Virtual Classrooms

This article basically tells you what a virtual classroom is and what might be included. It list things such as learning activities, discussions, quizzes, homework, and modules. It also talks about organization such as calendars, grade books and criteria pages. Although this article is particular to their website I think it's helpful to others because it explains what they are and how they promote student learning. Personally I love virtual classrooms because I can work at my own pace and manage my time effectively. I think more research should be conducted to see how students grades and learning compare to students in regular classrooms as well as how to involve students with disabilities. With technology these days to help disabled students I think they should also be able to join in on virtual classrooms because some can't attend school because of their disability.



http://education.qld.gov.au/learningplace/onlinelearning/virtual-classroom.html

Streaming Video

I found an article about streaming video which basically describes what it is. I personally didn't know much about this subject so this article helped me understand more about streaming video. In this article streaming video is described as a sequence of moving images sent in a compressed form over the internet. Its has sound as well and unlike other large files that have to be downloaded it plays as it arrives but as the article explains the user will need a program in which will play the video. I really liked this article because its explained to me what streaming video was and how easy it is to use. Its interesting because its easy to use and fast unlike other programs that take forever to download and sometimes hard to use. I believe more research in how people use the streaming video and how its become a part of education could have been done to include in this article. Technology and education have developed a close relationship and helped a lot of students learn effectively and teachers teach more successfully.


http://searchunifiedcommunications.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid186_gci213055,00.html

Podcasting

I learned that podcasting is a online audio content.Podcasting has far more options then radio and etc. People can determine the time and the place, meaning they decide what programming they want to receive and when they want to listen to it. They can also collect audio to listen to at later time. While blogs have turned many bloggers into journalists, podcasting has the potential to turn podcasters into radio personalities. In this article they tells us of four different uses of podcasting suchs as story, self guided tours, training, music, and talk shows. This website also gives you links to tools for podcsting and etc. It goes into detail of what podcasting is as well.

I think podcasting its a new exciting way to share music and learn from others around the world, this article pretty much layed it out for me of how it works and what people can use it for. I do believe this article needs a little more research on what people are using them for and how student can interact using these podcast


http://www.podcasting-tools.com/what-is-podcasting.htm

Web-based multimedia

This article is about the new developments in web based multimedia such as making it accessible to those who are deaf, hard of hearing, blind or visually impaired by applying closed captions and etc. It talks about quicktime and captioning, quicktime and audio description, microsoft SAMI, the W3C's synchronized SMIL, and the benefits of accessible movie clips. There's a section for each of these and goes into detail about how the closed captions are included in quick time and movieplayer in which they can be added to the movie as well as descriptions. The other concept is audio descriptions being added to movie clips which is directed towards those who are blind. The article goes into a program called SAMI in which the captioning file contains timecode information which corresponds to elapsed time in a multimedia source file, such as audio, video or animation. It also talks about the benefits of accessible movie clips for the deaf and hard of hearing, and blind such as being about to follow a movie, people to find a specific spot in the movie as well as being able to see if the movie is worth the time to watch. Research has shown that these programs can help reinterate vocabulary in the classroom as well as the can be stop and started again so if theres a question the teacher would like to work on with students and etc.


I think this article is good for understand how this type of technology can be used in the classroom and for those who are imparied in some way. It really shows our willingness to help those who cannot hear or see be able to watch movies, for students to learn and etc.


http://www.dinf.ne.jp/doc/english/Us_Eu/conf/csun_99/session0058.html

Digital Imagery

I found it difficult to find articles on Digital Imagery but I did come across this short and sweet article. It's called Digital Imagery in the Mathematics Curriculum Concurrent Summary, in which it describes using digital imagery in math classrooms. A professor states the using digital imagery in mathematics are good for connecting concepts, and analyzing the concepts as well. In this article it states examples of things digital imagery could be used for such as ratios, proportions and etc. It also shows us lessons such as artists who use the golden triangle in art, studying ratios, and finding measurements by using a vanishing point on digital pictures.

This article interested me because it shows a connection of digital imagery and education. A professor shows how we can use mathematics and digital imagery to help understand concepts as well as finding out how math exist in our own environments. It's a different twist on using digital imagery and really shows how advance our world has become with technology.

