Learning Community - TCC Conference 2012 Continued

Community of Education - TCC Conference 2012

1. I felt very honored to be in the presence of so many talented individuals. I appreciated everything that I learned from the presenters, the comments made by learners, and my group that I collaborated with for our Tech-Tools presentation. I even won an award for being a Provocateur. This basically means that I was nominated by 10 people as a presenter that caused people to talk about and be interested in a particular topic. I felt like I won an Academy Award:)
   
   

   Here are some of the presentations that I attended:

   
   

   Laureen Kodani - Information Literacy for Electronic Resources

   
   

   Mari Zelenik - Developing a Mobile App to Learn French

   
   

   John P Coney - Teaching Marine Species Identification Using Web Based Learning Modules

   
   

   Kehau Souza, Kahea Nae'ole, and Kalewa Correa - The Hawaiian Archipelago
2. I also had the honor of participating in the TCC Conference as a presenter with my cohorts Gayle Anbe, Ross Uedoi, and Susan St. John. Our topic was creating a course that teaches how to use specific technology tools. Our tools were categorized into 3 types: 

   1) Screencasts 

   - Jing

   - Screencast-O-Matic

   2) Presentations 

   - Prezi

   - Voicethread

   3) Animations

   - Animoto

   - GoAnimate

   
   

   It was fun and I would definitely attend these conferences after I graduate. I learned so much from everyone.

   
   

   
   

TCC Conference & Counting in Japanese

Our group decided on several objectives during this year's TCC conference:

1) Active participation
2) Come prepared with questions
3) Find projects that are relevant to what we will do for our final projects
4) Take notes

For me I feel that my final project needs a lot of fine tuning. My project is based on the need for working professional in Hawaii to learn Japanese language. In order to create a narrow scope, my project will focus on COUNTING IN JAPANESE for 10 different types of objects. Something fun, engaging, and relevant will make for a useful tool. There will audio and graphics so pronunciation of the Japanese will be learned.

I am looking forward to TCC tomorrow.

Here is an example of some learning objects for my topic on youtube. Enjoy!!!

Internet of Things: SECURITY & TOO MUCH CONVENIENCE!

After reading about the Internet of Things, I have a lot of concerns about security issues. Imagine grabbing a library book that has some sort of biometrics that read your vital signs to determine your identity and track you so the book can be traced as well. What if your financial information could be read? Who gets to access that information?

Are we not just endangering our lives by trying to make our lives more convenient? There needs to be a balance between digital convenience and human nature.

If objects can access my information by a simple touch, how much security do I have? What are the checks and balances here? Who determines the standards for these security protocols.

SECURITY HELP!!!

Internet of Things: From Coffee Cameras to Smart Shoes

The growing popularity of smart objects embedded in everyday items is a very good marketing idea. New inventions are providing information to users that are based on location and interaction with the environment.

The article I read here http://thehammersmithgroup.com/images/reports/networked_objects.pdf discusses some of the ingenious inventions that are already out for the public to consume. There are BOTANICALLS which are tracking devices placed in soil for plants. They measure the amount of water moisture in the soil and then send a tweet or message to your twitter or Facebook account saying "Water me ... I am thirsty!"

There are Nike+iPhones that embed smart devices in the soles of shoes that keep track of how many steps you've walked and then configure the estimated amount of calories burned. 

Glowcaps are sensor caps on medicine bottles that help remind consumers that they need to take their medicine.

Check out this article for more information about the Internet of things, its history, and what benefits that have for our lifestyle.

Gavon

Augmented Reality - Fake on Real

Off the top of my head, I would define Augmented Reality (AR) as the manipulated viewing of our real-world environment and its elements through the use of a computer-based interface.

Last night I found an AR game called Pandemica. Basically there are these strains of bacteria that surround you as you look through your mobile camera. Your objective is to press the screen and shoot all the bacteria before they reach you and kill you. It won an award for best AR game of the year.

I really think that these types of tools would be very useful in education. I found another app called ARgo that creates tags on locations shown on your mobile interface when you look through the camera. The tags show descriptions of each building, statue, point of interest, etc. If you were facing your mobile camera at the Kamehameha Statue, then you would see a tag with a description of the statue and the history of King Kamehameha.

In education, learners can use these AR tools for geography lessons, or have a guided tour to learn about the things in their environment.

Check out Pandemica here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtAFb2uF1AA
Here are some AR apps: http://www.mobileaugmentedreality.info/

Have fun!

Gavon

Keep Movin' !!! Gesture-Based Learning

I remember gesture games existing back when I was intermediate. They had the Nintendo Glove. You put on the glove and you could control everything that happens on the screen: punching, flying, shooting, etc.

