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Title: “I’m Cloud Confused”

Author: Andy Harjanto, Founder of Gestone.com

After viewing this slideshare presentation on cloud computing I feel that I understand the concept better.  Cloud computing is the process in which companies transfer data to a private company who manages a large database known as a cloud that houses information and keeps it safe while making it accessible from many different locations.  Some companies that offer this cloud computing hosting include Windows Azure Platform, Amazon web services, and Google app engine. 

The cloud computing connects a variety of users to the company’s information including employees, customers, and suppliers.  The storage of information is rented on a pay as you go basis.  This eliminates unnecessary costs for businesses trying to host their own server and also allows a company to grow with increased information that can be saved.  Cloud computing basically offers an unlimited amount of storage and it can be accessible by either personal computer or mobile devices making it very versatile for the changing company in today’s society.

Article Information

Virtual World Affordances:

So Ra Park, Fiona Fui-Hoon Nah, David DeWester, Brenda Eschenbrenner –

Selection of Article

I selected this article because I thought it was interesting that companies can use virtual worlds to enhance brand value.  Establishing brand value is extremely important for businesses and if they can effectively do this in virtual communities it would be much cheaper than traditional media to convey the same image.  This would be a valuable skill that I could teach to my students or use for myself personally if I choose to go into the business sector.

Summary of the article

The question that the researcher’s had to ask themselves in this study is that since the advent of virtual worlds a few years back there has not been much research done to study the effectiveness of building brand equity in these virtual world environments.  They wanted to find out how companies can build brand equity in this environment and create an interactive customer experience.

To discover how customers can become more engaged in the virtual world the researchers focused on a concept called “Flow” which users get into that engage them in the virtual world process.  “Flow” can be defined as the time when a user gets so involved in the activity they are taking part in they lose track of time because it is so fun and engaging.  The researcher’s looked at this flow model which has three components to help explain how businesses can build brand equity with their brand and products.  The “Flow” model is based on three criteria: control characteristics, content characteristics, and process characteristics. 

In order for a business to effectively build brand equity the researchers found that they must develop an interactive experience in the virtual world that requires users to have skill and overcome challenges.  This can be accomplished by learning how to navigate the virtual world and listen to instructive training programs that can teach users the basics of navigating the virtual world environment.  Customers must feel comfortable interacting in this type of environment to build any type of brand equity.

The second aspect that researchers discovered was that users must have interactivity and vividness in their experiences in the virtual world.  This can be solved through the formation of social networks, sporting events, concierge offices, and reactive objects that users can manipulate.  To make this seem more real it needs to be vivid through realistic objects, spatial 3D, realistic avatars, multimedia, and haptic feedback. 

The third aspect they focused on was extrinsic and intrinsic motivation in the users experience.  Monetary incentives, free trials, competitive events, exclusive membership, and exclusive ownership helped contribute in this area. 

Combining all three components helped build what researcher’s referred to as “Flow” which eventually leads to increased levels of brand equity.  Specific strategies that companies take knowing the research include the following:

• Give avatars in virtual worlds Linden Dollars to complete surveys (Extrinsic motivation)
• Give free trials to avatars such as HR Block’s Tango software (Extrinsic motivation)
• Provide games and contests that get avatars involved (Intrinsic motivation)
• Offer exclusive membership and ownership rights to customers on an island (Intrinsic motivation)

By enhancing the customer’s flow experiences while interacting in a business virtual world site customers are more likely to enjoy and interact in the experience and perceived brand equity will increase.

Business Education Classroom Application

In a marketing class it is important for marketers to build brand equity through proper positioning in the market.  For a class assignment the class could work with a local company and create a store in Second Life that focuses on implementing the characteristics that are needed for a “flow” state.  The class could invite other avatars to the virtual world store and offer incentives and games that increase the “Flow” state thus leading to increased brand equity and loyalty by the users.  The class could give a survey to customers asking them about their experience on Second Life and if they have not checked it out before give them an invitation.  After a period of a couple months see if this involvement has made a difference in the loyalty of customers.

