Michio Kaku on Immortality

This guy is crazy! (in a "this-might-actually-happen-sometime-in-the-next-century" kind of way) In this video, Michio Kaku, theoretical physicist, describes the process by which scientists can compare complete genomes of old people to those of young people to pinpoint where aging takes place. That will enable them to possibly reverse the affects of aging. Fascinating. Looks like Walt Disney put his faith in the wrong theory....

Remind 101

Remind 101 is a text messaging service that allows teachers to send messages to students and parents about upcoming events or assignments. I think this is a really great service for teachers who are willing to put themselves out there and go the extra mile to make sure students (and their parents) are aware of upcoming assignments and tests. Keep in mind this service is one-way communication. Students cannot reply to messages and students don't see the teacher's actual cellphone number.

This service is similar to sending students reminders via twitter or facebook, except they do not have to sign up for any accounts, and as long as they have a cellphone (any type of cellphone that has a texting plan), they can receive messages through Remind 101.

I think this is a great tool for teachers who are willing to use it. Personally, I don't see myself using it any time soon because I have so many redundancies already built into my classes, this only adds one more place to put the information out there. But I can also see the benefit of being able to get short, quick messages to students.

View a video about Remind 101 here.

Harry Potter and the T-1000

I know this sounds crazy, but it's legit. I had read/heard about the type of technology being developed by our military that can basically make a soldier invisible, much like Harry's cloak. This guy apparently doesn't think invisibility is that big of a deal. He gives the idea about 5 seconds then spends the rest of his  3 minute video discussing T-1000-like technology and how scientists are currently working to create such technology. I'm a bit of a scifi geek and get a little excited every time scifi theoretical physics becomes a possibility. Anyway, watch this (and other videos) and imagine where we could be in 50 years (or 100...or 500).

Ed Tech Box

I really like flying. I think I'm getting the hang of this Second Life stuff too.

I flew around EdTech Island a bit trying to find the sandbox. It took me about 5 minutes of flying to figure out that different areas of the island have names (USERS or CAVE for example). So I flew around for a bit, keeping my eye on my "location bar." After a few more minutes I found myself in the Sandbox.

I quickly right-clicked and got to work. I noticed I could build a number of shapes, including several different regular polygons as well as a tree. I chose the box icon and started working my magic.

It wasn't long before I was enjoying a relaxing afternoon, sitting on my box. It was a pretty cool feeling--not because it was a difficult task to achieve or puzzle to solve, but because it opened my eyes a little wider to the potential of this MMO in an education setting.

I am excited about the possibility of creating engaging environments for my students. I haven't looked into the cost aspect and I'm sure it would involve an immense amount of time, but I think it would be worth it. I also need to look into the possibility of an iPad app, since my school is implementing a 1:1 initiative. If it is possible to use Second Life on an iPad, this application is going to be very appealing in the coming years.

My only issue with Second Life at this point is that it is extremely choppy while the objects are loading. I'm not sure if that is a Second Life issue or if my computer is in need of an upgrade, but my experience would be much more enjoyable if the environment loaded a little faster/smoother.

Second Life--Moving and Viewing

So, I just spent a few minutes walking around Eagle Island and have noticed some really exciting features of Second Life. I am really beginning to see how it can fit into an educational setting. I really like that SL allows it's citizens to fly. The first thing I did was fly to the top of a nearby mountain to see the surrounding landscape:

After flying around a bit, a video started playing. I didn't intentionally start the video, so I had no idea where I could find it to turn it off. So, off I went, on an epic adventure to end the chicken reproduction system video. I looked at the nearby videos and in the lab, but couldn't find it.

Next, I flew up and out to find a section of the island to which I did not have access. After flying in circles for a few moments, I found an outdoor classroom with a huge screen at its center. There, I found the chicken video and turned it off. Next, I flew to the beach for some much needed relaxation after the stress of flying around to find the chicken video (SL can be stressful :-p). So I laid down in the hammock. Brilliant!

Next, I roamed around to several other "boothes" that were set up that had some interesting information linked to them. I ended my time on Eagle Island this afternoon by watching the sunset. Sitting on...a goat.

As I was walking (running, flying) through Eagle Island, my creative teacher-juices began to flow. I began to think of the various destinations that have been created to mimic real life (at times, historical) places. Students would be able to access these places to get a 3D view of the particular region or city we are studying. Also, I realized people can create museums, or islands of specific events in history. For example, it wouldn't surprise me if someone has created an island for WWII or the Holocaust to be more specific. The potential to create these and other such "displays" makes SL much more intriguing and usable in the classroom. The more I experience, the more likely I am to actually try this with my students. I'm excited to continue to explore the SL world and its potential to aid in instruction.

Second Life--Moving

After moving through the tutorial in Second Life, I hold to my previous assertion that the mechanics of moving in Second Life are a bit choppy. I haven't looked to see if this is possible, but I think it would be awesome if I could rebind some of the keys to mimic games I've played in the past (WoW). I keep hitting the spacebar meaning to jump and the "q" and "e" keys trying to strafe (which, I'm not sure strafing is even possible). 

Here's a pic of me kissing the parrot......and here I am fresh off of learning how to sit

Anyway, for a game that you don't have to pay for or house locally on a harddrive, it's not bad. I can't wait to learn how educators are using it as a part of their instruction.

Second Life

Hello. My name is JosephSchmoe. At least it is in Second Life.

Second Life is an MMO (Massively Multiplayer Online Game). An MMO is a type of game that provides virtual worlds in which potentially millions of people can interact online. You can sign up for a free account and begin interacting with real people (or at least their avatars) in fascinating virtual worlds. Having spent a significant amount of time playing World of Warcraft, I am a little underwhelmed by the lackluster graphics and controlling my avatar doesn't seem "natural." Other than these minor setbacks, I am able to see some benefit to using this game in the classroom.

Through selecting destinations, you can travel to various places. Many of these places are fictional, however, there is a "folder" of destinations labeled "real." These locations are replicas of real life places such as Battery Park, the Acropolis, and the Golden Gate Bridge. Having students explore these places on their own adds another dimension to any discussion on these topics.

The Second Life community has devoted much effort to education in general. On the Second Life Wiki, an entire section is devoted to education. Second Life novices who would like to utilize this online tool in their classes should start there, familiarizing themselves with available education resources.

Groups of students can meet in an aforementioned location or in a designated classroom to discuss relevant classroom topics synchronously. This will allow students to interact in a chatroom setting in which many who do not participate openly irl (in real life) may be more inclined to chime in.

The whole point to "gamifying" education is to "meet students where they are"--to engage them on a level they prefer. Although Second Life is not going to be the ideal method for all students, many will be excited by the prospect of playing a game while learning. Initially, I am intrigued by the potential of this program. I think it has potential to be a pretty good tool.