MUVES+and+Professional+Development.

Learning Community Assignment Week 5 Kathy Ramsey [|www.cited.org] was a hit when I googled multi-user virtual environments training. It has information on UDLs and learning with multimedia agents. It also has quick links to learning history and math with virtual manipulatives. There are other links to learning with computer games and simulations, learning to read with multimedia materials, learning a second language with multimedia materials, using multimedia tools to help students learn science, multimedia instruction for students who are deaf, multimedia instructions of social skills, multimedia geography instruction, and multi-user virtual environments for education. The River City Research Project is funded by the National Science Foundation, we have developed an interactive computer simulation for middle grades science students to learn scientific inquiry and 21st century skills. River City has the look and feel of a videogame but contains content developed from National Science Education Standards, National Educational Technology Standards, and 21st Century Skills. MITAR Games  The MIT Teacher Education Program, in conjunction with The Education Arcade, has been working on creating "Augmented Reality" simulations to engage people in simulation games that combine real world experiences with additional information supplied to them by handheld computers. The first of these games, Environmental Detectives (ED), is an outdoor game in which players using GPS guided handheld computers try to uncover the source of a toxic spill by interviewing virtual characters and conducting large scale simulated environmental measurements and analyzing data. This game has been run at three sites, including MIT, a nearby nature center, and a local high school. Early research has shown that this mode of learning is successful in engaging university and secondary school students in large scale environmental engineering studies, and providing an authentic mode of scientific investigation. Retrieved from http://education.mit.edu/projects/mitar-games
 * MUVES and Professional Development**
 * Epistemic games are computer games that can help players learn to think like engineers, urban planners, journalists, lawyers, and other innovative professionals, giving them the tools they need for a changing world.**
 * In epistemic games, players see what it is like to live in the world of adults. They learn ways of thinking that matter in the digital age, and have a chance to imagine the kind of person they might someday become.**

Land Science
extends the game Urban Science. In Land Science, players become interns at the office of a fictitious urban and regional planning firm. Players weigh the trade-offs of land use decisions in ecologically-sensitive areas, interact with virtual stakeholders and use iPlan, a custom-designed Geographic Information System, to develop land use plans for local and national sites. ||
 * || __ [|Land Science] __

Nephrotex

 * || In [|Nephrotex], undergraduate engineering students role-play as professional engineers-in-training in order to develop the skills, knowledge, identity and values of engineers. ||

Urban Science

 * || In [|Urban Science], players engage in the professional practices of urban planning and learn how to become ecological thinkers in the process. They work together to tackle the urban issues that face their city, using iPlan, a Geographic Information System (GIS) tool that helps them develop a comprehensive plan for their community. ||

Journalism.net

 * || In [|Journalism.net], players become reporters working for an online newsmagazine. Working with professional journalists and interviewing community leaders, these young reporters learn about how journalists think about news and its important relationship to the community. ||

Science.net

 * || In [|Science.net], our latest and best-developed Journalism.net game, players become science reporters. Working with professional journalists and interviewing local scientists, these young reporters learn about how journalists think about scientific issues and their important relationship to the community ||

Digital Zoo

 * || In [|Digital Zoo], players become biomechanical engineers. Using Sodaconstructor, a sophisticated physics simulation, they design wire-frame character prototypes for an upcoming animated film. Players meet with clients and engineering experts, and present their work, developing real-world skills while learning concepts in science and engineering. ||

The Pandora Project

 * || In [|The Pandora Project], players become high-powered negotiators, deciding the fate of a real medical controversy: the ethics of transplanting organs from animals into humans. Along the way, they learn about biology, international relations, and mediation. ||

Escher’s World
Retrieved from [] Another website worth checking out is []. It is full of resources on multi-user virtual learning. Matt Maier to Kathy Ramsey
 * || In [|Escher’s World], players become graphic artists and create an exhibit of mathematical art in the style of M.C. Escher. Based on an architectural design studio, the game helps players learn to think like designers about geometry and graphic art.
 * My advice:**
 * How could you use the MUVE- and the resources you find-to engage colleagues (local and remote) in professional development workshops? You can use the information by educating yourself first. Then create multiple examples to use in different core subjects. Present the examples to colleagues and administrators to see if they would see the same benefit that you do in utilizing this kind of learning in the classroom. Once they see the significance of including it in their curriculums, create a professional development workshop to train them.** ||

You have a great list of virtual learning aides. One of the greater challenges I have seen in using MUVEs would be the tedious housekeeping chores. For example, I wonder how many of my students are going to be able to create and account, an avatar, and know how to navigate the site. I like the possibilities there are with sites such as Second Life, but until they simplify the process of using one, I am not so sure it will do my students much good. Colleagues on the other hand could become a large market. I can envision group meeting and discussions being held online. For that reason I am hopeful that MUVEs will become more streamlined so that they can be used just as effectively in teaching and learning situations.

