Ning

Laptop Session, Matthew Boulton Campus, Birmingham Metropolitan College

Photo Credit: JISC InfoNet

This photo can be shared and used freely under Creative Commons.

The word "Ning" is Chinese for "peace". Launched in October 2005, Ning is an online platform for people and organizations to create custom social networks. Ning appeals to people who want to create their own communities and social networks around specific interests. Users on this website have the ability to create a community featuring photos, videos, forums, or blogs. In addition, a Ning community can integrate with online services like Facebook, Twitter and Google. For instance, people can join a Ning Network using their Facebook or Twitter account, and share content from a Ning Network directly to their Twitter or Facebook accounts.

Teachers can meet with other like-minded teachers, collaborate on materials, and expand their professional networks. On websites such as Ning, I can obtain ideas for teaching, lesson plans, and classroom activities. The vast array of communities and social networks makes searching easy. 

Particularly appealing is the lush landscape containing photos, videos, forums, and blogs. The wide range of features on this site enable students to share multimedia relating to academic content. Here, students can collaborate in a student-oriented learning environment, promoting constructive discussion on academic concepts.

The SMART Board Revolution Ning is a community centered around academic activities relating to the SMART Board. Educators connected in this community can tap into new discussions, websites, tips, and Notebook files on this network. There are discussions regarding effective uses of SMART Boards, lesson plans, relevant software applications and applets, and bug updates. Moreover, this website boasts a powerful SMART Board search engine, allowing educators to browse lesson activities, assessments, and web links.

A Podcast Assignment on the Need for Brick-and-Mortar Schools

Home Podcasting Studio

Photo credit: Tim Wilson, 3 August 2005

This photo is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.

A recent podcast by collaborative webcasting community EdTechTalk entitled A Conversation with Will Richardson on Why School? discusses the need for conventional schooling in today's digital age. The co-founder of Powerful Learning Practice and a former public school educator of 22 years, Will Richardson, mentions in this podcast that "things like blogs and wikis, as well as remote collaborations and an emphasis on 'critical thinking' skills are the coins of the realm in this new kingdom." Dialogue relating to educational technology is not considering the full breadth of advantages technology can bring into education. Furthermore, our educational system does not seem to match the progressing nature of our technological society. In the field of medicine, we are beginning to embrace the notion of telesurgery. In the field of economics, computers have dominated what we now call e-commerce. In the field of mathematics, computational technology is reducing the time needed to perform computations to a much greater degree of precision. If all other facets of human society are reaping the benefits of technology, should education not follow suit as well?

Richardson makes the bold statement that traditional brick-and-mortar schools are no longer needed to access information. I will ask students to watch or listen to this podcast (both video and audio formats are available) and take notes on any claims that may surprise them. As a piece on persuasive writing, students will decide whether we should leave traditional schools for online modes of learning, or if the status quo should be maintained. Then, examining both sides of the issue, students should take a position and defend their side using facts to support assertions.

A persuasive essay will allow students to reflect upon their own educational experiences, to weigh the pros and cons of both types of schooling, and to develop an awareness for the changes that may affect them in the near future. This assignment encourages students to formulate an opinion, back their position with evidence, and write a compelling argument to support their claim. Within our lifetimes, we will begin to see a host of major reforms impacting how education is implemented. In learning about this issue, students will have an opportunity to enact agency and voice their opinions. As former Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton points out, "[m]en often oppose a thing merely because they have had no agency in planning it, or because it may have been planned by those whom they dislike."

ePals

Description	Taken at the Royal Shakespeare Company
Date	15 October 2010
Source	Hard Drive
Author	Anthony Anaxagorou

The right to use this photo falls under liberties specified by Creative Commons.
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ePals is a global online learning community emphasizing positive relations between schools in over two hundred nations around the globe. Educators and parents will be pleased to hear that this community is highly safe; all e-mail, blog, and forum correspondence is strictly monitored and controlled. This environment is meant to foster authentic learning through the interaction with individuals of varying walks of life. Interactions in this environment will encourage students to understand concepts and relationships in real-world contexts.

Therefore, it is a natural consequence that ePals ties neatly into the ESL classroom. Cross-cultural collaborations promote learning about different cultures and ways of thinking. Students can discover the ins and outs of other cultures while articulating some of the characteristics of their own. ePals brings the benefits of pen pal correspondence and facilitates this process via the internet. Furthermore, ePals can be used to create class-to-class collaborations on a diverse range of projects. Imagine the possibilities that could manifest if we cooperated with another class halfway across the globe! This sets the stage for a valuable exchange of information and insights fostered by the interactions between two connected classrooms.

Additionally, ePals is beneficial due to its versatility. Students can use this service in elementary grades to practice literacy skills; students in any grade can use this resource to discuss—among other subjects—social studies, economics, history, English, and foreign language; individuals of any age can utilize this service to simply connect with another human being and to grow in this capacity. The direction of our society has shifted to accommodate the demands of a digital economy. It is only fitting that pen pal correspondence has caught up with every other area of human interaction. ePals facilitates this discourse and allows students to partake in a meaningful dialogue with others.

The ePals Science Center contains forums and blogs relating to global science and sustainability measures. In this center, students possess the opportunity to discuss current science issues that relate to their particular nation and discover how other nations are grappling with these issues. The center features an Invent It! contest wherein students design an invention aimed at conserving resources. Moreover, there are a variety of eco-friendly tips on this website that students can discuss. The ePals Science Center represents an exciting venture to connect science learning worldwide.

I might use this service to discuss concepts with students of other countries. For example, I might have students engage in a conversation with British students, to clarify British academic terminology. Or students can discuss any issues relating to the subject matter that may be pertinent in their home country. This can open a dialogue that communicates to students that these ideas have global repercussions, and that students from all over the world are learning about these things. For these reasons, the engagement in a rich, provocative environment such as ePals uniquely supplements the curriculum in any discipline.

Ludwig: L2 Learning via Serious Gaming

 

Ludwig is an educational role-playing game developed by Austrian developer ovos. Users follow the fun-loving robot Ludwig through an interactive world to learn about physics topics such as Newtonian mechanics and renewable energy. Ludwig unlocks a series of tools to understand and analyze this strange new planet called "Earth." The order at which physics concepts are introduced run parallel to most conventional physics textbooks, and teachers can skip through the game to reach desired physical concepts. Gameplay can be saved and resumed regardless of whichever school computer was initially used to play.

While on this journey, students experiment with the effects different energy sources yield. Users explore a vast interactive environment that features customizable tools powered by wind, solar, and/or fossil fuels. Along the way, users compile the information they have learned into an intricate knowledge web. This allows students to gain practice in note-taking and organizing useful, pertinent information. Students can compare notes and collude with peers to formulate in-depth knowledge webs. Moreover, for an even more enriching language experience, L2 students can analyze what they have learned and write a reflection regarding the concepts at hand. This game is valuable in that it encourages language and science learning in an immensely enjoyable format.

Research indicates that serious games can influence motivation and knowledge transfer for the better. Osterweil (2007) indicates that students and teachers alike have partaken in serious gameplay and have noted strong engagement with the learning material and high levels of knowledge retention. Gamification can be used to improve learning capabilities in digital contexts, timeliness, and even to develop problem solving competencies. The use of games goes hand-in-hand with the students' natural hunger and curiosity to leverage competition and achievement in a fun environment (Osterweil, 2007).

References

Osterweil, L. J. (2007), What we learn from the study of ubiquitous processes. Softw. Process: Improve. Pract., 12: 399–414.