I am not surprised that methods of incorporating gesture-based learning into the curriculum has taken place. I watched several videos on the Microsoft Kinect being used as a learning tool:

I am looking forward to see the learning objects instructors produce with Kinect. Gesture-based learning engages all of the major senses of Sight, Sound, and Touch. It will appeal to various larding styles. What will the future hold for gesture-based learning.

G

Game-Based Learning

GBL in the future

I read the NMC.org site. I honestly feel that in my own opinion, game based-learning has already become adopted widely and will continue to grow. Game-Based Learning (GBL) will never disappear like a fad. It will hold its own place in education. A big reason why games appeal to the learner is because they cater to various learning styles: tactile learners: controlling an entity on the screen with your hands and having it interact with the other objects; visual learners: animated graphics and interaction between sprites and other entities; audio learners: sound effects after a shot is fired or an explosion occurs; textual learners: words describing the objectives of the game and notifying you when goals are attainted. These are the key tools used to engage the learner.

For this sole reason of games appealing to all the senses, I feel that games, especially video or online games, are the ultimate way to learn and teach.

I would take several factors into consideration when designing a game for learners:
1) Learners' demographics - What is the background? What do they know about gaming? 
2) Subject - What topic is being learned?
3) Content - What types of things will the learner learn? What objects or characters will be used in the game?
4) Entertainment - What type of storyline will be used for the learner to accomplished the objective?
5) Engagement - How will visual, audio, text, and interaction between learner and game be used to accomplish the objective?


I remember growing up as a child and learning the conventional way: teacher with chalk and chalkboard and student with pen and pad. I always wondered why teachers never incorporated techniques from sesame street and electric company to get our attention. I always wondered why games were not incorporated more into our school work. Even as an adult, game-based learning is still more engaging and effective for me when I am teaching or when I am being taught.

This is the basis for my final project. HOPE YOU ENJOY!!!

Gavon

Intellectual Property

I learned a lot during this online class session. Good job Elton. I use adobe flash in a lot of my web design projects and incorporate graphics and music. I was not that familiar with the standards for using music until the collaborate session on Feb. 27th.

After 70 years, the piece of music becomes public domain. I am sure that the FCC rules on the percentage of a song that can be used is listed somewhere online.

I found this interesting site discussing using copyright issues with music in videos.

http://www.school-video-news.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=306:copyright-issues-when-using-music-in-videos&catid=33:copyright&Itemid=51

I also like to perform and cover a lot of music as well. I need find out more on this topic. I will post if I find something.

Gavon

Mobile Apps in Learning

This past week we were assigned to collaborate in groups and discuss the use of mobile apps in education. I wrote a website about this topic in my ETEC 612 course. It talks about using mobile apps to learn languages.

I received a minor in Japanese and lived in Japan for a couple of years. After doing some research and taking my own personal experiences into consideration, I feel that mobile apps are a good way of reinforcing some of the content of language learning. But it could never replace the F2F interaction. Non-verbal communication makes about 80% of all communication that occurs among people. This means that F2F is vital interaction for learning languages. Here is the website that I made for this project:
http://gavonwongetec612finalproject.weebly.com


I agree with many of the articles that we read discussing how teachers need to focus on showing the learners how to use the iPad to improve their education rather than discovering what the iPad can do. I agree that note taking is probably one of the most useful capabilities of the iPad. I see so many individuals use it for that purpose.


Check out this app for language learning: Speaking Pal

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvYIbnitFkc

FREE FOR ALL!!! ARIGATOU!!!!

A couple of weeks ago we had the privilege of hearing from Professor Kumiko Aoki. She commented on the state of Open Educational Resources (OER) in Japan. Makoto ni arigatou gozaimashita.

I also read the links for the readings. One of the links leads to 10 amazing free online computer science courses offered at Stanford University. Being a web and graphic designer, I am very interested in taking some of these free courses to develop my IT skills.

Because of the abundant sources available online for people to use, users are becoming producers of content online. Some of this content is static while some are dynamic. Some content destroy the community while some build it up.

In my personal research for math OER, I discovered this site: http://www.superkids.com/aweb/tools/math/add/plus1.shtml

This website allows an instructor to create worksheets to solve math problems. There are so many more available and they continue to be produced everyday. FIND THEM ....

Cloud Crashing

In the article from npr.org, there is a discussion about Steve Jobs's iCloud technology allowing all devices to gain access to a common juncture.

The article says however that experts have concerns for businesses moving to place their sensitive data in the cloud. It is still vulnerable to crashes and attacks and is likely to open up legal problems.

