Jacob Reflections

This week we completed a collaborative activity with the German 3-4 classes and the Dresden Museum in Second Life. Students were able to chat and explore the artwork in the Dresden Museum. The experience provided new insight to the use of virtual worlds and education. My theory for the project was that students would be more inclined to experiment with language when they have an avatar as opposed to when they are in the classroom. I predicted that Second Life and virtual worlds would create a barrier of “self” to enable the students to have a sense of freedom to practice their language.  I would like to give a few of my initial thoughts.

The first day I was disappointed because I felt my thesis was going down the drain. The students were enthusiastic, yes, but they spent too much time running, flying and changing their appearance.  I felt as though the German teacher and I had to spend most of our time redirecting focus.  I was frustrated, but she was not. The German teacher said it would take time for the students to get used to the new environment. I thought the virtual world environment created too many distractions and that learning standards were not being met. I reflected back on an article I read (for the life of me I cannot find who to give the credit to!) and the author explains an observable behavior of one student. When the student walks into the computer classroom, the first things he does are; adjust the mouse, move the monitor to his plane of vision, change the icons on the screen, and change the background to a picture he likes. Once those steps are completed, the student is ready and willing to begin school work. The point the author was making was that students in this generation want customization and want to display a sense of self through the computer. Thinking back on that article, I gave myself another day.

The second day I realized how immersive the virtual world environment can be. The students spoke in German with the Dresden docents in Berlin and with other avatars in England and the Czech Republic.  The conversations kept the student engaged and they no longer spent time customizing their avatar. The students had an avatar, a barrier to their true selves and therefore had more of an opportunity to experiment with their language. The virtual environment created an immediate immersible culture for the students to follow. They did not need to pretend they were in “Dresden.” They did not need to simulate real conversation. The students were in a virtual world and had true conversations with others who knew the language. The opportunity to take students to a location where this is all possible was immense!

These are some of my initial thoughts, and I hope that the students themselves will be willing to comment on the experience. I will continue to pursue this concept with our Foreign Language Department because I feel the experience has meaning and validity to provide students a language learning atmosphere.

If there is one thing I have learned to do at the start of my career as an Educational Technology Coach, it is to network.  I have discovered the sheer power and support of having a strong network of people to assist you in good and bad times. What I find most interesting is that many of these people I have never met in person, nor may ever meet! The cyber environment and social networking has increased my professional development dramatically.

The most significant tool has to be Twitter. It took me a while to believe in Twitter, but as I became a better Twitter user, I started to realize the power 140 characters holds! I have met unselfish people around the world that want to share information and ideas with others. Every time I check the Twitter updates I learn something new and of value. It may be a cool website or an informational article, but each time the people I follow have helped me to learn more.

What are the most powerful are the replies and direct messages. I am amazed at the people who take time out of their busy day to make me feel welcome and to connect.  I appreciate the Twitter followers who read my blog and give suggestions. The replies and direct messages make my efforts feel worthwhile.

While this blog is just installment number 1 of a continued theme, I wanted to send a big THANK YOU to my followers what have taught me every time I go online!

Last Wednesday, November 26, 2008, I was fortunate to collaborate with our CFF World Cultures teacher to coordinate a lesson on Chinese culture through the Virtual Forbidden City project. We were unaware as to how the lesson would turn out, but as the lesson started to unfold I developed some observations that I would like to share.

First, I noticed the students were most interested in chatting with other students, sometimes the very student they were physically sitting next to! The virtual environment gave students the opportunity to explore the Forbidden City, experience cultural events and to chat/ interact with students around the world. While the students were exploring the area, they also chatted with other students in China and Turkey. One valuable lesson was teaching a young student the response “that’s cool” might not be interpreted the same way to a student in China. We were able to direct the students toward using formal language for effective communication. It appeared that the students felt fortunate to have the opportunity to speak with another student in China.

When I spoke with the World Cultures teacher about her observations halfway through the day, she mentioned how the students are in effect playing a game and how it is very playful. I have to admit, I was yearning for more of an educational-based comment, but she is right. The environment was very playful. Students were following each other around. They were using their avatars to fight crickets, shoot archery and chat with others. In respect to my educational goals for the lesson, I feel the students did learn through play.

