Ko and Rossen mentioned the virtual learning
environment in chapter 6. Since I raised a question about Second Life in last
week’s post, I am quite interested in their ideas about this issue. They stated
that “Despite great strides in the development of such software, virtual-world
software still presents a fairly steep learning curve for the majority of
instructors to perform even simple tasks and for many students as well”. This
is truly the reality of Second Life in education. We have to admit that more
and more educators have started their experiments of integrating Second Life
into instruction. Researchers have also conducted many research projects about
Second Life. However, as “the most widely known program for virtual-world
educational use”, Second Life still has a long way to go. There are many
instructional issues and problems that need to explore.
On the contrary, using social networking tools
in education is no longer a new topic for most of the educators. It is still a hot
and controversial topic as well. In my opinion, if instructors can use these
social networking tools appropriately and effectively, they will see the benefits
these tools bring to their classrooms (no matter face-to-face, hybrid or
online). But if instructors misuse them or even lose control of them, the
consequences could be serious sometimes. Thus instructors should be very
cautious and make detailed plans if they decide to use social networking tools.
It’s a pity that Ko and Rossen didn’t talk much about this issue. Although I am
not a big fan of Facebook, I did a web search about its usage in classroom. I
found some practical tips for instructors who plan to use Facebook and I would
like share them with you. Here are the URLs:
Social Media & Education: Using
Facebook for Teaching:
30 Important Rules for Professors on
Facebook:
Facebook and Your Online Course – 10
Resources for Faculty:
Hi Zhetao, An interesting post! I think social media are an interesting path as well. I wondered what you meant by misusing them or losing control of them. Thanks for the good resources! Interesting links with good information!
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