A5.2: Chapter 6- Richardson

Traci Girondo

September 21, 2007

Richardson, W. (2006). Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

TAP: Chapter six in the book Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms informs educators about the social web and how it connects people through various online tools. The author discusses some beneficial web tools, but specifically focuses on two types of social bookmarking.

Claim: Richardson claims that social bookmarking is a beneficial web tool that aids individuals in managing the vast amount of information located on the web. Individuals can use social bookmarking to easily access information and stay connected to other individuals interested in the same topics.

Evidence: The author of this chapter supports his claim by discussing social bookmarking in regards to what it is and its benefits. Social bookmarking is a web tool that allows people to save links and categorize these links by specific tags or keywords. These tags/keywords are then connected to other keywords that are similar to the one that person chose for that topic. This is beneficial in that individuals can be connected and collaborate on information that is pertinent to them. The author specifically discusses two social bookmarking sites. Furl is a site that allows sites to be saved just as they are. Regardless of whether that page is changed or removed from the internet the site stays the same as when the individual saved it. Furl is a beneficial site in that educators can use this site for their students to create a site of links that they find important. The other bookmarking site mentioned is del.icio.us. Del.icio.us is a site that focuses on sharing links on the web. This is done by creating tags or labels about the link saved. By doing this individuals can connect with other people who have saved links on the same topic. Both these sites are beneficial web tools because they allow people to manage, collaborate, and share information on the web.

Connections: I could connect to the information in this chapter in that I knew that it is hard at times to manage all the information available on the internet. There are times when keeping track of all the information on the internet can be overwhelming. It can also be frustrating when you save a site to your favorites or social bookmarking site and then that information is lost because the site has been removed from the internet. Typically I just save links to my favorites on my internet explorer page, but after learning about social bookmarking site I feel that these would be an easier way to manage information. It would also allow me to connect with other people who shar interest on the same topic which I cannot do by saving information to my favorites.

This chapter connected to another article I read on social bookmarking in that they both discussed a lot of the same information. Both discussed how social bookmarking can be used to save links to a specific location and then use the keywords attributed to that link to connect with other people who have saved a link with similar keywords. The chapter in this book went in to greater detail on specific sites for social bookmarking than the article did.

This chapter connects to the broader world of clinical practice in that social bookmarking sites could be used by speech-language pathologists to develop a site with links that are pertinent to our field of study. By using specific keywords/tags we would be able to share information we have found on that topic with other web users who are interested in those topics. This would be a beneficial way to share information with people who are not speech language pathologists and would like information on our field.

A5.2:7 Things You Should Know About Virtual Worlds

Traci Girondo

September 22, 2007

7 things you should know about virtual worlds. (2006). Educause Learning Initiative. Retrieved September 21, 2007, from http://www.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ELI7015.pdf

TAP: The topic of this article was virtual worlds. The author focused the content of the article to an audience of students and educators interested in what a virtual world is and how they foster learning in the educational setting.

Claim: The author of this article claims that virtual worlds foster constructivist learning in students by allowing them to initiate and direct thier own learning.

Evidence: The author of this article supports this claim by examining the use of virtual worlds in the educational setting. Right now there is move taking place in the use of virtual worlds. Virtual worlds have a history in games and now a shift is taking place and they are moving to the educational setting. The author states that this shift is beneficial to students in that virtual worlds allow students to facilitate thier own learning through exploration and trial and error. By doing this educators are incorporating a “medium” that students enjoy in to learning. An examination in to virtual worlds shows that students gain knowledge through the use of virtual worlds because they are required to figure things out on their own. This is turn “facilitates unintentional learning, where students discover and create knowledge not for its own sake, but in order to accomplish something they want to do, resulting in stronger comprehension and deeper knowledge.”

