MUVEs+and+Professional+Development

**Course Project: Online Learning Community: Leading Technology Change**
This week’s Learning Resources emphasize the importance of engaging in professional development workshops and joining personal learning networks to keep up with emerging technologies and trends. In this week’s Discussion, you examined MUVEs from an instructional point of view. For this week’s Learning Community Assignment, you and your Learning Community members will explore multi-user virtual environments from a learner’s perspective to evaluate how they can help you keep your tech knowledge from becoming obsolete. (You can access the sites listed in the websites for this week or perform an online search for additional MUVEs.) Begin by revisiting one or more of the MUVEs you explored this week. Then, contribute the following to your group’s wiki: Next, respond to the following question: Finally, contribute an additional suggestion, strategy, resource, or idea to at least one of your community members’ posts.
 * Note:** Your group’s wiki creator should first create a new section entitled **MUVES and Professional Development**.
 * Identify at least two professional organizations that have an online presence and offer training or workshops in the MUVE.
 * Identify one personal learning network available in the MUVE that will help you keep abreast of new and emerging technologies.
 * Identify at least one other resource in the MUVE for information about new and emerging technologies (e.g., technology reviewer, futurist, researcher, or journal).
 * How could you use the MUVE—and the resources you found—to engage colleagues (local and remote) in professional development workshops?

Alisa Woods Initial Response

After taking the opportunity to learn more about MUVEs I learned how leaders of education are creating a path for other educators to follow. Through my research I learned that there are two professional organizations that have a presence in the second life. The first one I stumbled upon was the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) []. They offer workshops on a variety of different topics along with social events for educators to network with one another. Then I found New Media Consortium (NMC) []. This website also offers workshops and social events for members of MUVEs. I also learned that Real Life Education in Second Life is similar to a personal learning network. It's an open group where educators can collaborate, ask questions, and share information.

Then I continued to research how to stay informed about new and emerging technology. From what I learned from the research that I gathered I learned that people are using Twitter or Facebook to network in and out of the virtual world. These two social networks are converging between the two separate worlds.

Lastly I located a Journal of Virtual Worlds Research []. This edition of the Journal informs its audience of the importance of having students using MUVEs and how to keep kids safe. Typically this journal provides research papers, brief descriptions of the topic and journals around a specific topic.

When I present and share the information that I learned about the virtual learning environments share the websites that we learned about in this week’s resources. I will then proceed to log in and to demonstrate how second life works. After that I will discuss with my administrators and colleagues why we should implement it at our school. I will explain that students will be able to learn on their own no matter their learning disabilities and that student’s will be able to collaborate with one another. Students will also be able to apply the content and skills they are learning to real world applications. I will offer to help create and organize a small group of test students to explore and implement into a classroom to demonstrate how the use of a MUVE in a classroom will be beneficial to students.

Katie to Alisa, When I first started thinking about convincing my collagues to think about integrating MUVEs into their classrooms I was thinking that they would struggle to understand exactly what they were and how they would help students. I think it might be helpful to show student and teacher testimonials when we are introducing MUVEs to our colleagues so that they can see the importance of this technology.

Katie Whitemarsh Initial Response Learning Community Assignment ====The National Science Foundation is a professional organization that helps provide training courses for teachers. In this professional development, “participating teachers: (a) work through the curriculum as learners and instructors, (b) connect their content and instructional expertise with the River City interface and materials, (c) measure their own understanding by reflecting on activities, and (d) build confidence in themselves and the curriculum” (CITEd, 2012). Smithsonian's National Museum of American History also helped contribute to the River City MUVE.==== ==== There is a link: __ rivercity.support@gmail.com __to follow if you are interested in joining the River City Project team so that you can be keeping up to date on current projects and news associated with the MUVE. ==== ====In this MUVE there was a link to research that kept the user up to date with their past, present and future research information. It would be helpful to check back now and then to see what progress they have made in the world of MUVEs. Also, checking the National Science Foundation’s website would be a great resource since they are one of the major contributors to the MUVE.==== ====In order to engage my colleagues in professional development opportunities for MUVEs I could show them the testimonials from this website and the national organizations and universities that are aligned with this MUVE. I could also share the great amount of research that was listed on the site to convince them that this was something they should be thinking about integrating into their classroom once they knew more about it.====

CITEd Research Center. (n.d//.). Multi-user virtual environments for education//. Retrieved March 26, 2012, from @http://www.cited.org/index.aspx?page_id=159
Brittany to Katie, Did you have any difficulty finding resources for this assignment? I feel like I spent hours researching professional development companies only to find out their workshops were about incorporating technology, but not actually using MUVEs. Perhaps my search keywords were not efficient. I think the best way to show colleagues how practical and educational MUVEs can be in the classroom is to encourage them to take a workshop on the topic. They will then have an opportunity to play with the software themselves and will not feel like it is a waste of their planning or prep time. I feel like by the time educators are on board to use MUVEs in the classroom there will be an emerging technology that takes us in another direction.