One reason for the playful atmosphere had to be because of the lack of structure. In Serious Virtual Worlds, Sara de Freitas states “Structure for learning is no longer posited through knowledge acquisition. Instead we have the real capability to offer very practical engagement and social interactions with realistic contexts, to offer conceptual experimentation and to create role plays that facilitate for example different interpretations of historical events…” (Freitas 6). This quote could not be more correct with our Forbidden City exploration. Students were interacting with other students, role playing as avatars in the Forbidden City and participating in historical events (archery and cricket fighting). Besides our guided scavenger hunt worksheet, the entire lesson lacked structure, something that both of us had trouble giving up. It may have been the very lack of structure that enabled the students to explore and learn on their own.

A second valuable insight was something the World Cultures teacher told me. She explained “the experience was something she would not have the time to teach in class.” The explorative atmosphere, while playful, provided an opportunity for the students to learn differently from the written curriculum. Freitas further explains this idea by stating “An innovation here might include the more dynamic, personalized and integrated ‘living curriculum’. This might include greater learner involvement in developing learning ‘trails’ or pathways which may lead to a balance of exploratory and experiential approaches based upon grounded life skills, reflection and life-planning” (Freitas 31). The students that day lived the Chinese culture, if only for forty-two minutes out of their day. They spoke with others. They walked the grounds and they played the games of the Chinese. The lesson was one of a “living curriculum.” We must then take the next step by creating paths for our students to develop life skills and reflection time.

I would like to invite the students of this lesson to comment on my blog article. Because you are the ones we are developing the learning opportunities for, we want to hear from you, good or bad. Your insight will make us better teachers and we look to you to teach us. Please take the time to comment on what you learned and what you experienced. You will not only help those at McGuffey High school, but also other students and teachers around the world.

Freitas, Sara de. Serious Virtual Worlds: A scoping study. JISC e-Learning Programme. Accessed November 2008. 1-31.

Technology sometimes involves taking “that step” into the unknown and hoping that your educational goals are met. I am reminded of the Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade (1989) movie where Indiana takes a faithful step over a deep ravine, only to find that the invisible path is there for him to continue the quest.  Integrating technology in the classroom is sometimes a similar “blind step.”

Tomorrow we have our World Culture classes in the computer lab to explore the Virtual Forbidden City. The students in the class just finished their China unit and I suggested using the virtual world to enhance the student learning. I set up the lesson, worksheet, and necessary downloads. I am optimistic about the results the students will experience.  When I approached the World Cultures teacher, she said “Well, I’m glad you are positive about it.” She was not worried about the activity, but nervous about the results and the behavior results of her students. We do not know how the students will act. We do not know how they will react to the learning environment. We do know we have an excellent lesson. I acted as the support system towards what I believe will be a valuable experience to the students. It’s a mental challenge because it is revolutionary learning approach and we are inviting teachers and administrators without even knowing the results!

Maybe my position is to be that support structure- to assure the teachers that, technologically, everything “should” work according to plan. We know the lesson is student-centered and the learning opportunities are powerful. The teacher has excellent intentions, but just does not know what to expect. It’s like the “first day of school” jitters all over again!

As a first year CFF Coach, I have been bombarded with trainings and meetings. As an educator, I have also experienced countless professional development sessions in a mere five years of being a teacher! Yesterday, while sitting in yet another meeting, I realized that too often we are not creating meaningful professional development for educators. I get frustrated sitting in meetings wishing I was back at school where I could get work done. I also dislike the feeling that I just wasted an entire day and gained very little “professional development.” Are we doing the same thing to ourselves that maybe some of our students experience?

As educators we work on building a curriculum that includes both depth and breadth. We create a curriculum that challenges every kind of student, from lower achieving to high achieving. We create meaningful lessons that relate to the student and help show them how our content relates to real life experiences. Why are we not doing the same for our professional faculty? If we do not challenge the intelligent minds of the professional community, what good was the day? I have not experienced many sessions where I felt intellectually challenged. I want to be challenged!

The educational community is an intelligent group and I feel that professional development plans fall short on engagement and rigor. What happened to rigor? Just because we have degrees in our field does not mean we lose rigor in future learning. If we do not hold high standards for our educators, how can we expect the professional educator community to hold similarly high standards for our students? It is time to challenge the professionals! I encourage each of you to set high standards not only for yourself, but also for others. Seek to challenge the minds around you. You may be impressed with the result!