VLEs Su08

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Hello, all!

Welcome to the wiki for the Virtual Learning Environments class!

For more information on what a wiki is and how to use it, scroll down the page to General wiki info.

This wiki is dedicated to the sharing and exchange of information for the Virtual Learning Environments class
in the Graduate Media Studies dept at the New School: NMDS 5265 A CRN: 2054.


Contents

[edit] Syllabus

Virtual Learning Environments
Graduate Media Studies NMDS 5265 A CRN: 2054
Instructor: Josephine Dorado
Contact me by email

Course description:
What is a virtual learning environment? Is a website a virtual learning environment? Is it an "online campus"? Does it involve 3D virtual reality? How have current trends in technology, such as social media and virtual worlds, affected the processes and objectives of education? Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs) are designed information and social spaces that integrate multiple technologies and pedagogical approaches. In this course, we will examine a variety of VLEs, ranging from text-based fora such as Blackboard to 3D immersive worlds such as Second Life, and will focus on optimizing virtual world platforms for learning experiences. We will explore the processes involved, the kinds of collaboration possible, and the methods adapted to accommodate teaching, learning and sharing in these socially engaged, networked spaces. The processes of instructing and learning have evolved to include a more dynamic role for the student, from passive to active authors of the space, and in general, educational trends have emphasized blended forms of learning, consisting of both theory and praxis across different media and disciplines. We will integrate these aspects, learning about VLEs while being inside them, eventually culminating in the development of an educational project for real-world implementation. Students will collaborate with each other and with students enrolled in the Social Marketing with Social Media course, creating a multi-modal educational project that will be conceptualized and developed in a virtual world, while being implemented in real-world partnerships with international nonprofit programs.


[edit] Our tools

Many of the materials are available on the Internet and/or downloadable on our Google group. You will not need to purchase any books but you will need access to either a webcam or a digital video camera.

We will be using a variety of tools available on the Internet:

For a full list plus other available tools, see the Resources page.

[edit] Your contributions

Participation. Because this class is a seminar, your thoughtful participation is essential to its success. You are required to contribute—courteously and meaningfully—to discussions on the class blog. Participation is worth 20% of your final grade.

Assignments. There are a series of assignments throughout the term. Completion of these assignments brings familiarity with some of the platforms and tools available for creating virtual learning experiences, while simultaneously discussing the concepts upon which they are based and the community and kinds of collaboration that develop around them. These assignments are worth 30% of your final grade.

Final Projects. Throughout the semester, we will be working with the Social Marketing for Social Media class (instructor: Jason Pine) to develop multimodal educational projects in partnership with two NYC nonprofits. This final project will not only give you the opportunity to delve deeply into a research area of personal interest, but by working with these NYC nonprofits, it will also give you the chance to put the work that we do during the semester into real-life action. The entire project must be collaboratively conducted online, from concept creation, through development, realization and documentation. Document your progress and process on a group project blog. Post images/sound/video on sites like flickr, youtube, etc. and link to them on the blog. Address the key theoretical concepts involved as well as your thoughts about the process and output. This project is worth 50% of your final grade. Link to Class Projects


[edit] Our schedule

[edit] WEEKS 1 & 2: June 8-21

Getting acquainted: introductions, project teams and an overview of the virtual learning environments timeline.

What is a 'virtual learning environment'? Is a website a virtual learning environment? Is it an 'online campus'? What platform was the first online class that you took and what was that like? What sorts of shifts have happened as a result of developments in learning environments: from text-based to richer media?