Personally I am not a fan of storing all of my information in just one area. There is that old saying to "Never keep your eggs in 1 basket" iCloud Technology sounds like it would make life very convenient for organizing information and gaining easy access to the content when needed.

Although the advantages of retrieving information remotely through a network server is very appealing, I think that one should consider the high security risks involved before investing all time and money into this iCloud.

When to Use Social Media for Learning

This article seemed to be the most relevant to me because it identifies specific situations that will describe when it would be appropriate to use Social Media in education:

1) Productive Employees - Creating a social networking environment conducive for learning will link novices and experts within an organization.

2) Speed, flexibility, and quality - When learning and training needs to be fast, high-quality, and efficient, incorporating learning through social media helps to facilitate the process. It works more effectively when the workers or learners share common practices and interests. Collaborative work can occur and there is faster access to information and answers.

3) Competitive Edge - The only way to achieve an advantage is to see knowledge as a valuable commodity. Ideas breed more ideas and shared knowledge is intrinsically stored in the givers mental capacities while it is being shared with others. Sharing of ideas allows for innovation.

I really appreciate our guest speakers from Week 3 discussing social media and how to use it effectively. This is something I am trying to encourage others to incorporate for business purposes.

AUDIENCE FIRST

Ever since I took Dr. Fulford's first course in the ETEC program, I cannot forget how much emphasis she placed on the importance of LEARNERS. The audience is the focus. The PEOPLE are key to Instructional Design.

I am trying my best not to get caught up in the foray of high tech toys that are amassing. I try to keep up without getting caught up. Relevant tools is much more important than cool updated tools. You don't give a diamond to a man who is starving on a deserted island. You don't take your date out on a late night to Las Vegas if they are sick with the flu. Just because something is "cool" doesn't mean people will want it.

See this video about the importance about knowing the people. Enjoy!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tU9i3U_bJ0w

Entertainment vs Education

This posting is simply based off the readings and videos that we were required to view for ETEC 647. It does not surprise me that YouTube is monopolizing the majority of advertising traffic and that the internet is attracting more users than TV, radio, and forms of print media. Electronic / Digital communication is gaining popularity. Younger generations are so used to researching information about topics by simply "googling" it rather than going to the library. The speed of retrieval of information is so important and convenient that when educational activities are conducted, it takes a lot more than just talking to hold learners' attention. 

We have reached a point where there is a fine line between Entertainment and Education. Instruction needs to be fun and engaging to motivate learners. Games and activities need to have pieces of the instructional content applied and sometimes hidden in order to get the audience stimulated. Check out some of the videos on youtube discussing the ratio of Entertainment vs Education:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZiQHEsNIEQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HsQb31Qefm4

GAMING FOR LEARNING

Week 2 is here in ETEC 647 and I am reading our assigned literature. Because I am so interested in the integration of online games into education, those topics in the readings catch my attention the most. I will be back with more comments on this topic - ONLINE EDUCATIONAL GAMES in PEDAGOGY

Back in the Hanabata Days.

Aloha everyone,

It has been a while since I have put up content in a blog. A few weeks ago I had an E-Mac that I bought waaaaaaay back in 2004 that lasted me for a long time. I never bought a new computer because of how expensive they were. But this week, my E-Mac finally gave up the computer chip ghost. So I needed to purchase a new computer. I got a 2012 MacBook Pro and I am back in business. I can communicate, complete tasks, study, and accomplish work that I need to do.

I remember when I was a child growing up what kind of fun activities we did to keep ourselves entertained. I made ninja weapons out of sticks, played chase master in the yard, football in the street, went spear fishing in the ocean, and running on the beach. When I was 5 years old I had an ATARI system (remember ATARI?) I played video games at this arcade in Waikiki called Game World. Then Fun Factory came around and that was my new hangout. The arcades had Pong, Space Invaders, Asteroids, and some other vector-based graphic games. I still had time to go outside and play with my friends after my homework was done.

Now when I see the children play it is mostly indoors. They are either watching TV, or playing with their mobile devices. The act of creating and human interaction is absent in many of these types of activities. If you get a chance, watch the movie "Grown Ups" with Adam Sadler and his friends. The movie briefly discusses this issue and its FUNNY! :)

Playtime has evolved from parents telling their children to go outside and run around because the house is too small and fragile to hold a child to parents telling their children to stay inside and play computer games because outside is too dangerous and deadly for a child to play around.

Is there a way to find balance between keeping up with technology and maintaining good relationships with other human beings? How do we monitor this with our children?