I believe further research should be done on how to incorporate this idea into school systems everywhere and see how childrens score measure against their previous ones. I personally hate math but I think if digital imagery was invovled I would have been able to make connections easier and succeed.



http://www.edutech.nodak.edu/staff_conferences/archives/2005/07/digital_imagery_in_the_mathema.html

Storyboarding

I came across this article called Storyboarding Mulitmedia, it basically gives an introduction, explains what storyboarding is, the advantages and so on. I found it interesting because it explained to me what storyboarding entailed. This article says that storyboards contain how menu screens look, images ,audio and text will look for things such as TV and videos its like a rough draft of the final outcome. Some of the advantages listed are it helps show if the program will look wrong, everyone can pin point problems and correct them as well as it speeds up the writing process for the final production. Another good point in this article was that storyboarding shouldnt be used as a main tool but a helping tool and that it should be used for influence.When it comes to education and teaching storyboarding seems to have a big influence because its a neat tool that allows companies to see a production in action before they spend millions and it be a flop. It also teaches people how to work together on design teams and use the storyboard as a sidekick in a sense by using the interctive storyboarding.

I think this article help me understand storyboarding on a different level such as how companies and design teams use them. Storyboarding seems like a good idea as long as people use other tools and models and not only rely on them as a sure way out of the writing process. I think futher research should be conducted on how others use storyboarding, where it started and how effective is it in everyday life and executive life as well.

http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/adrian_mallon_multimedia/story.htm

Wikis

I found this article called "7 Things you should know about Wiki's" it goes through steps suchs as what Wiki's are, who uses them, the downsides and etc. This article also gave a scenario which I also found helpful. This article explains that wikis are a web page in which anyone can go on and modify it content in order to create a collaboration of people and their thoughts. Wiki's were first started in the mid 1990's used byt Scientist and engineers. Wikis are believed to help students and teachers collaborate outside of the classroom and help them do things they couldnt do in a classroom. The downsides are such that wikis are easy to manipulate and if people aren't mature enough you have to deal with spam, false information, and bad language.


I think wikis would be a great tool in the classroom as long as its secured and the faculty is monitoring the students. It's a new way of interacting and gaining knowledge in a exciting opportunity. But futher research should be done in order to minimize the spam, false information, and immaturity going on so they can maximize students learning. They should also research more into how they can be used in schools and have students and faculty benefit from them



http://www.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ELI7004.pdf

Blogging

What is a Blog?


I found this article called what is a blog, and it basically goes through and explains thoroughly what a blog is. It states that blog is short for weblog and is known as a personal website that includes peoples thoughts on anything from politics to their daily life. Some blogs are about things such as web design and personal journals. It goes into depth about what blogs are and what they may involve as well as giving tips to future bloggers such as how to set up an interactive blog what blog should include and the difference between a blog and a CMS (Content Management System). It explains what each component of a blog is such as Archives, Feeds, and etc. As well as describing how to manage comments and permalinks.

I really enjoyed this article because it shows what a blog is and describes how to manage a blog and includes tips on how to have a fun and safe blog. Personally this is my first blog so I found this website very informative and helpful in order to creat a successful blog and be able to manage it. I felt like I gain more information then I ever knew existed on blogs such as managing comments and etc.

I think maybe more research could be used in this article such as where blogs began and why. As well as examples of blogs and how people use blogs for their personal business as well as discussing sports and meeting new people via internet.







http://codex.wordpress.org/Introduction_to_Blogging

Virtual Field Trips

I found this article called Innovative Teaching: Virtual Field Trip Guidelines which
discusses the do's and dont's of VFT's, it explains how a teacher should select a virtual field trip that invovles the subject in which the class is studying. The author provides a list to follow in order to conduct a interesting and safe VFT for the students. This article also describes things a teacher shouldn't do such as not being prepared or letting student wander online. It shows the teacher how to conduct a professional and innovative way to teach a classroom instead of just a boring lecture. The author wants to make sure that the teacher understand that although it's a VFT there still is planning and to be taken seriously. He shows that the teacher should take into consideration about supervision and the lessons they're learning in order to make it a success.


This article is very helpful in my opinion because it shows alot of insight on VFT's and how they should be performed in order to get the best results and connect it with the student's current learning. I personally like VFT's because they are a visual aspect in which encourage the student to learn in a fun environment. It also provides guidelines to teachers to provide a safe and educational VFT by listing certain things a teacher should and shouldn't do, such as planning a follow up lesson, being a good tour guide, being prepared and having structured time for the VFT. This article is a very good guideline for teachers who are lost in how to go through with a VFT and how they should construct it.


I do believe that the futher research such as why VFT's are beneficial to the students and the teacher. Such as what will everyone get out off it as well as how to perform a VFT effectively. I think other research should include how a school's administration would go through with incorporating VFT's throughout the school's curriculum. But all and all I enjoyed this article and found it very helpful for my project as well.


http://surfaquarium.com/IT/vftguide.htm