Amanda’s E-learning Blog

Ok now its the second half of the semester and we are starting module 2. Presentations are still going. We did ours in the last week.

On the 26/3/08 we sat in a class where we were connected with someone named Joanne Kay in Wollongong over a piece of technology called Skype, a phone connection over the internet which was connected through the speakers so we could all hear her. Up on the projector screen we had second life and through Anne’s avatar we were following Joanne through various worlds in second life.

Second Life is a 3D interactive space where both social networking and learning can occur. I first encountered Second Life in our E-Learning Experiences class last semester, so therefore I had a basic understanding before this class. From last semester some of the students in our class started up an avatar and were able to join in during this tour.

‘How could virtual worlds, like Second Life be used for learning?’

As shown during the tour, Second Life is full of islands that are used by large companies for staff learning and development. We were shown into an area called ‘Swinburne University’ which was designed to look like an actual university. It had a meeting room where the characters could sit down and watch a presentation.

This could be used in organisations (and is) for staff to learn and to increase their knowledge of their jobs/the company. Gronstedt (2007) states that Second Life is the “fastest growing online community on the web” (para 5) and as a result many people will find themselves with an excuse to use it in the next few years.

Some issues raised about Second Life:
- It is quite advanced so computer literacy is an issue.
- Can contribute to lazyness.
- Less face to face interaction.
- Technical difficulties.
- Lag time can be frustrating.
- Since it is a syncronous activity, it may be difficult for people of the world to meet at the one time.

Some positives raised about Second Life:
- Time efficent when it works.
- Helps bridge the distance between people.
- Student centred learning environment.
- Creates an informal learning environment.
- Communication is instant.

Second Life does have a lot of positives, however also a lot of negatives. From looking at these I do not think Second Life would be a good training tool for DOCS staff. It seems to be too involved and takes up too much time. Jess said that when she set up hers it took her 5 hours to set up and learn what to do. DOCS staff does not have this time spare.

 References:
 Gronstedt, A. 2007, ‘Second Life Produces Real Training Results’, http://www.learningcircuits.org/2007/0807gronstedt.htm

‘What is meant by web-based application?’

A type of technology that requires the use of the internet.

‘What is Web 2.0?’

‘What is its relevance to learning?’

Web-based applications i am familiar with:
- Weblogs
- Wiki
- Chat
- E-Portfolios
- Virtual Worlds
- Social Networking

Web- based applications i would like to explore further:
- Virtual worlds. The first time I was exposed to a virtual world such as second life I did not like it at all. However now I have seen it operating a few more times I would not mind exploring it. But only if i needed to.
- Social networking. I have enjoyed using sites such as myspace and facebook so would not mind exploring more if they become popular.

Current Technologies

‘What are the 6 key emerging technologies identified by the 2008 report?’

- Grassroots Video
- Collaboration Webs
- Mobile Broadband
- Data Mashups
- Collective Intelligence
- Social Operating Systems

‘Which of these technologies are you familiar with, and in what context have either used them, or heard of them?’

- Grassroots Video. Im assuming this includes sites such as ‘you tube’ which I have been on a few times. Never uploaded anything though.
 - Mobile Broadband. All my current mobile does is makes/takes calls and sends/recieves messages. However I do know some people who can go on the internet with their mobile. Ive never seen it done though.
- Collective Intelligence. I think this would include wikis, in which case, we had to make one in E-learning Experiences last year.
- Social Operating Systems. I did frequently use myspace when it was popular. Now i use facebook regularly as a social networking tool.

‘Review the segnificant trends – how do these relate to your experiences of technology in learning contexts?’

The second point explains that globalisation is affecting the way we work and collaborate. This is shown through the increased use of the internet and different technologies that are emerging from this. This is evident through my learning, for example, when I have assignments, I tend to use the internet resources more so now than when in first year when I mainly used books as references.

Third point explains that items of technology are getting smaller, this relates to my technology experiences in regards to learning, for example, with smaller laptops they are more portable and therefore I am able to take mine to university.

Horizon Report 2007
‘Review your familiarity with the key emerging technologies from 2007 and your current technology experiences.’

- User created accounts. In first year uni we created an e-portfolio. In second year we created blogs and wikis. These are all user created accounts. Social networking sites would also be included in this, especially facebook because the site is all about the user that created it.
- Social networking. The Horizon report says that social networking is why students log on. And yes, that is sometimes the only reason I turn on the computer. I have both a facebook and a myspace account.
- Mobile phones. A couple of years I had a phone with the company ‘3′ which allowed me to access their intranet where I was able to download songs, news, weather, games, amongst other items.
- Virtual worlds. Not much experience here. I must have had some experience here other than just watching someone on Second Life, but cannot think of any at the moment.
- New scholarship and emerging forms of publication. Perhaps this is referring to journal articles etc being availiable online? In that case then yes I have used these.
- Massively multi player educational gaming. I do not do gaming.