Business Environment

Businesses can use this “Flow” state of mind and develop interactive pieces that help build brand equity for their business.  For instance, personal finance companies could have games in Second Life where avatars could invest Linden Dollars to see their return on investment.  If avatars feel they can receive a good return in a virtual environment there is no reason to believe that they would not like to try it out in real life and invest in that particular company. 

Opinion of Research

I can see the relevance of establishing a “Flow” state in people in order for anything to be effective in virtual worlds.  Customers need to feel engaged and they have to have fun in the process.  That is how companies build true brand loyalty and build their equity.

After reading appendix C in the book Web 2.0 New Tools, New Schools I learned of many valuable strategies of implementing technology into the business education classroom.  One is having a class wiki site where I can post important links to various business organizations that deal with what we are learning in class.  I can also put up podcasts on our class wiki for the students to listen to when they are traveling for sports or sitting at home after school.  These podcasts can be from professional speakers or a conversation that we had in class that day.  The wiki could include an agenda of what would be covered in the next week so that students could prepare and read up on the topic before coming to class. 

In order to facilitate good communication between parents and other teachers I could also have my own personal blog that they subscribe to via RSS feed.  This blog could list the upcoming events in my classroom and help me collaborate with other teachers once they know what topics will be covered.  This blog could be used as a weekly newsletter home for parents keeping them informed and at the same time providing the parents with valuable information they may find interesting.

A strength of this scenario given in the book is that communication and collaboration between different parties in the school is kept synchronous giving students, teachers, and administrators the awareness of what is going on.  A weakness of this scenario is that it may be time consuming to put all of the links onto a wiki and update it daily.  In addition, students may be distracted using their cell phones in school and not pay attention to the lesson being covered.  Parents who know exactly what is being covered in school might try to take over the classroom by suggesting different things to be covered. 

I think this scenario really brought about some good points of how to integrate this technology into a real classroom scenario.  I am looking forward to applying some of these strategies into my classroom.

After reading Chapter 9 about new schools in the future I definitely could see the direction that our educational system is heading towards.  I agree with the book that our educational system will move further towards being conducted online instead of a brick and mortar location.  With technology to aid our education we can customize our learning and provide resources that match with our learning styles.  When students have the choice of the resources to choose to learn a particular topic they will be more engaged in the learning process.  In addition, technology that can be found online can help track student achievement better than a physical teacher can and therefore it will enable students to progress based on their achievement levels rather than being dictated by their age.  This helps differentiate instruction and provides extra support for those that need help and provides challenging and fast paced curriculum for those students who are gifted. 

I was also very excited about the piece on modeling our educational system after video games.  Students definitely learn from experience while playing video games and there is no reason why we can’t design educational games to help teach our subjects.  Instead of completing assignments students strive to challenge themselves to reach the highest level of knowledge in that field and are rewarded with some type of incentive.  When students invest time into their levels they will come back to the game repeatedly.  In addition, they can customize their learning environment in a video game and these games can have all the answers readily available whereas a teacher may not. 

This is something to consider as a teacher because we may be working more as facilitators than lecturers in the future.  In the business realm these same principles could apply to work.  Employers could translate their work to emulate a video game and advancing to different stages based on their success with different rewards at each level instead of a salary and normal job tasks.  This would help motivate the millennial generation.

Every school district in the country faces issues on a daily basis.  Many of the pressing issues are in regards to providing an equitable education to all students regardless of their background or upbringing.  One way schools are trying to alleviate inequity is by using technology to help every student gain the most from their education.

According to chapter 8 in Web 2.0 New Tools, New Schools Limited English proficient students are the fast growing demographic in schools today.  By the year 2025 1 out of 4 students will be considered LEP.  Students that need to acquire a second language learn through meaningful interactions with the language in comparison to grammatical mastering.  In order to provide students with those meaningful interactions cooperative learning experiences are being set up using Web 2.0 tools.  A great resource for LEP students is an interactive CD game where they can listen, read, play games, work in pairs, and write on the computer in a safe environment. 