Brittany Washburn Initial Response:

[]. This PDF is a workshop curriculum based on MUVEs and the following four topics: Critical appraisal of the limitations and possibilities for MUVEs in education (primary and secondary education), pedagogical approaches and scenarios for use, technical realities, and political, societal, ethical and economical dimensions of the use of MUVEs in education.

[|http://www.edtechleaders.org/programs/workshops/catalog.asp#pln]. The workshop titled Developing and Growing Personal Learning Networks for School Leaders is based on showing teachers how to network online using Web 2.0 tools, including MUVE’s. The participants have an opportunity to develop course materials and share them in the MUVE. EdTech is a nationwide company that strives to bring technology into every curriculum.

[]. Active Worlds recognized the need for an education MUVE and created the Active Worlds Educational Universe, where educators can join together to discuss topics in the field of education. This MUVE is not free but there is a discounted rate for educators. This would be a great source for finding the most current discussions on emerging technologies.

[]. This link is to a website that researches emerging technologies related to MUVEs. The writers explore emerging technologies and then write about their findings. It is an official US government website and is updated about once per month.

I think the best way to help other educators feel more comfortable with the idea of engaging in a MUVE would be to show them how it works. Creating professional development materials in a MUVE to present would be adequate for this purpose. One of the benefits of having a professional development workshop in this medium is the ability to have asynchronous discussions about the material as it is being presented. Jonathan’s response to Brittany I noticed your response to Katie and I struggled. The pretty much gave up on finding a workshop but feel the same results can be accomplished by your suggestion to “play” with the material. Of course it does not address all needs of the class it will at least get you started and then live by the trial and error routine. I am using my MUVE for a stock market simulation and I do not know much about the stock market. This is not a problem for motivated students who can answer their own questions with research but I have a hard time convincing the less motivated ones with my lack of knowledge. If you can’t get a workshop you should at least get some professional time to explore the material and hopefully discover the rest with the class. Sometimes it works.

Jonathan Young Response: Although I question the use of MUVEs at all levels and in all classrooms I do feel they can still be beneficial for instruction. I teach an economics class and the standard content is extremely boring and dry. However, there is not much content for students to master and we have a full semester so this class allows me to use material like MUVEs. Economics is not my area of study but I offered to fill a slot and now I need to improve my class. My background with the stick market is very limited and I do not feel comfortable teaching it but “The Virtual Stock Market Game: How the Market Works” is something that will help students learn a lot more than I could ever teach in an economics class on my own.

Maybe it’s just my own interest but I could see using this MUVE with other professional in a mock stock market game, similar to the classroom. Individuals are given a specific amount of money to trade with and a time frame. Along with supplemental assignments, traders manage a portfolio as well as deliver presentations to board members for investing in specific companies. This site allows for the instructor to set up a game specific to their own classroom and regulations or to enter previously set up contests that have competitors from all over the world. Participants are allowed their own virtual accounts.

The site has some obvious online professional presence from the world markets and indices. There is also easy access to the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and economic magazines as well. “The Wall Street Survivor” is the sister site of “How the Market Works” and the two sites should be used together. The “Survivor” site has the answers to questions I can’t answer and similar applications for a virtual stock market game. It is another simulation site but not as classroom friendly as “How the Stock Market Works.” Both sites help me to stay current with new applications as well as concepts in the world economy. Over the past four years the global economy has shrunk and these resources make it possible to put yourself in the middle of it all. The troubles in a third world country can have an immediate effect on the day’s market. The blog and email lists that go along with the membership form “Stock Market” keep us informed of the world and the global economy and help us to make economical decisions. “How the Stock Market Works” alerts members of new and popular trends in local and global economies with email as well as with mobile notifications. You can receive instant news alerts for situations that can affect your personal portfolio and keep up to date in with the world economy. I could not find a specific workshop for this these sites but I do believe it would be easy to design your own with specific goals. "How the Stock Market Works" allows for specifically designed games that can address each teachers and classes level of mastery. The teacher can adapt the lesson each year as important topics and new concepts will always affect our economy.

