This week in class Dr. Gatin came in and spoke to us about various virtual environments. Many of the items he presented were ones that i recognized such as google calender, social bookmarking and micro blogs but I was also introduced to two separate entities that were new and interesting to me. The first is Google Docs. Google Docs is something that I will definitely use in the classroom as it allows multiple users to put their individual input toward a single document. This will be very useful for group projects or work that is handed in several times for different editions.
The second thing that was new to me and that I found interesting was the game "Second Life". I'd heard of second life in the past but had never seen it used and been exposed to a tutorial. I personally find the idea of second life fairly creepy. I've done some research on the game and found that in many cases people found the game more entertaining than their actual lives and developed an addiction and/or psychological problems due to that fact. I don't think that I could use this game in my classroom as the temptation to wonder off into other "worlds" would appear to great. As the Swan blog points out, it would be nearly impossible to combat cyber bullying in this environment. That's all for now.
Join me later next week when i discuss how to diffuse upset parents of players and players who receive low amounts of playing time. Where does their sense on entitlement come from and how do we better the situation for the everyone involved?
Coach T
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Hey Coach T, I think you may be on to something here. Google docs is something that I'm not all that familiar with, but I do know that some people swear by it and find it as an unreplacable resource. If students could use this in groups then teachers could check to make sure that all students are participating and contributing to their groups success. Plus it lets all the students work on one project at the same time. I completely agree with you on the gaming in the classroom. It is hard enough to monitor the students on the computers as it is, adding a game for them could make it worse. But if the game is educational and can help the students, should we let them play it? Either way there are enough distractions on the computer for students and getting them addicted to a game may lead to social problems. Good blog, curious to see how the disgruntled parents will turn out for you.
ReplyDeleteHey Coach...I can't get my helmet on Coach..just kidding T. I think you've hit the nail on the head in regards to Second life..people who find it hard to face reality could potentially get way too involved in their second lives and lose touch with their first.
ReplyDeleteI'm interested in learning more about Google docs too...you guys brought up some good points about it. It sounds like it could be a great resource for both students and teachers alike.
Thanks for the insights Coach!