Podcasting was another big issue discussed in the chapter.  If teachers made their content available through podcasts students could access the content whenever they needed it or for further review and study.  In fact, it would be very neat to have a library full of compressed audio and video files for students to check out to aid in their learning. 

I would incorporate podcasting into my classroom by taping my lectures and posting them to the school website for students to download and listen to whenever it is convenient.  I also think authentic assignments are great and I would like to incorporate business simulation games for students to collaborate together on. 

Most of the business world is focused on teamwork and utilizing technology so it is important to emphasize those through simulations and podcasts in the classroom.  Our students learn best when we authentic our learning and provide the most current tools to aid our students.

Student safety and security should be the number one priority of any teacher who ever teaches in a school district.  This applies not only to physical safety in the classroom but also online safety on the computer.  Teachers today face a daunting task of educating students on safe and appropriate uses of technology and they are seeking assistance from their school administrators and IT support teams.

School districts who receive E-Rate funds are required to follow the Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA) which mandates that schools install filtering or blocking technology on every computer with Internet access.  As a teacher in the business education classroom this really limits the technology that we can apply for our learning.  Business is a global topic that incorporates current media more than any other subject being taught.  In fact, I recently taught a lesson on social media in a marketing class and it was rather difficult to get proper access for my students.  I can see the point of blocking sites to protect students, however, I believe there is a fine line and school districts may be preventing some forms of learning. 

On page 139 in the book it talked about how to avoid copyright issues.  The book talked about first creating and implementing a technology code of ethics and then reviewing it with the students, teachers, and parents.  Schools should also hire a technology manager to conduct audits and ensure that copyright use is being followed.  In addition, schools should teach ethical and legal behavior for this technology use.  I feel that copyright infringement is a very important issue for schools to handle.  Stealing is not appropriate in any form and I really feel students need extra guidance in this area of learning. 

The book also talked about a website called Think.com which allows teachers to design collaborative projects online that is restricted for only the educational community.  I believe this is a good strategy for schools to take in keeping students safe but yet taking advantage of new technology features that are available to students. 

Internet ethics and safety are important but the main priority of schools should be to teach how to use it responsibly.  Upon graduation students will have access to many things they did not have in high school.  This brings about huge temptations at both the collegiate level and on the job.  If students were denied access all these years without a proper education on why do you really think they will not use them once they do have access?  That is why as teachers we should not block everything but guide our students along and teach them appropriate use along the way.

I selected an article from the Journal of Online Learning and Teaching entitled “A case study of wiki’s effects on online transactional interactions” by Wen Hao David Huang from the University of Illinois.  I selected this article because I feel that wikis can be a very valuable tool in the online teaching process and I wanted to learn how to effectively implement one based on an actual case study finding. 

I learned from this article that wikis allow users to review and modify content synchrously and asyncrously creating a virtual online shared learning environment among students and the instructor.  A big determining factor in online learning effectiveness is what is referred to as “Transactional Distance” which is the perceived proximity with the instructor and students in a class.  High levels of dialog among students and the instructor and students to students decreases this “Transactional Distance.” 

 Wikis allow students to take part in dialogue, learn content, and have autonomy in how they construct products from their knowledge.  There are three basic types of interaction that occurs on wikis.  The first is the interaction between the learner and the content being presented in the course.  The second is the learner and teacher interaction.  The third and final interaction is between the students in the class.  High levels of learner-teacher and learner-learner interaction creates a satisfactory learning experience and therefore instructors should focus on the design of their class and collaboration techniques.  This communication with the instructor and peers contributes to higher level thinking skills and it allows users to co-create course structure leading to increased autonomy and problem solving skills. 

