Module 2 Blog Responses

I responded to Chris Douglas and Danita Doan for Module 2.

Module 2 Blog Post: EDUC 7108

Smart Phone Tetrad Graphic


Smart Phone Tetrad

Enhances: Communication with others is enhanced because you can be anywhere and still be able to keep in touch with family and friends, you no longer had to be at home to receive a phone call.

Information storage was enhanced because you could store information on your smart phone and sync it with all of your other mobile devices including your events and meetings.

Music was enhanced because you could download music from iTunes or other music stores and store them on your smart phone and listen to it anywhere. Most cars now come equipped with a plug for listening to your music through your speakers from your smart phone.

Obsoletes: The use of the telephone land line is no longer necessary and many people have canceled that service and just use their smart phone for all types of communication.

Smart phones come equipped with a calendar that will sync with all your mobile devices and the palm pilot is no longer needed for organization or as a calendar.

The Email feature on smart phones along with texting has made actual

letter writing using the post office pretty much obsolete.

Retrieves: The capability to easily find out new information has brought back the need for learning and self-improvement.

Remember Polaroid pictures, you would get to see your photo right away after taking it? Your smart phone rekindles that ability that you can take a picture and immediately share with everyone.

Reverses: The ease of finding information and being in constant contact with others through Twitter and Facebook has its drawbacks. People get together but instead of communicating with each other, they are all on their cell phones ignoring the people right in front of them. The obsession to know what is going on at all times causes people to stay up and stay on their iPhone constantly checking it, the next thing you know it is 3am & you have to be up at 5.

Sets the stage: As Skype abilities continue to improve, having regular phone conversations may be replaced with video calls via a mobile device. Holographic communication may also replace smart phones.

Blog Post 1: Emerging Technology EDUC 7108

A current technology that is emerging in education is game-based learning. “We don’t need more time in the classroom to learn how to think and perform in the face of real-world challenges. We need effective, interactive experiences that motivate and actively engage us in the learning process” (Trybus, 2012). Game-based learning can achieve that goal. Through the use of game-based learning, students will become more engaged in their own learning and be able to apply what they have learned to real-life situations.

Two problems or challenges associated with game-based learning include cost and how to handle competition in the classroom. With virtual games and simulations needing their own mainframes, and special interface equipment, it was too expensive to use in K-12 classrooms. Through the success of game-based simulations in the military and healthcare industries there are now “games that focus on if-then, choice-consequence learning typically run on standard PCs, [that] require no expensive peripherals, and can be downloaded and installed in minutes” (Trybus, 2012). Many educators are concerned with the competition element of games and whether or not their students can handle it. “Using games for learning requires the same priorities we already employ for formal assessment: fairness and relevance of the score to learned material” (Starting Point, 2012). Educators can find ways to reward students that is not based on the highest score and everyone can get a prize, but the highest score can make their choice first. (Starting Point, 2012).

The website I found compared traditional learning to hands-on and game-based learning. http://www.newmedia.org/game-based-learning--what-it-is-why-it-works-and-where-its-going.html 

In figure 1, the comparison shows the benefits of game-based learning over just using traditional learning or hands-on learning. There is a time and a place for all types of learning, but game-based learning can benefit students by giving them real-life experiences and they will be able to apply what they have learned. 

References:

Starting Point. (2012, August 24). Playing fair. Retrieved from Starting Point Teaching Entry Level Geoscience: http://serc.carleton.edu/introgeo/games/competition.html

Trybus, J. (2012). Game-based learning: What it is, why it works, and where it's going. Retrieved from New Media Institute: http://www.newmedia.org/game-based-learning--what-it-is-why-it-works-and-where-its-going.html