World of Warcraft and Neomillennial Learning Styles

Chris Dede claims that Net Generation's learning style has been influenced by technology and media in their formative years. Chris gives examples of MUVE's (Multiuser virtual environments) using avatars, self created digital characters), and the first thing I thought of was an episode of South Park (“Make Love, Not Warcraft") where Cartman and his friends work together in virtual environment to fight the bad guy. However, Chris gives better examples of MUVEs. Using GPS technology and handheld computer simulations, students collect information pertinent to real-world problems.

If Net Generation spent there formative years using blogging, texting, AIMing, and chatting online to communicate socially, I could personally see how the technology can easily translate into classroom setting with careful planning and setting guidelines of curriculum to facilitate learning. Growing up using face to face and voice to voice ,social communication, I have to schedule in blogging time to participate in class discussion. I will be using reverse method and start using blogging socially and incorporate into classroom. I am hoping this will work. But, I am hopefully, since I have already made smooth transition of social emailing to classroom discussion emailing.

I am looking forward to all the technical changes that will appear in learning environment to push MUVE's. Virtual classroom where Hello Kitty leads discussion, maybe...

Can't fake empathy

Daniel Pink's chapter on Empathy in his book A Whole New Mind, he talks about what empathy is why we need it to survive in left brain dominated world. He also makes some suggestions for improving our empathy power. Writing your own cards and taking acting classes were some of creative suggestions for improving empathy. Pink's quote still resonates in my head “you can't fake empathy” There were doctors, teachers, and co-workers that I have interacted with whom I could obviously tell that they were trying to be empathetic. They either read Pink's book or had some sensitivity training about being empathetic, but I could tell that they're not genuine.

Pink also briefly touches on femininely right brain and masculinely left brain and he does not clearly states that men are more detach and less empathetic and women are more attach and more empathetic. It reminded me of plastic pollutants in the environment effecting mammals to be more masculine. However, regardless of gender, everyone in Conceptual Age needs to be able to balance between detachment and attachment.

Educational blogging

Stephen refutes blogging being stereotyped as personal comments and observation by describing origin of blogging. I was surprise to find out that 9/11 was one of the turning point for blogging history. 9/11 event influenced many people's life and they used blogging to personalize this event.

Example of Harvard student Derek Slater's blog and lawsuit following the content of his blog, brings out a very good point. Where does the freedom of speech cross the line of defamation?

How do we get away from obligatory blogging from students and engage students to have "passionate" conversations and discussions? What is the teacher's learning objective for students where learning environment is set in blogging? Some topics or subjects are not suitable for blogging. Just because you have the learning tool, doesn't mean you are required to use it. Or instructors/teachers should use it creatively. I can't image students having a blog about derivatives.

Is blogging a delivery of learning content or a medium for discovering learning process? Both

Stephen's Educational blogging article was informative and engaging, and echoed questions.

Connectivism

I had difficult time reading this article. I have tried five times. I thought it was the size of the font so I got the word document printed. However I still had problem reading this article. So I skimmed through it. George Siemen attempts to answer Verhagen's criticisms about Siemen's earlier article. I was expecting Sieman's response to following questions and still puzzled. I am giving another try and we'll see if I understand it.

21st century learning skills

This article seems very optimistic about current school system especially about the No Child Left Behind Act. I had only heard negative things about the Act. I heard that teachers are planning curriculum around the test and administrators focus on high test scores. Schools are rated on test scores. Article stated that there is a financial constraints in current school system and that will "subside", however I am doubtful. I went to read more about No Child Left Behind Act's ICT Literacy http://www.ets.org/portal/site/ets/menuitem.435c0b5cc7bd0ae7015d9510c3921509/?vgnextoid=b8a246f1674f4010VgnVCM10000022f95190RCRD
because the article mentioned ICT Literacy and how the act requires students to be proficient in ICT Literacy by the eighth grade. Also what I heard about the Act and the tone of this article was very different.

I do agree with the point about teaching context that are relevant to student's life, bringing global issues and working in a group setting with real life situational projects.

This article have some important points about learning methods and changes required to meet the changes in working environment for 21st century but I think it was written by people who supported No Child Left Behind Act.

Web 2.0

Web 2.0 is social network supported by internet technology and driven by users with common interest. Users actively contribute and create dynamic content for discussions or exchange ideas. Users share their idea through rich mediums of audio, video, photos, images, and text. That’s all I know about Web 2.0 and by the way this is my second blog.

I expect to learn more about Web 2.0 from this class.

Judi's First Blog

Well, here is my very first "blog." I think this class will be an interest journey.