Week 4

- In what ways can multi-user virtual environments (MUVEs) contribute to the learning experience?
- Do MUVEs benefit certain students or groups more than others?

I had a lot of fun exploring the multi-user virtual environment (MUVE) Second Life this week. I’ve even taken the time to go back and play it several more times since our assignment and found some neat places to talk to people. I am especially interested in finding places where I can work with people on improving my Spanish. I did find the Spanish Institute that offers some free classes but most are not free. I signed up for their e-mail list and now get occasional e-mails inviting me to come and sit in on a class.

I have no doubt that SL would be useful in an educational setting. It’s a game with an extraordinary amount of detail that would provide students with a social and creative outlet. I think it would be especially beneficial for students who struggle with social interactions in real life because it provides a safe place to communicate with others while still giving the safe anonymity of the Internet.

I do think that there would be some safety concerns when using SL in the classroom, especially with younger students who could easily fall victim to the ploy of untrustworthy strangers. These types of issues could easily be avoided with the proper education of online netiquette and safety. Also, SL makes it very easy to block someone’s contact with you if they make you feel uncomfortable. Therefore I don’t think that this would be a viable reason not to use SL in a classroom.

Although I haven’t used many MUVEs, I think that they would be beneficial to students who wanted to use them. They might not be as effective to some, but it’s silly to think you can find a teaching method that works for every single students. MUVEs would be a great way to differentiate instruction.

Week 3

How do we shape our ability to critically evaluate the credibility of information available online?
- How do we represent ourselves online?

I think that in general I am a very trusting individual. When someone say something to me I typically believe them unless they have given me a reason in the past not to. Also, when I read a book I usually trust that the author has done their research or has accurately represented the information that they are presenting. However, I do know that my blind faith has changed. By this I mean that I now take everything I read with a grain of salt, a tiny wondering about if it is really true or not.

The internet has many credible sources of information. I do feel that the fact that the Internet is available to anyone who wants it and can afford has exponentially increased the amount of information that is not credible. I feel that the "blogosphere" has made many people feel that they too should include their opinion in the universe.

Along with this desire for millions to share their thoughts on the internet has come an age of unreliable, lightning fast rumors that spread like wildfire through the blogosphere. Allegations of terrorist attacks, dead celebrities, plagues, etc. are passed from person to person in minutes. Just the other day someone posted that Jayden Smith, Will Smiths son, was dead due to a snowboarding accident. Within the hour Will Smith posted that Jayden was fine on his facebook page. But it's crazy that one person can spread a rumor that is believed so fast that a superstar like Will Smith feels the need to clarify.

We now have to teach students how to find credible information in a sea of unknown facts and fictions that can be stressful to sift through. One that I always recommend to my friends and plan to teach my students is how to find credible sources and the triangulation of information. If 3 credible sources give the same information than it’s likely that that is true. This can be difficult to do with things like breaking news though. I often find myself jumping around from different news websites to determine what really happened in an event. I think that questioning and researching are the best ways to evaluate the credibility of online information.

Week 2

How do we define who we are, and shape or reaffirm our identity using social networks?

It’s amazing to me when I look at some of the profiles of my friends on Facebook. I can’t believe the pictures they post, the things they say, and the comments they make. I have even deleted some of the things that have been posted on my page by a few of them.  However, when I meet with these friends in class or in public they have perfectly appropriate behavior, attitudes and language. It’s like their online identity is a completely different person.

I’ve always thought about a quote that my mom has said to me my whole life. “Never say, write or type anything that you don’t want on the front page of the newspaper”. This quote along with the fact that I’m friends with 2 grand parents, my great aunt Mary and the parents of several of the kids I used to babysit for has always resulted in me thinking about what I say, write or type always. Also, I often think about my future when I’m in the present. I don’t allow anyone to take picture of me with alcohol, I don’t RSVP to questionable events and I try and stay away from controversial sites or issues on facebook that will display on my newsfeed.

Social networks, although in the invisible universe of the Internet, can have a big impact on our real world lives. A teacher last week was punished for writing a blog complaining about how lazy her students were. She didn’t list names and she didn’t give specific details. She simply stated her opinion and frustration in a venting way that nearly got her fired. Even though I don’t think this is fair, I acknowledge that it’s happening every day in our world.

I think that it’s very important that everyone recognizes that when you meet someone in person your first impression is based on a split moment. Even though everyone says “first impressions are everything” I think an in person bad first impression is easier changed than a bad digital first impression. We choose how to represent ourselves on the internet and disregarding this fact can have detrimental effects on our reputations for years to come. I feel like my great aunt Mary can be quoted to wrap this whole post up. “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all”. Even though the picture of you hanging upside down doing a keg stand in your underwear isn’t words, it says a lot to the parents of your 1^st grade class.

Week 1

How do we perceive ourselves (and others) in the real and digital worlds in which we live? 

It’s a bizarre concept to think of having multiple personalities if you don’t. Following this logic it would seem just as strange to have different versions of your own self whether they be online, in person, over the phone or anywhere else. However, I believe that many people live their lives having multiple personalities in the real and digital world. When you’re in the digital world you can be anyone you want to be.  60 year old men can be 12 year old girls. The poor can be rich and celebrities can “fit in”. It’s a fantasy world that many step into feeling like they’re still in reality. I feel that the digital world gives a lot of people a blind sense of confidence that they never feel they could possess in the “real world”.

I definitely have felt the safe feeling that can be a result of being behind the amenity of chatting online. I have spoken my opinion about items to people whom I probably would not have been comfortable being so bold in front of in person. I don’t think it’s a bad thing that technology has provided this safe haven. I do think that it’s a bad thing that many don’t acknowledge that it exists.

It’s easy to become lost in the digital world when you disregard the fact that an real world exists. This can be detrimental to both the mental and physical safety of young people who become enamored with “hotguy88” who likes all the same music as them and happens to live just down the block.

However, the instantaneous connection that the digital world allows for us to have with one another gives us access to people whom we would never have been able to meet otherwise. We can discuss topics with experts in Australia, learn from someone’s personal experience in Switzerland or simply chat with a friend who has moved across the state.