In the [|ActiveWorlds website], there is an active worlds educational university. This university's purpose is to explore the application of Active World. To participate there is a fee, however the educational fee is discounted. There are a number of universities that participate in this university to provide ways in which this tool can be implemented. [|list of participants]: Within the site, there is a tutorial and a tour present for new members of the ActiveWorld community. If teachers or students are interested in implementing or participating, this would be a good place to start.
 * Keri Bara**

In SecondLife there is a group called "Real Life Education in Second Life" which allows educators to discuss their implementation and gain ideas. Every Tuesday there is a Virtual World Roundable event where educators can chat about their application. Information about these meetings can be found at their Facebook page :Virtual Worlds Education Roudtable. Like ActiveWorld, there is a list of institutions that contribute in the second life world. There are Universities, national organizations, libraries and museums. There are courses that students can take within second life including typography and modern Japanese. [|SimTeach] is a site used to educate teachers on application of Second LIfe. This site provides a SecondLIfe wiki, a Youtube video, blog, forum, and link to Second Life. This site provides support for teachers implementing and encourages teachers that are interested to begin implementation.

After discussing Second Life with my technology team, only one person knew of it's existence. I explained what Second Life was using the Great Barrier Reef example provided on the site. I told my facilitators that during Shark Week, students were able to virtually swim through the Great Barrier Reefs learning of aquatic animals. They seemed excited to learn more. At this point I do not feel like I would be a strong advocate for this tool because I have not been able to find the educational courses on the sites. I would encourage my team as a group to explore these sites further or perhaps use professional development money to sign up for a course. Further motivation and education on these programs would need to be a group effort so we can learn together and discuss implementation.

__LaVanway to Keri,__ Like you, when I brought up Second Life and MUVE's with my peers they were in the dark (so to speak). After exploring the sites and sharing links some were amazed at the future potential these tools offer. In addition ot the use of the sites in the future, I believe that we will continue to find new ways to incorporate wiki's, blogs, and course management systems to better expand student learning outside the classroom. As the students grow in their proficiency of social networks and learn to collaborate on projects they may learn to seek the support that MUVE's offer. Like you I enjoy Second Life but at this time there seems little use for our lower elementary classrooms. I also explored the SimTech site you linked above and thought it was a great resource as well. For more sharing options to peers on Second Life, I would suggest running some YouTube videos for staff members. There as so many good ones out there. Thanks for you input above and good luck in your future teaching endevours.

__** LaVanway MUVE and Professional Development Summary **__ While I feel that Second Life is beyond the grade level of the students I currently teach, it was the one that seemed the most exciting and I would see as a step in the evolution of online teaching. Within Second Life an interesting resource is the Discovery Education Network (DEN). Most of the information gleaned was through blogs of current users. One of the best ways to learn a new technology is by reading what current users think and learning from the mistakes they’ve made. Blogs are a great way to interact with peers and discover new avenues to use, troubleshoot, and develop MUVE avatars and spaces. Second Life also has a section of videos that are useful when learning about the online tool and can be found at: []. Other videos (for those who wish to see versus read) can be found by searching Second Life Tutorials at [|https://youtube.com]. Then Second Life also has Twitter and Facebook links to keep up with the ever changing and expanding potential of this MUVE.

A good website offering support, training, and tutorials for MUVE’s (in general) is the Open Habitat found at [|http://openhabitat.org]. While the vast majority of MUVE development still focuses on gaming this site offers suggestions for educational uses.

When considering my own class, third graders, and seeking MUVE support for classroom inclusion the BrainNook site at [|http://brainnook.com] was one of the best I found. Because of the vast number if English and Math “games” available, I think my students would find several options to make personal choices about their learning activities. In the classroom we now have netbooks available to check out and use and setting up personal users for each student would be fairly simple. My apprehensions about online predators with an “older and more adult site” like Second Life are minimized through the use of this online tool. I think that students will enjoy unlocking and exploring on their level and at their pace, while still strengthening English and Math skills. Again, blogs, wiki’s, teacher’s users’ guides, twitter, and facebook make learning of the site, and collaboration quick and easy.