There are several advertisements for some of the online broker sites (ETRADE, Zecco, Schwaab and others) and I encourage students to look at these. You can actually begin trading for a very little amount of money and it is possible to have actual accounts within the classroom. These sites not only offer trading but they have immediate access to current events, expert stock opinions and definitions of new policies and terms in the finance world. On a personal level it has helped my revisit an interest with current events alone. It is a necessary relationship, economics and current events. If you have a strong grasp about what is happening in our world you have a better chance of understanding the economy. Information is available instantly all around the world and can immediately have an impact, positive or negative, to our economies. “How the Stock Market Works” retrieved 3/31/2012 from: [] “The Wall Street Survivor” retrieved 3/31/201 from: []

Jonathon to Jonathan,

Your post reminds me of this Super Nintendo game I had as a kid. It allowed you to play as a virtual stock broker. It was addicting. I learned a lot about math and interest rates and a little bit about the idea of returns from it and have been mildly obsessed with maximizing my finances since (although I'll be honest I've never done a good job). I could see you definitely integrating a portion of math and social studies by using an idea such as yours with the students playing at making the most money, and or looking at the larger global affects at markets which you could incorporate with your Social Studies department maybe. This likely won't be practical, which is how many of our "aha" moments feel. We have these great fun ideas, but unless we can get students to buy into them they sort of languish and dye off. Hopefully you get a chance at your idea, or if all else fails have some fun ruminating over the possibilities of integrating new ideas into your classroom.

Happy Sunday!

Jonathon Yinger Initial Post,

I am obviously a bit late to the party. I found several “locations” on Second Life that are actually universities or university classrooms that allow you to explore the campus virtually as if you were there or to attend a class in like fashion.

Both Lancaster University and Derby University of Psychology. Lancaster allows you to wonder the campus. Whereas Derby actually allows you to contact avatar “Milton Broome” and allows you to “interact” with their research facilities.

The CF University actually helps students learn about and find support and resources for Cystic Fibrosis.

Edutopia, which is George Lucas’ educator professional development meeting site, also houses a Second Life organization for educators to share in their virtual space.

My personal favorite location to do all of my technology studying is at Engadget.com. Engadget is dedicated to new and emerging technology, particularly in the consumer space; however, I have found a lot of neat ideas there. For example, I’ve learned that an iPad can be used in the classroom to project apps and content onto a data projector wirelessly using an AppleTV. It isn’t the cheapest method but it is by far the most reliable to show whatever you have on an iPad to the class, which opens up a huge assortment of possible ways to interact with a large group, show them how to do calculations on a calculator specifically, look through Google and do geography using Google Earth. Have interactive games, etc. These are all ideas I got from Engadget.

I don’t personally see myself using an MUVE in education. As I have mentioned in the past I do not see the value of using a virtual lab in place of a real lab. However, for those students who are incapable of doing lab work, or cannot attend school due to a health concern. I can definitely see where a virtual lab and experience is better than no experience. I think though I can do the same thing by videotaping my lectures and the labs and posting those online along with a simpler virtual lab (think computer based manipulables) without having to resort to a full on virtual reality world. I think this would be easier for students to jump into too. I may be wrong though and I am happy to accept critiques or comments.

Alisa to Jonathon Y.

It's sounds like you had better luck at reseraching than I did. That's really neat that two universities are already implementing the use of virtual learning environments. I didn't realize prior to this week's lesson that MUVE's actually existed and were being implemented in our daily lives. I'm not actually how elementary, middle and high schools will actually be able to afford this type of technology espeically the small rural high schools. Most schools in the area where I teach our lucky to have a computer lab it doesn't mean that they have the technology to actually run the second life software. By the time schools actually do implement this technology it will already be outdated and something new will be introduced. I don't see why students should have to hide behind a computer screen to get the information for a project. Students are already losing facetime with their actual peers why should we encourage it anymore. We need to teach our students how to put limits on using this technology and making the uses for it purposeful.

Thank you for sharing your technology website. I am most definitely going to take time to check it out. It sounds really neat.