Readings/viewings:

  • Harasim, Linda. "A History of E-learning: Shift Happened." International Handbook of Virtual Learning Environments. Series: Springer International Handbooks of Education , Vol. 14. Weiss, J.; Nolan, J.; Hunsinger, J.; Trifonas, P. (Eds.). 2006. (Harasim_History.zip)
  • Robbins-Sponaas, R.J. and J. Nolan. "Collaborative Text-Based Virtual Learning Environments." International Handbook of Virtual Learning Environments. Series: Springer International Handbooks of Education , Vol. 14. Weiss, J.; Nolan, J.; Hunsinger, J.; Trifonas, P. (Eds.). 2006. (Robbins_CollabText.pdf)
  • Peruse "The History of Virtual Learning Environments in the 1990s"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_virtual_learning_environments_1990s
  • Our first synchronous meeting was held in Second Life on 8 June 2008, 5-7pm EST. For those that could not make it, a record/summary will be provided.

Assignments.
a. Create a username and log into the class blog. For your first comment, introduce yourself. Write a short paragraph (bio).
We will all be posting class-related discussions via the blog and not via Blackboard.

b. Join the class Google group. We will be using the Google group email list to communicate logistical things and brief interactions. If you’re asking, “What is the difference between using the blog and the Google group email to communicate?” Firstly, the blog is public and the Google group is private; also, the Google group email will be used for more informational and logistical questions, whereas the blog will be used for longer thoughts and topical discussions.

c. Create a del.icio.us account, if you don’t already have one, and add funksoup to your del.icio.us network. You can import your bookmarks into your account or leave it as is. One of the first bookmarks you may want to post is http://del.icio.us/funksoup/education which is how I’ve tagged links that relate to education. The feed to this is also posted on the left side of the class blog where it says 'del.icio.us: education'. When you come across a link that you think is pertinent to the class, post it to your del.icio.us favorites. Links that people in your network have posted show up under “your network.” This way, we can share relevant links. You can also post a link specifically to someone in your network by specifying whom in “your network” the link is for (i.e., “for:funksoup”). If you’re new to del.icio.us, you might find this tutorial helpful: Useful: A beginner’s guide to del.icio.us

e. You will be assigned to project teams according to the interests that you indicated on the survey: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=N9N0AOEaPpeY_2bCbn4FRHpA_3d_3d
See the Class Projects page for descriptions and team listings.

f. On the blog, post thoughts about the readings, either by creating a post and/or responding via comments.


[edit] WEEK 3: June 22-28

Presence & Collaboration.

Part of having a richer (learning) experience online is extending our presence. What is meant by 'presence' and how can we extend it? How do we engage students online? "A network alone does not create collaboration" - what does?

Readings:

  • Leggett, Mike. "Presence, Interaction and 'data space'. Creativity & Cognition Symposium, Sydney 2004. (Leggett_interaction04_17.pdf)
  • Excerpt from Highsmith III, James A. Adaptive Software Development: A Collaborative Approach to Managing Complex Systems. New York: Dorset House Publishing Co., Inc., 2000. Chapter 5: “Great Groups and the Ability to Collaborate.” pp. 113-142. (Highsmith_Ch5_Groups.pdf)
  • Excerpt from Highsmith III, James A. Adaptive Software Development: A Collaborative Approach to Managing Complex Systems. New York: Dorset House Publishing Co., Inc., 2000. Chapter 10: “Structural Collaboration.” pp. 261-293. (Highsmith_Ch10_StructuralCollab.pdf)

Assignments.
a. Create a blog specifically for your project, so each team will have one blog. Links & RSS feeds to each of these blogs will be posted on the main class blog.

b. Work with your project teams to develop and post a working plan. Use online resources in your planning and execution process. For example, you may want to set up a Skype session to talk through the exercise or create a wiki page to share notes. Blog about your process and the outcomes.

c. Create an account on Twitter. Twitter is a micro-blogging platform that also allows for interconnecting between platforms (you can connect your 'tweets' so that they show up on your Facebook status, as text on your mobile phone, and/or within instant messaging like Google chat). The 'tweets' are limited to 140 characters at a time, so it's easily do-able. You can go ahead and add me: http://twitter.com/funksoup. Post your Twitter URL to the class wiki. Add your classmates twitter names too. You will be required to tweet at least once a day for the duration of this class.


