In 1997, a group of researchers based in Lugano (CH) started organizing sustainable development and training projects that used online technology (video conference, virtual learning platform, e-mail, etc.) to connect people in remote areas with experts from a range of academic institutions.
The 21st Century Learners Project is sponsored by the Alabama Best Practices Center in Montgomery, Alabama. This project consists of teams of teachers from across the state who spend time learning about Web 2.0 tools and how to incorporate these tools into the curriculum. Teachers are also exposed to how these tools build learning skills in students. Teachers also focus on how to use student-centered, inquiry-driven approaches in instruction.
This wiki is designed to be a resource for teachers who want to learn more about Web 2.0 tools, project based learning, and constructivist teaching. For some this will be an introduction and for others a refresher, but our hope is that you will start to see how technology can transform your teaching and engage your students.
The author provides a critical overview of three-dimensional (3-D) virtual worlds and “serious gaming” that are currently being developed and used in healthcare professional education and medicine.
there are some fundamental questions which remain unanswered.
it is beneficial to address while the race to adopt and implement highly engaging Web 3-D virtual worlds is watched in healthcare professional education
Therefore, Roger’s Diffusion of Innovations Theory [5] and Siemens’ Connectivism Theory [6] for today’s learners will serve as theoretical frameworks for this paper.
A 3-D virtual world, also known as a Massively Multiplayer Virtual World (MMVW), is an example of a Web 2.0/Web 3-D dynamic computer-based application.
applications that enable social publishing, such as blogs and wikis
the most popular virtual world used by the general public is Linden Lab’s Second Life (SL)
health information island
US agencies, such as the Centers for Disease Control and the National Institutes of Health conduct meetings in SL to discuss the educational potential of SL
virtual medical universities exist all over the world
The term “avatar” is an old Sanskrit word portraying a deity which takes on a human shape
Trauma Center
Virtual worlds are currently being used as educational spaces [1] and continue to grow in popularity on campuses and businesses worldwide. Furthermore, access to versions of virtual worlds on the Web, such as “Croquet,” “Uni-Verse,” and “Multiverse” are predicted within two to three years to be mainstream in education
there are reported advantages to having students engage in these emerging technologies
By allowing students time to interact with other avatars (eg, patients, staff members, and other healthcare professionals) in a safe, simulated environment, a decrease in student anxiety, an increase in competency in learning a new skill, and encouragement to cooperate and collaborate, as well as resolve conflicts, is possible.
High quality 3-D entertainment that is freely accessible via Web browsing facilitates engagement opportunities with individuals or groups of people in an authentic manner that illustrates collective intelligence
Advanced Learning and Immersive Virtual Environment (ALIVE) at the University of Southern Queensland
Who would imagine attending medical school in a virtual world?
Problem-based learning groups enrolled in a clinical management course at Coventry University meet in SL and are employed to build learning facilities for the next semester of SL students. This management course teaches students to manage healthcare facilities and is reported to be the first healthcare-related class to use SL as a learning environment.
Another example of a medical school using SL is St. George’s Medical School in London.
Stanford University medical school
Another virtual world project developed by staff at the Imperial College in London, in collaboration with the National Physical Lab in the United Kingdom, is the Second Health Project
Mesko [35] presents the top 10 virtual medical sites in SL.
The development and use of 3-D virtual worlds in nursing education is increasing.
Some educators may balk at adopting this technology because there is a learning curve associated with the use of 3-D virtual worlds.
Let’s have fun, explore these fascinating worlds and games, and network with others while respecting diverse ways of life-long learning and current researchers’ findings.
there is an underlying push in higher education to adopt these collaborative tools and shift the paradigm from a traditional Socratic method of education to one possessing a more active and interactive nature
One may view online virtual worlds and serious gaming as a threat to the adoption and purchase of high-fidelity computerized patient-simulation mannequins that are currently purchased for healthcare-profession training. For example, nurses may login into SL and learn Advanced Cardiac Life Support at their convenience, and it costs virtually nothing for the nurse and perhaps a nominal fee for the developer.
