For my first
concept I chose Using Social Bookmarking. Social bookmarking peaked my arousal
due to the thought of having a project that is worth the majority of your grade
can be stressful especially when you have to do the research. Thanks to social
bookmarking the research is no longer a big deal. Students go online to
research certain subjects for projects and regular class work but since there
has already been a certain amount of students researching the same information
social bookmarking allows the students to find information easier due to prior
searches done by other students on the subject. I have personally used this
method for some of my research papers through high school and college.
Now for my
second concept I found Taking Virtual Field Trips to be very interesting
because the thought of going around the world without taking a step off the
United States boarder is amazing but doing it without taking a step outside of
your class room is just unconceivable. Due to our technology student can travel
to places of academic interest without from school. Imagine you have a project
on Asian architect and being able to do that project without traveling to the
other side of the planet. In my opinion it saves both time and money I just
wish this technology came out a long time ago. I've uploaded a short nine minute virtual field trip video to the Amazon Rainforest.
Finally for
my last concept I picked Debates over Virtual School. There have been many arguments
on whether students should have the option to do schooling online rather than
going to schools instead. I believe this debate brings up both good and bad scenarios.
The idea of not having to wake up early everyday to go to school can play less
stress on students. Also the idea of working at your own pace and taking your
time with a class assignment or completing a week’s work worth of assignments
in one day and having a six day weekend would an excellent way to go through
your school work. Unfortunately this would mean fewer students going to school making
the demand for teachers very low causing most of them to lose their jobs. Some
may also argue learning through a computer is not the same as learning from a
person. Also there is really no way of knowing if the student is doing the work
or if someone else is doing it for them.
In
conclusion, my concepts were Social Bookmarking, Taking Virtual Field Trips,
and Debates over Virtual Schools. Social Bookmarking is great for students who
are searching certain websites for research purposes. Taking Virtual Field Trips
are interesting due to the thought of exploring the world without leaving your
classroom. And Debates over Virtual School can be both benefit and be an inconvenience
to the students.
Resources:
Maloy, Robert,
Verock-O’Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park
(2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.
Urich,
C. (2015, 4 7). your designs .
Retrieved 4 9, 2015, from canva:
https://www.canva.com/design/DABNnJHUErE/DzWv0ubKX8zzoi4uxY-0xA/edit
VirtualFieldTripsnet. (2014, 11 1). Virtual Field Trip - Amazon Rainforest. Retrieved 4 8, 2015,
from you tube : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEsV5rqbVNQ
Although virtual schools do have their issues, be aware that they still need teachers to run the virtual classrooms too! And for the K-12 virtual school, students and parents have to check in via Skype or phone on a regular basis and the final assessment requires students to take face-to-face with photo ID, so if they weren't the real learner, they would have a hard time getting the grade! That said, most students would probably benefit for a more blended/hybrid approach. Hope you have been using your social bookmarking tool, Delicious, since I introduced it earlier in the semester and you'll need to use it for the last big project! :)
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