As far as the idea of engaging colleagues in MUVE my opinion is that they must first be open to the idea of collaborating on technology inclusion in their current learning environments. Then by exposing them to sites and allowing them time to first explore on their own, they may come to the conclusion that this is the way of the future and the options available will be as vast as the internet is today. We now use Google Docs and can easily share links to sites of interest and wiki’s to explore and I would post links to these resources there for their perusal. Finally, to expand professional development in the district, there are two “movers and shakers” that must be on board, our curriculum director and our technology advisor. Without speedy technology, using MUVE in a classroom may be a mute point from the beginning.

From Kathy to Lance: Thank you for sharing the websites listed above. I think that the MUVE's are definitely for the upper grade levels. Some look so complicated. I am the type of person who wants someone to show them how things are done and not figure out on their own. I have little patience for some of the technology tools. I think that will be my obstacle as well as just getting the technology equipment in my music room. Times are tough, and people don't like change. However, I think that technology is not going away, and my eyes have really been opened up with some of the things that we have covered throughout this course. Good luck in your last few weeks.

__**Maier MUVE and Professional Development Response for Learning Community**__ Using MUVEs has been something I have had very little experience with. Exploring them for myself made me realize I have a whole lot to still learn in regards to the opportunities that are out there for today's teachers and students. Of the MUVEs that I looked at I felt that Secondlife was the most versatile. I would base part of that on the assumption that because of its popularity it has a larger base of users, which means a larger list of practical uses. Like Lance, I have found it difficult to envision how my second grade students would make the most of using a virtual environment such as Secondlife. I found that [] offers a great guide to MUVEs and why they may serve as a powerful tool in the educational realm. The other MUVE site that I took a look at was suggested to me by a member of our class. The site is found at [|http://www.miamiopia.com]. Granted the site is set up as a learning community for younger students and would not be of great service to educators, but I was glad to find something that would be at the level of my younger students. The miamiopia site allows students to create their own avatar, become a part of a make-believe world, and advance through the world by engaging in learning activities.

In second life there is a group created by ISTE. It is the ISTE island, with information about it found at []. The group serves as a venue for educators to talk about opportunities that arise in teaching as well as sharing best practices with each other.

One other helpful site was found at []. The site provides a list of useful second life resources for teachers. Many of these resources are second life locations that would be of worth to a teacher using second life as a learning extension. There was a video embedded in the site that also made mention of other emerging technologies that are making a difference in schools.

Incorporating a MUVE in the teaching and learning that is taking place at my school would be a challenge on three fronts. First, it would be challenging to make use of such a tool because of the lack of adequate technology that we have. Secondly, time is a huge factor in determining what can and cannot be done. Like all teachers, I have to weigh my options and make judgments about what is most important to be covered and what is going to have to be passed on. I am not so sure using MUVEs is going to beat out many of the other areas that I need to address in teaching my students. Thirdly, I am not so sure that my students and staff would have the basic knowledge that is necessary to interact on a site such as second life. I strongly believe that from a technology standpoint, my job as a teacher of young students is to give my students the basic skills necessary for growing their 21st century skill base. If I can provide opportunities beyond the basics, then that is something to celebrate and feel good about. I think teachers would see the strengths of a tool, but most of them would not be able to see themselves tapping into such a tool.

Emily Million: [] Revolution: This is a site that is an American Revolution-themed role-playing game. This would be a great tool in the classroom as students are asked to interact with other “townspeople” and live the life as someone would have in 1775.

[] Labyrinth: This site is an online puzzle designed to promote math and literacy learning. It is for middle school students, with a pre-algebra emphasis.

[] Quest Atlantis: for students ages 9-12. There is teacher support options in the form of pdfs which have standards and lesson plans to do in the classroom along with the MUVE.

I could show other teachers how many standards are touched upon by doing these MUVEs and how engaged students could be in interacting online. Literacy is increased as they communicate with other students their age in problem solving quests. To stay abreast of the latest technology, there is the weblog, []

Tania Rodriguez:

I do not know about you all, but had a real difficult time finding online training or workshops in the MUVE. However, I did find this website called Open Habitat. They offer an abundance of information and some examples of how MUVEs can be used in teaching and learning.

http://openhabitat.org/

http://www.educause.edu/ Is a network that I believe everyone should add to their Bookmarks or Delicious. It will keep up-to-date of new and emerging technologies and they also have webinars, professional development conferences and important research and articles as well as blogs to stay connected.