Week 7: Game Based Learning

We were learning about game based learning and for our discussion assignment, I chose to write about the game Treasure Mountain.  I chose this game because I remember playing it when I was a child and I found it engaging.  Although this game is very outdated and there isn't a recent version of it, the educational aspects of if seem to be very great.  The game integrates different subjects including reading, math, and logic.  I enjoyed reading everyone else's discussion posts and learned that there are many great educational games out there.

iTunes U seems to be an interesting resource.  I'm still trying to get the hang of it and figure out where everything is but overall it seems like a good resource to know of.  Have a great day!

Mobile Trends

I'm not a huge user of mobile applications but I know many people who are on their smart phones and applications A LOT.  I even see young children playing with their parents smart phones and using the applications.  I see it as a positive and negative. 

One night while I was out at dinner with my other half, we noticed an entire family sitting at the table across from us each on their cell phones looking down.  There was no conversation going on and I was actually curious as to what they were doing on their cell phones.  Were they playing games? Reading the news?  Facebooking? Texting?  I'm not sure but I notice that with all the mobile applications and enhancements with cell phones, society is spending a lot more time on their cell phones.  Will this negatively impact the social skills of our society as time progresses and more enhancements are made? 

One positive about mobile applications, especially relating to education is that learners in developing countries have the same access to these applications (if they are fortunate to have a smart phone with access to internet/applications)  as learners in non-developing countries have.  It seems the playing field of access to education is slowly being leveled out.  Of course, it will not be completely equal but with the use of mobile applications, at least a little more access to materials and resources are being provided to learners who may not have direct access to it in the first place.

Aloha & Have a wonderful, Blessed day everyone!

iTunes U

iTunes U?  It's not the usual iTunes that we use just to download our favorite songs and put them onto our iPod.  iTunes, like many other softwares are beginning to emerge and provide more services. I'm excited to begin this group project on iTunes U with my group.  We've met on Skype and decided that our topic will coincide with our next project... Tsunamis! I've got a great group to work with so I'm excited to get this started.

Some info about iTunes U:

• FREE application that makes it easy to create courses & access materials for courses
• Features include- Audio & video, presentations, PDFs, Documents, iBooks etc.
• Content sharing with ANYONE, ANYWHERE in the world

If you haven't heard of iTunes U, I'd definitely recommend that you check it out.  It's a great resource to be aware of.

Have a Blessed day everyone!

Week 5: Guest Speaker Dr. Kumiko Aoki on OER

Technology provides many opportunities and ways to communicate with others.  Our guest speaker was speaking to us all the way from Japan.  Dr. Kumiko Aoki explained Open Educational Resources to us.  I was not aware of OER prior to this class. Some things I've learned:

• OCW= (Open CourseWare)
• Some OCW classes from MIT were translated to Chinese for Chinese Universities
• There are OCW movements in China, Taiwan, India, Korea
• Open University in Japan is the ONLY open university in Japan

In my opinion, OCW seems to be a great way for people to learn especially if they are unable to pay for a college education or if they are restricted from traveling to a college (disabilities, no transportation, lack of funds etc.).