[edit] WEEK 4: June 29-July 5

Moving into richer media, participatory literacy and open source curricula.

What kinds of learning experiences have been explored in educational networked spaces? How does this environment affect the exchange between teacher and student, between student and student? How do methods of teaching and sharing change to accommodate a distributed nature?

Readings:

  • Wellman, Barry; Koku, Emmanuel and Jeremy Hunsinger. "Networked Scholarship." International Handbook of Virtual Learning Environments. Series: Springer International Handbooks of Education , Vol. 14. Weiss, J.; Nolan, J.; Hunsinger, J.; Trifonas, P. (Eds.). 2006. (Hunsinger_NeworkedSchol.pdf)
  • Jenkins, Henry. “Henry Jenkins at DIY media seminar: ‘From YouTube to Youniversity’.” DIY Media Weblog.
Part 1: <http://diy.video24-7.org/2007/01/24/henry-jenkins-at-diy-media-seminar-from-youtube-to-youniversity/>.
Part 2: <http://diy.video24-7.org/2007/01/25/from-youtube-to-youniversity-henry-jenkins-at-acc-part-two/>.

Assignments.
a. Continue to work on your project plans. Make sure that you document everything on your project blogs.


[edit] WEEK 5: July 6-12

Integrating serious gaming and virtual worlds in education.

What is serious gaming? What does it do differently than other types of learning experiences? What will happen when navigating around 3D immersive virtual space will be just as easy as logging into Facebook? What kinds of learning experiences will invent themselves in this space? What will be augmented? What will be replaced?

Our guest speaker this week will be Rafi Santo from Global Kids Digital Media Initiative. Please view the following presentation (Parts 1 & 2) on Virtual Education and New Media Literacy, which he and a colleague gave at the "Teaching and Learning in a Media Saturated World" conference at MIT on October 27th, 2007:

Readings:

Assignments.
a. We will also be holding a synchronous meeting in Second Life on monday, 7 July, 6-8pm EST, to open a forum with our guest speaker, Rafi Santo from Global Kids Digital Media Initiative.
b. Continue to work on your projects. Progress reports should be posted onto your project blogs, due by July 11.


[edit] WEEK 6: July 13-19

To LMS or not to LMS.

What is an LMS (Learning Management System)? What are its affordances and drawbacks?

Readings/viewings:

Assignments.
a. Go to Moodle.org and check out the demo and some Moodle sites. Blog about your findings.
b. Continue to work on your projects.
c. Create an account on Seesmic. Seesmic is a video-blogging service that allows for threaded video conversations. We will be using it to have video conversations with each other and with guest speakers. You can go ahead and add me: http://seesmic.com/funksoup. Post your Seesmic URL to the class wiki. Create a video post in which you comment on or ask a question about an aspect of the integration of social media in education. How to:
Once logged into Seesmic, make sure your video device is set up, then go to
http://seesmic.com/videos/4zN4oyA3A7 and click the red "Reply" button at the bottom of the main video window in order to reply to the video thread.
Please do your Seesmic post by July 18th. Our well-known, surprise guest speaker will be responding to your Seesmic posts.


Note: if you're having trouble getting your camera recognized, make sure you choose your camera and type of connection, i.e., from the first dropdown box, choose "IIDC Firewire Video" if it's a firewire connection or "USB Video Class" if it's a USB connection, etc. From the second dropdown box, choose the camera.


[edit] WEEKS 7 & 8: July 20-26 & July 27-August 1

Final presentations and feedback.

Assignments.

a. Use this time to work on your final projects.

b. Final presentations and blog post

Date for final presentations: sunday, 27 july, 5-7pm EST in Second Life at Funk Soup Theater. Those in the VLEs class that cannot make that session, please update your group and have someone in your group represent you.

