Virtual reality is more real than you think. Who hasn’t heard of those cool goggles that lets you play video games and feel like you’re in a real-life scenario? For years, this market has been dedicated to gaming, but virtual and augmented realities are being taken to the next level. Virtual reality is a useful tool, and perhaps even a “productive enhancement to human interaction, bringing together people from around the world to engage and interact – regardless of social, economic, or geographic disparities” (TechCrunch). Virtual reality programs have been providing immersive experiences to military workers, astrologists, geologists, anatomists, biologists, etc. You might even know of some virtual reality apps yourself, and this technology hasn’t even reached its peak. How often have you considered the role that virtual technologies can play in education? According to TechCrunch, statistics on virtual reality use in K-12 school have not yet been gathered, however “the steady growth of the market is reflected in the surge of companies solely dedicated to providing schools with packaged educational curriculum and content, teacher training, and technological tools to support VR-based instruction in the classroom.” Virtual reality technologies can provide low-cost, low-risk, and effective methods of teaching. With virtual reality, not only can your students learn about science, language, history, geography, sociology, health, physical education, the arts, etc. but they can experience it. Thinglink offers students to take a trip to different countries and learn about places like the French Alps, archipelago of northern Australia and the Norwegian tundra. Not only can students look out onto the landscape, but they can spot additional links and unlock extra information. Titans of Space aims to give students a thorough idea of how each planet is positioned in our solar system by taking them on a virtual tour around our planets and earth. Egyptian Mysteries is a game that teaches students about ancient Egypt, and who doesn’t love a quest-based game?
Just think about the field trips you can go on without stepping foot outside of your classroom (check out the Digital Human Library for easy, free, and exciting virtual opportunities – go to my INTERNSHIP page for more information!), the tools that will make assessment a breeze, taking tours of the human body and its inner systems, providing meditation and stress management, social and emotional learning, using applications that will benefit students with special education applications, teaching your students about teambuilding, and even assisting your students with practicing presentations. Really, if you can think about it, there’s probably an app for that. And if there isn’t, maybe you could make the education system stronger by suggesting it. If you’re feeling uneasy about how to integrate virtual reality into your classroom, here are some resources to help: EdTech4Beginners teaches 10 simple ways to use Google Cardboard in your classroom NZPetTeacher teaches how to use Google Cardboard in PE And FortuneTech will tell you about schools that are already implementing virtual realities into their classroom Now, I’m no expert, but I do know that the possibilities are endless. Virtual reality is at the cusp of education, which is all the more reason to join me and the hundreds of thousands of other teachers in learning about how we can incorporate it into our lessons. We’ve got nothing to lose and everything to gain. Let’s explore.
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Although the concept seems so clean-cut and simple, I continue to ask myself: What exactly is digital citizenship? It has been explained to me time and time again, but for some reason I’ve never been able to pinpoint what it really means. Just by looking at the name one can assume that it follows the same or similar values to being a respectable citizen in general, however, I needed to take a deeper look so that I could not only solidify my understanding of it, but also, eventually, my students’ understandings of it too. According to Silvia Rosenthal Tolisano, digital citizenship is “the quality of habits, actions, and consumption patterns that impact the ecology of digital content and communities” (Digital Citizenship and Documenting Learning). Simply put, it is the bare bones of being respectful and responsible when it comes to using technology. Just as much as we should be teaching our students to respect one another, we should be teaching them how how to use technology appropriately. Digital Citizenship is both a teaching tool as much as it prepares our students for an unavoidably technological society. To break it down simply, there are nine elements of digital citizenship: Each one of these elements makes for a responsible and respectful digital citizen. While a topic like this may be perceived as dry and possibly even boring by your students, websites like CommonSenseEducation have fantastic resources such as cross-curricular lesson plans and interactive games to help young students become aware of issues such as cyberbullying, privacy, safety, etiquette, etc. in fun and engaging ways. As most young children use technology daily without understanding the consequences of operating such tools, it is important to bring digital citizenship into the primary classroom. Smart phones and tablets have become ubiquitous: “schools are shifting to a BYOD (bring your own device) as a main move for tech integration in the classroom” (EdTechReview), so students it’s only natural that questions regarding digital etiquette are on educators minds. In the 21st century, everyone has access to technology, but not everyone uses it properly. And, since technology is an intimate part of our lives, teaching digital citizenship should be the first step when integrating technology into the classroom. Sometimes we seem to be at a crossroad because as dangerous and immeasurable as digital technologies can be, it also provides us and our students with previously unimaginable ways to collaborate, communicate, connect, and learn together. Digital dilemmas are challenging for schools, teachers, and parents, and they are almost impossible to avert. So, while it might be tempting to just avoid using technology in general, we are stronger with - than without - incorporating digital tools into our practices. If we can embed awareness of digital citizenship in our youngest of students, then we have a better chance of preventing issues that will inevitably arise in the future. As teachers, young and old, veterans and rookies, we need to make sure that our students have all of the resources they need in order to function as responsible and respectful digital citizens. It is important for teachers like you and me to teach to and with the “vice” itself. If we have been taught to use it properly, we can teach it to our students, too. If you, like me, did not understand what digital citizenship was, I hope that this post has helped. As a learner myself, I will continue to find ways to make learning about digital citizenship interactive and engaging in my classroom. I am already on the hunt for minds-on videos (both for my own learning and for my students) and websites that I can use to further my learning and teach my students in a way that they will be impacted positively. |
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A life-long learner. Archives
February 2017
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