion it has been more of a blessing than a curse.

Educational Technology

I
wanted to start this post with that video I found on youtube.com that
if you ask me sums up the significance of the ever changing
technological world we live in. In just a century we have gone from
virtually no technology to a society dependent upon it. As the video
points out that the only thing constant about technology is that its
ever changing.When I first decided to enter the college of journalism and communications,
I didn't understand how important it was to have a wide understanding
of computers and technology. I know for my major of telecommunications
I'm going to have to be constantly learning new devices, and how to use
them. At first I wanted to focus on communications, but looking back I
realize a field that in the past may not have required a wide
understanding needs one now.Hopefully I will be able to keep up! The thing that blows my mind is that kids
younger than me might be more technologically with it then I am,
because technology is now being taught and used at a much earlier age
to maximize learning.

Copyrights

Copyrighting material is extremely important. Ever since we were kids we have been drilled by our teachers in our writing and english classes to attribute our borrowed information to the person who stated it. Without copyrights anyone could go out and sing a Michael Jackson song for instance, and claim that it is theirs. Copyright laws have made it easier for people to protect their work, but at the same time it has become a concern. With the advancement of internet and other technology information is easier to access than ever, and once something is posted on the internet is remains there indefinitely. This can be very helpful when looking for resources, but it also gives abundant access for people to take the ideas of other people.

The issue of copyrighting is one that is particularly important in my field of studies. Plagiarizing in the field of journalism is an ever increasing offense. For instance Jayson Blair made it very apparent that it happens even at one of the most prestigious newspapers in the country. To make this worse, there is even evidence that he had plagiarized for all four years he had written for The New York Times. (http://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/11/national/11PAPE.html?pagewanted=1) This is much worse of a problem because it diminishes public trust in journalists particularly when in happens within a respected newspaper.

Wordle

This is the Wordle map I created. I made it from an article about my soccer team I found on Gatorzone.com. The cool thing about wordle.com is it is extremely easy to use, and is completely free! Wordle takes the most commonly used words in an article and sizes them accordingly, so without reading the article it is easy to tell what each article was about. This could be a good visual to accompany a report.

Podcasting

The next thing we focused on in class was podcasting. The use of audio learning is just as important as the visual learning we learned about previously in class. It still amazes me how many different ways people can access and create their own visual and auditory stories, and for free too. Just in my lifetime, technology has advanced exponentially giving a wide array of professionals access to beneficial tools. For example, teachers can use technology as a way to get through to students who don't respond to the traditional teaching methods. Personally, I would have loved it if my teachers in elementary and middle school could have had the resources teachers have now!

In class we went through tutorials for multiple sites in which we could create audio tracks. I messed around with all of them in class, but when I made my own podcast I used garageband, because it was easy to access and use on my personal computer. While researching podcasts I came across a video on youtube.com that as the title suggests explains podcasting in "plain english" and here it is, enjoy!

Digital Storytelling

Continuing on with the theme of visual literacy we discussed the usefulness of digital storytelling. Digital storytelling is using computer technology to create and tell a story, basically making a movie or slide show. In class we watched an example made based off of a video game. There were no words, just music and anyone watching could figure out the basic story, even a young person.

We then for homework created our own digital story. There are many useful sites that are completely free, and allow anyone interested to create their own. Some sites you can create a cartoon based on a variety of characters, sounds, and scenes that allow you to add dialogue as you go. Alternately, there are other sites, such as Animoto that allows you to upload pictures, and music. This is the one I used. I posted pictures of me playing soccer here at school, to give people an idea of what we have to go through every day as athletes at this school. I mess around with a few different sites, all were fairly easy to do and pretty fun, so anyone could do them!

With the advancement of internet and the technology era, digital storytelling will become more and more useful as resources, particularly for teachers. In addition to this digital storytelling on the news and through the media can have a huge impact on those who watch them.

Visual Literacy

In the week following after learning about photoshop, we spent a good deal of time talking about visual literacy, and how important it is in society today. Visual literacy is often overlooked, but without it we wouldn't be able to recognize many things. For example an interesting point was brought up on a youtube video. Would you be able to find a restroom, or a gas station, or even a bottle of coke in a foreign country if you didn't recognize the symbol? In a way visual literacy is like an international language. A common misconception regarding visual literacy is that it only applies to photoshopped material, which is clearly not true.

Visual literacy is very important in a number of different fields. It is extremely important in educating children. Young people need to be taught in multiple ways, and its necessary to learn and interpret things in different ways and visual literacy allows for that. I found a very interesting video youtube which offers some unique points. Here's the link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQNbAtK3c3g

In addition to being extremely important in the field of education, it is also

very important in journalism... most of the time the visual appearance of

something can be the deciding factor whether you read the article or not.

This is the same case with telecommunications and broadcasting.

Photoshop

We spent a good deal of time in class learning about photoshop. It is a tool used in nearly every picture we see in magazines, whether its through airbrushing or just editing things in or out of the original photo. It is both fascinating and terrifying how realistic edited photos can look. For instance in class we looked at photos that have appeared in the news, such as current event photos, as well as older famous iconic photos. We compared the original photo with the one that had been tampered with. Personally because I don't have prior photoshop experience, so it took me a while to figure out what had been edited into the photo. The more we looked at these pictures it became slightly more apparent what had been changed, but it made it obvious that the average person could be easily fooled.

Shortly after talking about this in class, we got to try out photoshop on our own. While it was fairly basic, I learned a lot and was shocked at how easy it is (once you've learned of course) to manipulate photos. The scary thing about this is anyone can access the software, if they're willing to pay for it, that is. In class we also learned how important it is for people, particularly young children to be monitored while online, because many pictures are so believable, that a child might mistake them for being real.

This is a topic that is important in my field of study, because when you are dealing with television, visual literacy, and news reporting it becomes that much more important to make sure your sources are legitimate.