Educational Tech Blogs with Cody Grace

This final blog post will be about case studies located on pages 229-244 in the book “The Global Educator” by Julie Lindsay. inside the pages of 229 and 244 are lists of case studies that explain and explore opportunities for professional collaboration and learning, in these case studies they include either online or virtual courses, conferences, and face to face events, also listed in these case studies is the leaders and activists that lead these collaborations. These case studies show that online and virtual collaboration is possible and can affect the people who participate in them positively.

These pages also include links to these leaders blogs and their twitters so that if the reader is interested they may follow and ask questions to these knowledgeable collaborators.

P.S – Want to follow a beginning tech blogger well than follow me on Twitter: @Cody__Grace

To begin I would like to have some history on the creation of Virtual Reality and what it is. VR or virtual reality which has dated back all the way to 1957 and was devised by Morton Heilig, and known as the ‘Sensorama’. and the improvements of virtual reality throughout the years can be read and watched at these links.

Virtual Reality History-

https://www.vrs.org.uk/virtual-reality/beginning.html

What is virtual reality-

This blog is about virtual reality and its’ connection with global collaboration. Gear VR which is a virtual reality head-mounted display mount developed by Samsung Electronics and is compatible with applications like Google expeditions, Google Earth Tours, Google Lit Trips just to name a few. But the real question is, is Gear VR capable of producing the same knowledge gathering and project creation that other global collaboration tools provide and the answer is yes. While some ways of global collaboration involve computer screens and seeing things through said screens, passing knowledge through speech, reading books and articles, VR is considered the tool to bring all these together and also bring you places you can not go and also to times in history we can not humanly go while being anywhere in the world.

VR can be an improvement to global collaboration for example children in the USA are trying to collaborate with kids in China on a project on the Great Wall but most kids from the USA have never even left there town rather the country to visit the site but with VR these kids can sit in the comfy classroom and see the wall as if they had teleported across the globe.

Here is part of a lesson plan and also a quiz I found interesting located on nuskool.com-

http://www.nuskool.com/learn/lesson/virtual-reality/

P.S – Want to follow a beginning tech blogger well than follow me on Twitter: @Cody__Grace

While exploring the apps that Google provides for its users I took a keen eye to Google Slides and its timeline making ability. Timelines by definition are graphic representations of the passage of time as a line. These events of time can be big or small and can definitely help you keep track of important dates while learning about specific events and even peoples lives.

I decided to make a quick timeline story of how my Mondays look starting at 3:30 pm with my first class and listing the times at which classes end and start all the way up to the end of the day and the end of my last class at 10 pm. Using the timelines offered by Google Slides the process was simple and very customizable with a lot of colors and type choices. The link to my timeline is posted below.

-My Timeline created using google slides.

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1BIX92bw6mBUrO53EPB1zF6oyjp0Rltna8lLPhuDCw0M/edit?usp=sharing

-Want to learn how to make your own timeline? watch this video.

P.S – Want to follow a beginning tech blogger well than follow me on Twitter: @Cody__Grace

While visiting the Out of Eden Walk site located at this link https://www.nationalgeographic.org/projects/out-of-eden-walk/ I took about three good points that I found while exploring the site.

The first point I found that makes this a good site is the division of chapters and picture points on the map based on regions and locations, it helps to scroll and find specific points in the walk without having to go back through each and every point over and over again.

Second, the photos that are displayed for each point in the walk show how diversified and different the cultures Paul Salopek saw and is seeing on his 21,000-mile journey.

Lastly, “Slow Down, Find Humanity” as the site puts it. This walk adds a new perspective on the world just Salopek deciding to just walk 21,000 miles as he would follow the footsteps of the ancestors who traveled the world by foot before him and by doing this he would rediscover the world and show us the viewers how much is history and culture is missed in this technology expansive world.

P.S – Want to follow a beginning tech blogger well than follow me on Twitter: @Cody__Grace

Many global collaborations fail because of two things one is not being prepared. Being prepared is one of the most important things to global collaboration, some objectives to being prepared are having a plan for connection, this can be achieved from the following actions using PLN and PLC to find partners in global collaboration and work out time zone differences, determine the tools you will use to connect this could be through apps like Twitter, remind, google hangouts etc. test these tools beforehand so that you can have access to these anywhere you go. Another objective to being prepared is determining how you will communicate, work with your collaborators to find ways to communicate and what tools and programs will be used also discuss what communication activities to have like synchronous meetups, asynchronous meetups, and determine the expectations for these communications.

The other reason many global collaborations fail is that these collaborations do not have a purpose some typical purposes of collaborations are as followed; cultural exchanges, inquiry, and exploration into topics, global projects, shared outcomes, and lastly artifact exchange or co-creation. These two reasons are just some of the many reasons global collaborations fail there are many other reasons but these two I feel have the most importance.

Ever wonder what a world without global collaboration would look like? Watch this video.

P.S – Want to follow a beginning tech blogger well than follow me on Twitter: @Cody__Grace

During this week I used a service called Google My Maps which is a service launched by Google in April 2007 that enables users to create custom maps for personal use or sharing. Users can customize each map by adding points, lines, and shapes on top of the maps. I personally believe this service is a great tool and can be used during many geography and historical classes or events. This service also creates an opportunity to make assignments for students that involve this service. An example would of an assignment would be: Students being taught about Washington D.C and the historical sites but live in California. The students could use Google My Maps to view each site as if they were there in person and also they can create a detailed map of all the sites. In conclusion this site is one of the better sites for mapping and is always on top of the recommendation list!