The educational opportunity in SL may not be a replacement for the doctor- or nurse-patient interaction or relationship, but SL may serve as an adjunct or pre- or post-learning tool.
one recalls when critics questioned the validity and reliability of the stethoscope invented by Laennec in 1816 and how today it is second nature to use this assessment tool.
The deputy director of eduction at the Taubman Museum of Art located in Roanoke, VA (see http://taubmanmuseum.org). has designed, and recently had created, a Web-based Art Interactive Tool (WAIT) that allows users to interact with works in the permanent collection in a unique manner. Using a scaffolding interpretive model that he also designed (REED-LO), users, through WAIT, formulate an interpretation of a work of art in the collection. WAIT provides the user with guiding questions and allows users to record their thoughts online - in the end, they publish their overall interpretation of the work of art online.
Teachers can create, for free, "classrooms" through WAIT that includes all of their students. They can then assign a specific work of art to their students. The students then access the work using a unique username and password. After they publish their interpretations, the teacher can approve each interpretation which then allows the students to access what their peers wrote about the work of art as well as the "expert" essay related to the work. In essence WAIT allows users to formulate a personal meaning of a work of art before reading what others have written about the work.
WAIT can be found both through the Taubman Museum of Art's website, under the "Learn" section, or by going to www.waitarttool.com - it is free to use.
Project Based Learning uses a 'Contructavist' approach to learning. Constructivism is the label given to a set of theories about learning which fall somewhere between cognitive and humanistic views.
Stake play money on the outcomes of real news stories and see if you're right. Uses online social interaction to wager on news based near term predictions. The more you know about the news the better your wagers.
The table below summarizes some arguments about open source, with links to more detailed discussion. These arguments describe the best examples of current open source and proprietary software. Each argument has been rated as true, false, or maybe, based on its validity and relevance to schools. The most important arguments are marked
Our R&D center is based in Chengdu, only 90 km from the epicenter. When the quake hit, our whole team was still in a heated discussion on features in our regular international conference meeting (…) All of a sudden, very loud rattling sound came through. Our team in Chengdu said calmly over skype, "There is an earthquake, we have to get out of here." (...) Shortly, news broke - a major earthquake, measuring 7.9 on the Richter scale, hit the area, and Chengdu is only 90 kilometers from the epicenter! That got our US team really worried. Fortunately, we were able to connect with our Chengdu team a few hours later, and learned they are all safe and sound.
Web 2.0 will have profound implications for learners and teachers in formal, informal, work-based and lifelong education. Web 2.0 will affect how universities go about the business of education, from learning, teaching and assessment, through contact with school communities, widening participation, interfacing with industry, and maintaining contact with alumni.
The Social Media Classroom (we'll call it SMC) includes a free and open-source (Drupal-based) web service that provides teachers and learners with an integrated set of social media that each course can use for its own purposes-integrated forum, blog, comment, wiki, chat, social bookmarking, RSS, microblogging, widgets , and video commenting are the first set of tools.
Quality Matters created a set of forty specific elements, distributed across eight broad standards, by which to evaluate the design of online and hybrid courses. The web-based, fully interactive rubric is complete with annotations that explain the application of the standards and relationship between them. The eight broad standards include:
Geeks Without Borders is committed to providing computers and related equipment to schools, clinics, and nonprofits in developing countries. We are a U.S. based nonprofit, and do not do domestic donations. We invite you to browse our site, and to check back frequently. Please donate to GWoB; every little bit helps!
SchoolTool is a project to develop a common global school administration infrastructure that is freely available under an Open Source license We are currently developing a web based student information and calendaring system. SchoolTool 1.0 beta was released October 30, 2008 and SchoolTool 1.0 will be ready in April 2009 for deployments in fall 2009.