Groups will present in following order:

1 instruction - renee, maria
2 multimedia curric - jennifer, lora, caroline
3 Particip rsrch - sarah, emogene
4 website - oscar, justin
5 cellphone text educ - anhelo, chester
6 facebook - megan, lara, jon
9 virtual/SL presence - theresa, alison, juan

Presentation format:

Each group will have 10-15 minutes to present. Give a brief description of the project (2 minutes or less: goal & solution) then answer your choice of one of the following questions:

  • Your project may introduce a change to the way in which the nonprofit engages in outreach. In order for your project to be sustainable, what do you foresee will need to happen within the nonprofit?
  • How does your project leverage and create a richer learning experience that encourages positive behavioral change for your specific target population?
  • How did your project take into account the culture of the target population, its natural resources (i.e., word of mouth, family hierarchy, bilingualism, tightly-knit communities, etc.) and differential access to connectivity?

MEDIA: if you have media which you would like to display during your presentation, please submit the media by 12 noon on sunday, 27 July to Josephine. Media should be formatted - ready to present in SL as such:

  • images in .tga format (or, if you are having trouble, use .jpg format)
  • video in QuickTime .mov format - if the file is large, you can post it on a file storage site like Nakido and send the URL to Josephine. TIP: you can grab the QuickTime compatible versions of youtube videos by watching this helpful video and following the directions

Materials may be screenshots, photos from SL or RL, YouTube or project-generated vids, webpages, and virtually anything else you can use to enhance your presentation and make your project and your answer to one of the above questions concrete for us. If you have a PowerPoint presentation, you must export all slides as individual jpg files (it's an option under File > Export) and send to Josephine. Please make sure you have clearly marked for Josephine the order in which photos are to be presented.

NOTES:
Please be punctual. Because we have a very full schedule, if presenters are not ready at their allotted time, they will be moved to the end of the class session and the next group will be asked to present. Remember to test your audio before class, to toggle your talk button off if you are not speaking, and keep your headphones plugged in at all times. Presenters will stand by the presentation screen and click it to shuffle slides and activate video. Everyone should ensure that they have streaming audio and video enabled.


GUIDE FOR FINAL REPORTS/BLOG POSTS:
For your final blog posts, please post a summary of the project: description, processes, relevant screenshots/images, and the answer to one of the above questions. Even if you've blogged regularly throughout the process, please make the final post a concise summary so that anyone that visits the blog will get a clear idea of your project's processes and outcomes by reading that final, summary post. It will serve as an archiving mechanism for the work you have done over the course of the semester, and the URL to your blog will hopefully be a useful addition to your professional portfolio. This post is due by 1 august.

  • due: 1 august, 5pm EST
  • where: post to your group's project blog
  • who: one final report per group
  • what (two parts):

1. briefly summarize your project objective, obstacles, modifications/solutions, describe project progress to-date, and include relevant processes/screenshots/links.
2. Write out your answer to your choice of one of the three questions listed above.


[edit] Links

Go to the Links page to post your del.icio.us, Twitter, Seesmic, and personal/portfolio URLs


[edit] Resources

Resources page

Flickr tips: How to display images linked from Flickr

[edit] General wiki info

You can edit this page by clicking on the "Edit" button on the top left. Feel free to add/edit/contribute, but please don't delete other people's contributions.

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[edit] Create a new page

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[edit] Notes

History of Virtual Learning Environments in the 1990s:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_virtual_learning_environments_1990s

Chapters in the International Handbook of Virtual Learning Environments:
http://complicittheory.livejournal.com/99141.html#cutid1

Interaction: Systems, Practice and Theory
http://research.it.uts.edu.au/creative/interaction/aw.php?papers=1

"Connected!"
http://spresearch.waag.org/images/connected-screen.pdf

Slideshare: Future Learning Environments
http://www.slideshare.net/mweller/future-learning-environments

Social and Cognitive Presence in Learning Environments
http://www.slideshare.net/terrya/social-and-cognitive-presence-in-virtual-learning-environments

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