Connections: I was able to connect this article to previous knowledge I have in that I knew that researchers were examining the use of virtual worlds in the educational setting. I knew that there had been some discussion as to whether implementing virtual worlds in to the educational setting would be beneficial to students. Personally, the use of virtual worlds has not been implemented in to any of my classes, but outside of class I have been exposed to a virtual world. I have experienced using a virtual world through the medium of games. I wouldn’t say that I am an avid gamer by any means, but I did play the popular game Sims at one point. This game allowed you to create your own family and house and had to sustain the life of the people living inside. This is similar to virtual worlds in that you can create characters to interact within this specific setting. Other than through games my use of virtual worlds is very limited.

This article closely relates to other text I have read on blogs and wikis in that they both discuss how these tools allow people to interact and collaborate. Withing the virtual world people collaborate to solve a problem, or develop an idea. This also can be done in a blog or wiki. These tools are just another way for people to stay connected and support each other in obtaining knowledge.

This article connects to the broader world of clinical practice in that virtual worlds could be used with speech- language pathology students to prepare them for thier first therapy session. Simulated therapy sessions could be developed in which the student must complete a therapy session or a diagnostic evaluation. This could be beneficial to students because it may calm some of thier nerves for thier first therapy session if they feel they have had some practice. I know that virtual worlds do not fully capture the dynamic setting of a therapy room, but they would allow future SLP’s to practice problem solving.

A5.2: 7 Things You Should Know About Virtual Meetings

Traci Girondo

September 20, 2007

7 things you should know about virtual meetings. (2006). Educause Learning Initiative. Retrieved September 20, 2007, from http://www.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ELI7011.pdf

TAP: The topic of this article was virtual meetings. The author of this article focused the content towards an audience of educators, students, and professionals interested in a way to interact with individuals via the web. The purpose of this article was to discuss virtual meetings in regards to what they are, who’s doing it, how they work, thier significance, thier downsides, thier future, and thier application to teaching and learning.

Claim: The author of this article claims that virtual meetings are an inivative tool that allow interactions among students, educators and professionals. These types of meetings allow individuals to meet at times that are conducive to them and eliminates the obstacle of traveling. The author claims that the tools of virtual meetings are making them favorable to the classroom and “offer a way to engage students in fully interactive, online learning experiences.”

Evidence: The author supports this claim by discussing the fact that anyone can participate in virtual interactions as long as they can connect to the internet. Students, educators, and professionals are able to collectively meet at a specific time and interact via the internet. The use of audio, video, and chat tools make it easy for individuals to communicate from the location they are at. Other tools such as chat panes and shared whiteboards make virtual meetings condusive to the education setting. Virtual meetings can be benefitial for both distance education programs and residential education programs. The author states that virtual messaging allows “higher education to benefit from real-time interaction for distance education programs as well as offering new oppurtunities for traditional, residential education.” This makes it condusive for students in that no matter where they are they can engage in the virtual meeting. Virtual meetings allow educational oppurtunities for students such as they can be used to study, complete group projects, and bring in experts to talk. People interacting in a virtual meeting can interact as if they are in the same location even though they may be from all over the world. The author states that by engaging in virtual meetings money and time is saved in that people can meet at a time that is convenient to them and they are not required to travel to attend the meeting.

Connections: I was able to connect this information to knowledge I already had in that I knew people were able to communicate via the internet through audio and video tools. The tools that were most common to me were the web cam, and chat rooms online. Personally, I have never used audio or visual tools to communicate with other individuals via the web, but I knew these tools were available. I also knew that there were classes in which individuals met online with their instructor. I have never had an online class, but know that they can be beneficial for a person who needs a flexible schedule so they are not required to be in class at a certain time every day.

This article connected to other text I have read in that it discussed how tools on the internet can be used to create collaboration and communication among students. Many of the articles I have read have shown how these tools on the web can be used within the classroom setting to help engage students and provide new oppurtunities for interaction among students. All the articles I have read on this topic have state how these web tools such as blog, wikis, virtual meetings, etc. create a sense of community among individuals in which they feel they can openly share ideas.

