Second Life Tour- Podcasting

Podcast Island
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Podcast%20Island/103/54/26
Podcast Island was explored in an attempt to find educational resources for this assignment. The site was populated with storefronts, kiosks, and billboards that provided a lot of dubious information to viewers. Several storefronts such as Destination Station, Wizzard Media, and I Love Talking Books provided commercial services of limited interest to educational podcasters. DVD/ CD disc duplication services, podcast downloads, and audio books were available for visitors willing to spend their Linden dollars. Although Podcast Island is a commercial site I feel it has some socially redeeming qualities. Many of the services offered can be used by educators in disseminating information to learners of all ages. Despite the presence of some questionable storefronts, I feel this site has many resources that might help visitors understand the nature of educational podcasting.

Podhead Center
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Larkspur/147/204/34
From all indications a diverse group of people are active on this site. Danish, Finnish, Italian, and Chinese proprietors operate storefronts that sell knockoff products relating to American pop culture. Products such as baseball memorabilia, popular movies, music, and images of scantily clad women are available to visitors for a nominal fee. Many sites on this island offer products designed to help visitors change the look of their avatar. Patrons willing to spend Linden dollars can reconfigure their avatar to resemble a scary monster, an underworld sentinel, or the devil himself. This site is really creepy and not for the timid. Upon arrival I viewed images such as a dismembered corpse lying in the street, satanic pentagrams, confederate battle flags (Stars and Bars), gang related graffiti, and communist propaganda. In my opinion images of this type are disturbing and compromise the integrity of the entire site. Despite these disturbing images I feel it is worthwhile to visit this site in order to understand the seamy underbelly of Second Life. A group visit might prompt a discussion about ethics and freedom of expression in the virtual world.

Audio Island
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Audio/200/128/37
My visit to this site was a pleasant surprise-
a futuristic auditorium, and an ultra-modern HDTV theater, were designed to provide instruction to students enrolled in Audio courses.com. Audiocourses.com is an online audio production and music technology school designed for professional podcasters. Educational coursework in audio production, music, television, and graphic arts is available to registered student users. This site would be beneficial for students interested in the creation and distribution of podcast materials.

ASTD Island
http://slurl.com/secondlife/ASTD%20Island/110/87/23
ASTD (American Society for Training and Development) is an organization that promotes the benefits of instructional technology in educational settings. A resource center on ASTD Island provides information and professional assistance for educators interested in using instructional technology in their classrooms. This site provides a comprehensive look at emerging technologies and research for applicable practices in educational settings. The site is designed for novice and professional educators.

AECT Island
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Eduisland/119/118/23
According to their website AECT (Association for Educational Communications and Technology) is a professional association of thousands of educators whose activities are directed towards improving instruction through technology. This site provides access to a clearinghouse of information based on research theory and practice. Divisions representing school media, multi-media production, distance learning, performance and training have designed easy to use informational kiosks on this site.

University of Missouri School of journalism
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Teaching%204/50/39/24
The University of Missouri School of Journalism, in conjunction with Apple computers, has been involved in the design, development, and distribution of educational podcasts for student users. Riding the wave of a growing trend in distance education, the University of Missouri has been actively converting its curriculum for use in an online virtual environment. Digital media assets designed for online courses is being distributed via podcasts, streaming video, teleconferences, and other delivery modalities. This innovative approach has enabled the University of Missouri to deliver asynchronous coursework to registered student users. The University of Missouri has realized significant cost savings by leveraging multi-media based technologies in the distribution of online coursework.

ISTE Island
http://slurl.com/secondlife/ISTE%201Island/49/122/23
According to its website ISTE (The International Society for Technology in Education) is a source for professional development, knowledge generation, advocacy, and leadership for innovation. ISTE provides leadership and service to improve teaching, learning, and school leadership by advancing the effective use of technology in K–12 education. Several informational resources were identified during a visit to Podcast Place on ISTE Island. Placards posted on a resource wall enabled me to download podcast materials from the ISTE Necc 2008 Conference, Second Life, Rezz Ed, and Podcast.com. The ISTE site is an important resource for educators who are interested in using podcast materials for instructional purposes. Georgia Tech, SIG, and the Queensland Society for informational Technology in Education are active members on this site.

Podcast.com
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Nooribeom/146/137/23

This site provides user access to materials posted on Podcast.com. Over 60,000 podcast recordings are available to users on this site. Topical subjects such as education, technology, foreign language, politics, religion, music, sports, et.al. are available to registered users. Educational podcasts hosted on this site are designed for K-12 students and adult learners. Its user friendly navigational interface allows easy access for students of all ages.

Past times with old friends

On Thursday night I had an opportunity to work for ESPN at the UNI/ Nicholls State football game. Although my job assignment was pretty mundane (walking the sideline with a parabolic microphone), I had the chance to reconnect with several former colleagues who are still in the video production business. Many of these individuals spend approximately 40 weeks a year traveling to stadiums and arenas around the country. Living out of a suitcase in nondescript hotel rooms, hanging out at seedy bars, eating bad food, and keeping irregular hours is the modus operandi of itinerant video professonals. We laughed about "the circus coming to town" and shared war stories of video productions gone bad. What a long strange trip...........

Second Life

After a recent visit to Second Life I thought about various ways it could be used to promote educational initiatives designed for adult learners (i.e. over 25 years old). It was disconcerting to see all of the available educational resources on Second Life, while realizing that many older students do not have the computer hardware/software tools, ISP connectivity, and technical skills needed to access valuable informational assets. Mesmerized by all of the possible uses I found myself wondering how I might be able to exploit Second Life to achieve personal and professional learning objectives.

Second Life

Yesterday I spent most of the afternoon on Second Life. It was fun to open up the program and experiment with my avatar. After walking around Orientation Island I was able to teleport my avatar to other sites. On Education Island I found that many academic institutions have set up sites designed for registered users. It disconcerting to discover that some of these sites are locked to casual viewers. Out of curiosity I visited several islands to see if there was anything of interest. This adventure produced mixed results- some of the sites were private, restricted, and/ or reserved for mature audiences. After a two hour excursion I decided to log out and do my homework. My trip to Second Life was entertaining.

Survey Monkey

Recently I started collaborating with a student who is completing work on her doctoral thesis. She was in a quandry and requested my assistance in the creation of an online survey. My advisor suggested that I experiment with a software program called Survey Monkey. This program is an intuitive tool that is user-friendly, customizable, and fun to use. Currently I'm in the process of structuring, formatting, and entering the survey data. Upon completion of this task I will place the survey on a server for online access. By keeping the survey clean, simple, and easy to use we should be able to receive at least a 90% response rate.

Recently I read a newspaper article in the Waterloo Courier that described a pilot program being implemented by the school district. Here is a link to the story: http://www.wcfcourier.com/articles/2008/09/21/news/metro/10623959.txt
According to the article "Officials propose installing 129 Promethean Activboards in district classrooms, libraries and administrative buildings at a total cost of $883,660. That cost would include equipment, installation and training".
In my opinion this proposal represents a giant step towards integrating interactive technology into schools serving a disadvantaged student population. Kudos to the Waterloo School District for taking an initial step in bridging the "digital divide".

Wow!

Despite having extensive experience with educational technology I felt like a kid in the candy store when I enrolled in the Emerging Tech class. At first I was overwhelmed by the number of social networking sites that are available for online users. After exploring sites like Blogger, Google, Twitter, Facebook, and Classroom 2.0 I've come to realize their potential use for like minded individuals. For instance, by performing a keyword search I can find a number of sites &/ or people who share my interests. This feature has provided me with access to a number of valuable assets related to my vocation and hobby. Wow!