The benefit of wikis compared to other Web 2.0 formats is that they are organized by topics of interest rather than a chronological order format.  They are created using a large group of contributors and they integrate all the users input to form comprehensive documents.  Wikis also have a nice feature in that they save the time and date of posts along with user identifications.  Wikis can be private through a semi-open format that is great for classrooms.  Perhaps the biggest benefit of wikis is that they provide students with a format in which they can collaboratively solve problems at their own pace.  In the process they receive feedback, and construct a knowledge base on the topic being discussed. 

Some problems with wiki formats is that they tend to be very complicated for students in how they are set-up.  Students need to have a background in collaborative writing.  In addition, teacher-student interaction may diminish with a wiki in a classroom setting.  This was especially evident as the course went on throughout the semester.  Another problem is that students generally delegated tasks early on in the semester and did not bother to revisit this later on.  Reviewing and editing wikis also seemed to falter as the semester wore on possibly due to the students perceived lack of an ending to the assignment.  Therefore, when teachers design an online course implementing wikis they should encourage regular participation with grades. 

I learned a great deal from this article and plan on using the knowledge I have gained in creating my online learning community utilizing wikis.  Wikis can be a great format but teachers should also be aware of the inherent weaknesses present in them as well.

Author: Stephen Downes, Affiliation: Researcher at National Research Council of Canada

“The Future of Online Learning and Personal Learning Environments”

Online Learning has been around since its inception in 1995.  Today it is becoming a phenomenon because of all the different technologies now available to support its function.  Now we have access to open source applications and software including Moodle, WordPress, Firefox, and Audacity.  We also now have open educational resources including Wikipedia, and MIT’s OpenCourseWare program.  To support all of this growth there are new environments for this technology to be housed in including podcasts, vodcasts, YouTube, Slideshare, mobile phones, PDA’s, and the 3D web including second life.  Students also now have greater access to the Internet than ever before.  Many schools are adopting the one-to-one computing through a laptop program.  We also now have wireless capabilities through 3G technology for easy access everywhere. 

Online learning is all about immersing the person in the subject by learning by doing.  The computer helps connect the studnet to the rest of the world and the many discoveries awaiting them.  The neat thing about online learning is that it enables the learner to create their own media through blogs, podcasts, and game modifications.  The challenge to teachers in this environment is finding the right resource at the right time for the right person.  There is a new way to do this through a Recommender System in which the learner creates a profile about themselves and it provides resource evaluations based on that information. 

Networked learning helps facilitate personal learning as people are able to learn from others and at the same time provide their own information that they are knowledgeable about.  The big issue of online learning is to practice the skills that were learned and then reflect back on what you did.  Eventually the student will go through a process of looking at a model to be followed, practice that model, reflect on their practice, and then demonstrate through a project.  The model can be provided through case studies or experts at work.  Practice could be scaffolded practice, simulation, or job aids.  Reflection can be conducted through guided reflections, journaling, or online community discussion.  Online learning is really all about a guided practice that the instructor takes the student through as the student uses their creativity to solve a real world problem utilizing the skills that were demonstrated to them.

Leaders of our organizations today play a large role in role modeling for others and easing the adoption of new ideas.  Many school administrators who wish to implement more technology into the school district should start by demonstrating it themselves.  This can be accomplished by having a school wide blog that can be used to communicate to the public, teachers, and other support personnel.  Once teachers feel that the administrator is on board they are much more likely to adopt the new technology. 

Blogs are a very critical piece to implementing technology to facilitate good communication between the community, teachers, and students.  Blogs can replace email messages and they have syndication technology that automatically updates followers of any new information.  This would be very beneficial to teachers looking to post new assignments for students or to send an itinerary to parents for an upcoming field trip.

Blogs are especially important for school administrators because they are an effective and cost efficient medium in which to communicate with the public and garner support for upcoming events and issues the school may be facing.  In addition to blogging, open source software systems such as Linux are excellent additions for any school district.  They provide many of the same applications of commercial software for free. 

If your school district is still behind the times try conveying to your administrator the importance of these new Web 2.0 features.