This article can be connected to the broader world of clinical practice in that SLP’s can use virtual meetings to discuss topics in the field of speech-language pathology. Virtual Meetings would allow SLP’s from all over the world to interact and discuss topics that are pertinent to the field. As the use of virtual meetings becomes more popular and widespread I wonder where this technology will take our field? I wonder if there will ever be a time when a clinician and client meet online and conduct therapy outside of the typical therapy room?

A5.2:7 Things You Should Know About Social Bookmarking

Traci Girondo

September 20, 2007

7 things you should know about social bookmarking. (2005). Educause Learning Initiative. Retrieved September 20, 2007, from http://www.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ELI7001.pdf 

TAP: The topic of this article was social bookmarking. This artilcle focused its content towards an audience who was interested in a way to publically bookmark sites that are pertinent to them. The purpose of this article was to dicuss what social bookmarking is and how it can be used to organize info and connect people on the web.

Claim: The author of this article claims that social bookmarking is an easy and effecient way to bookmark sites on the web. Social bookmarking allows individuals to publically bookmark sites that can be easily located by that person or other individuals interested in the same topic. It creates a condusive enviroment for collaboration among individuals.

Evidence: Social bookmarking is a tool that has just recently been implemented on the web. Sites like Furl, Simpy, and de.lirio.us have taken typical bookmarking of sites and completely changed that. They have developed sites that allow people to publically bookmark sites to one location. This makes it easy for individuals to find specific sites they need. With typically bookmarking the site is only saved to the computer in which the person is working from. With social bookmarking the sites can be retrieved from anywhere because the information is located on a website. This makes it more condusive for individuals to find information they need. Another benefit of social bookmarking is that other people can locate sites another individual have saved. They can do this by knowing the link to the persons social bookmarking site or by doing a key word search. This is beneficial in that people are able to view sites others have bookmarked. They can communicate and gain insight from these other individuals who share a common interest with them. It is also easy to use and maintain social bookmarking sites. People just log on to their site and connect to the link in which they need. If they desire they can search for other information on that topic by just doing a keyword search. Social Bookmarking is another way the web is making it is easy for individuals to manage all the information out their in the world and stay connected.

Connections: I was able to connect to this reading because bookmarking sites is something that I do all the time. I bookmark sites that I frequently visit or that I feel that are important to a task I am trying to complete at that time. I had never heard of social bookmarking before reading this article so the information was new to me, but very exciting. I think that a social bookmarking site is something that I would frequently use if I had one. An example of how social bookmarking would be beneficial to me is that I constantly refer to the CD 315 website to refer back to my assignments for the week. I have not memorized the website (although I should because I use it so much) and this website is only bookmarked on my home computer. Many times I do work in the library so, everytime I want to find the CD 315 website I have to do a google search for “cd 315″ and then bring up the site that way. If I had a social bookmarking site I would be able to go right to the site.

I have not read any other texts specifically about social bookmarking so I am unable to make a connection with any other texts on actual social bookmarking, but I can make a connection with other texts on what social bookmarking allows people to do. I have read a lot of information recently on tools on the web that help people connect and collaborate on information. Right now in this technological age there are so many new tools being designed and created on the web. The web is making information more accessible to people and also making people more accessible to each other. Many of the tools on the web are changing how we look at, locate, and discuss information. Social bookmarking is just another example of one of these tools.

Social Bookmarking would be very benefitial to me as a future SLP in that I could use a social bookmarking site if I was collaborating with other SLP’s on research. This would make all the information readily accessible to all the people involved in the research. I would be able to see sites in which they found pertinent to our topic of research and they would be able to see mine. I could also use it with clients. I could direct parents to my social bookmarking site and have them click on sites that I feel would help them better understand their disorder or a family members disorder. This would be benefitial to the client because they wouldn’t have to do as much research on their own and worry about recieving false information on the web. Since I directed them to the site I would make sure that the information there was valid and reliable.