This is a tutorial on how to use Google My Maps:

This is a link to the Google My Maps service:

https://www.google.com/mymaps

P.S – Want to follow a beginning tech blogger well than follow me on Twitter: @Cody__Grace

What is a Personal Learning Network? Well thanks for asking or not, A Personal Learning Network codename PLN is best defined in the words of Dori Digenti she states that a “PLN consists of relationships between individuals where the goal is enhancement of mutual learning. The currency of the PLN is learning in the form of feedback, insights, documentation, new contacts, or new business opportunities. It is based on reciprocity and a level of trust that each party is actively seeking value-added information for the other.” So in more easier to understand language a PLN can be a platform were you connect with other people and share feedback and personal knowledge, thoughts and opinions towards a work or topic.

creating a PLN is very simple but daunting task as it does take some time and work but in the long run it can create a very powerful base for finding knowledge and spreading knowledge. One of the first steps to creating a PLN is making connections these connects can be formed on platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, blogs, Google+ communities anywhere people can connect and share. The second step is learning the power and the features of these platforms like how your posts are viewed, how can you edit your posts, and also how to add awesome content for your following to enjoy and absorb. The third step is incorporating hashtags and using them. Hashtags can be a very powerful tool in building a PLN because using a hashtag encircles all the knowledge around your hashtags topic for example if I used the hashtag #Edu I would most likely find information based on education based on my tag this works for almost everything. The fourth step is create a blog to help give your platform a base use a blog to express bigger ideas and thoughts you have on certain topics these create a larger place to house your knowledge that those little post boxes with maxed out word count can not handle. The fifth step is creating time to build your PLN using posts, hashtags, and connections build your PLN to expand your knowledge and learn things that can help improve you in your line of work this step is the most important of all because if you do not spend the time to expand your PLN you may miss out on valuable information.

Wanna watch a visual on how to create a PLN watch this short video!

P.S – Want to follow a beginning tech blogger well than follow me on Twitter: @Cody__Grace

Have you ever watched a movie not in your native language, while watching did you notice changes in the cultural aspects of the characters and the settings, did you see similarity to your culture and did you see what was different, what about physical surroundings, social cues, cultural influences, economic situations, and politics?

Well this weekend I decided to watch Pan’s labyrinth in Spanish it translate to El Laberinto del fauno, or The labyrinth of the Faun in English. The film is a 2006 Spanish dark fantasy drama which is directed by Guillermo Del Toro and is presented in the language Spanish with English subtitles. While watching I kept note on the differences and similarities. To start let me give a quick rundown of the plot. The story takes place in Spain, 1944, where the main character Ofelia has a new stepfather, the Falangist Captain Vidal, who hunts the Spanish Marquis who fight against the Francoist regime while Ofelia’s pregnant mother Carmen grows increasingly ill. While this is going on Ofelia meets several strange and magical creatures who become important to her story, leading her through the trials of an old labyrinth. Now that I have discussed the plot lets start with the cultural aspects of the characters and the setting, with the movie being set in 1944 it has a strong male dominance present which represents how most of the world worked back then. Also it shows Ofelia as a young girl who wants to just play outside and explore nature showing off how less technology was involved in the world during the 1940s compared to today. They traveled by car in the movie which has not changed a whole lot in the present day. They did not really eat staple foods in the movie since they were placed in a cabin located in the woods  this is because Carmen and Ofelia moved to live with Captain Vidal who’s military post keep him in seclusion. For the surroundings in the movie It was very floral since it was a large forest in Spain which had the people and troops cut off from outside sources. The economic and politic situation in the movie is pretty bad since the country is at a type of rebellion or civil war deriving the country of unity and making the central government use funds to fight a war within themselves. These are just some of the differences I saw while watching this movie If you are interested in viewing or researching what this movie is all about I will have two links posted below!

This link is to a trailer to the movie!

This link is to the movie on Netflix!

https://www.netflix.com/watch/70050507?trackId=13752289&tctx=0%2C0%2Cb8aff4e60c0c29036db78734169e3e2bb0075e6f%3A0716df003dc7051fa03dc26b9f0d3ff787c9f928%2C%2C

P.S – Want to follow a beginning tech blogger well than follow me on Twitter: @Cody__Grace

This picture explains the experience I have had on Twitter so far in class GEN2108 at Stockton University. The picture represents the absorbing  of knowledge or the transfer of knowledge from one person or a group to another person or group.  I think that Twitter is a dynamite box of knowledge formed by the many users that just needs the right spark to be unleashed. The conversations I have had on Twitter have affected the way I think immensely in the way that I am more accepting of people’s ideas and can combine these ideas with mine all while I communicate with them and others. Though I have not learned anything significant on Twitter I have hopes and am certain that with time and the right connections that it is just a matter of time and I will be able to use the significant knowledge learned in the classroom. In the time I have been on twitter I have participated in two Twitter chats during these chats I have met some wonderful people and had some great conversations all while spreading the knowledge I know and learning things that I did not know from experienced people. In all my experience on twitter has been short but in the short time I have had communication and idea sharing since the first login and the “sky’s the limit” per say when it comes to social media and the knowledge you can earn from the connections.

Are you a beginner to twitter watch this tutorial!

P.S – Want to follow a beginning tech blogger well than follow me on Twitter: @Cody__Grace