Reflections on Second Life (Han Kiong)

With Second Life being similar to games like The Sims, I have naturally regarded and classified Second Life as a game. A search on google whether Second Life is a game yielded results with some saying that Second Life is a game and others strictly classifying it as a 3D-online virtual world. For me, Second Life has elements that both resemble and those that set it apart frm games. However, what is most important about Second Life is that it enables one to assume the role of avatars and do stuffs that may not be possible in real life as well as creation of worlds that are mimics real-life environments.

The prevalence of digital technologies has resulted in students being now labelled as digital natives and this meant that they could well be interested and involved in Second Life. There will be implications for education. Second Life could well be a platform where educational learning could take place. The increasing use of Second Life by many educational institutions provide evidence for its practicality for teaching and learning.

The video introduces some ways in which Second Life can be used in the teaching of many subjects ranging from history, literature and science. Teachers can get students to be responsible for their own learning and thus do away with direct lecturing and bring about student centric and meaningful learning. Students can travel long distances within the virtual world and get to go to places where they could never travel to in the real world. The video also talks about students being visual and audio learners and Second Life caters to learning needs of these students.

While it may seem that the advantages are plentiful, we will have to consider the limitations and potential dangers of Second Life as well. Second Life may expose students to adult content which they are not ready for at such a tender age. Fortunately, restrictions placed on access to such materials have effectively averted potential risks and averse effects. Furthermore, as students spend more time assuming roles of avatar, they may get addicted and may eventually get disengaged from the real world. Their interpersonal relationships may suffer making them unable to adapt to real life.

When it comes to implementation of Second Life in schools, teachers may be unprepared to integrate them in their classrooms as it may involve some technological knowledge on how to set up and operate Second Life. This will then bring about relevance to the lesson as teachers may be more focused on the technology and less on the subject content. As for me, I am reluctant to integrate Second Life in my lessons as I feel that my lack of know-hows of Second Life will outweigh the benefits that it will have on enhancing learning in students.

ICT reflection

Second life provides a good platform for learning. In this video, it focused more on training and simulations. SL allows trainees to try again and again. It is very interactive and in the video,it provides evidence that SL can promote teamwork and leadership building. SL is good for distant learning where trainees do not need to be physically there. SL can also promote soft sills and hard skills since role playing can be done as a form of learning.

From what I have seen and heard, I think SL has the opportunity to be a good platform for educational learning. Students are able to be present in the virtual world and gain knowledge from it.

However, I am doubtful over many things. Some of it I find disturbing.I am looking from the psychological aspect of the child's development. Firstly, the world is virtual. The virtual you could be different from the real you. What if the students suffer from split personality? They feel more confident in the real world but they are unsure about themselves in the real world. Secondly, I have never heard about Second life until now. The thing is, from my experience, none of my students ever mentioned SL. I have heard them talking about facebook, friendster, blog, twitter but I have never heard of them being excited over SL. Therefore, if I were to introduce to them SL and they started to get addicted to it and started to meet the strangers online, will I be responsible for it then?

Also, there are many technological barrier to this. I am no IT expert. So it will take alot of time and effort to come up with lesson plans that involve SL. Is it worth it? So I think I shall not pursue SL. I shall pursue other alternatives to traditional teaching for example blogs, youtube and many many more. And I hope the students will benefit from it.

Reflection on Second Life (SL)

I feel SL is rather uninteresting and dead. From my first and only experience till now, I feel that why would anyone be fascinated by living in a virtual world?

But when we were told by Dr Tan that people actually uses it to satisfy the needs they cannot satidfy in the real world, I do feel that there is indeed a purpose to the existence of SL.

Looking at the video, student nurses will have simulations that are programmed to answer a very wide variety of questions that can be posted by the student nurses. This serves as a good practice for the nurses to learn how to question effectively and efficiently. This may also allow them to anticipate any kind of real life situation that may happen. Sl actually serve as a simulation practice platform for the student nurses before they face the world.

With my current level of how interesting and however helpful SL can be, my perception of it is still bases on my 30 minutes of flying and trying to interact with others through typing.

However SL has its own limitations. The biggest limitation I believe would be the lack of face to face interaction. This may eventually cost humans to lose the skill and confidence to interact face to face. That, I feel is catastrophic. Another worry may be the over-reliance of SL where humans will tend to use SL as a form of escape from reality. These over-reliance may create situations where they are too engross into SL, that they cannot detach themselves from the world.

Second Life

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOFU9oUF2HA&feature=related

During the 'hands-on experience' with Second Life in my last session, I seriously don't see much relevance of Second Life in my teaching.

The video which I have put up has showcased few ways which I can adopt for teaching. Well, true enough, they are applicable. But I just wondering, if I am going to teach a certain Science topic e.g.Periodic Table, is it already available? Or do I need to hire someone to create the programme for me? I am an IT idiot.

Furthermore, I start questioning myself. How would the future be like when everyone seems to be stuck in front of the computers? I believe Second Life can be rather addictive just like some games available online e.g. Maple story. I have friends who stayed at home all day long just to make sure that they progress to the higher levels.

In school, we are already promoting ICT-based learning. Either in school or at home, students have to use computers for their tasks. Isn't it draining for their eyes and health. Yes, i don't play games. I don't find it interesting to move about in the virtual world too. I am more interested in real-life experience, I don't believe in day-dreaming.

If educational system is going towards very IT-based form of learning, we probably need to think of how could actually bring about adverse effects on the learners. The schools probably need to provide some training to educate students about the proper usage of Internet, how to protect their eyes and their sitting gestures. Ever since I entered NIE, I have to stare at the computers for long hours. I probably need to have a eye-checking session soon.

I can really imagine almost everyone wearing spectacles if our educational system gets very ICT-based!

Reflections on 2nd Life

This is my first time experiencing second life. It's very interesting when we get to change the appearance and clothings of our avatar. It was even more fun when we were given a treasure hunt to find some items. Having said that, I don't think I will be starting a second life anytime soon unless I am required to do so. This is because I would rather experience the real world than explore a virtual world. There is so much more meaning to doing the real thing than just moving my fingers over the keyboard. If ever one day I am done exploring the real world then I will turn to 2nd life to start my 2nd life.



This person in the video is Joe Sanchez from University of Texas. He explains some of the advantages of using 2nd life as an educational tool to replace mundane meetings, lectures and frontal teaching.

He suggests that there is more interaction between the students and the lecturer in the virtual world. More people can speak up and express their views. Students can learn at home using their laptop which is convenient and relaxing for them.

I agree with him to a certain extent. It is true that in an environment with classmates, student's feel more reluctant to speak up for fear of embarassing themselves. Now that they are behind their laptop screens, they can express themselves with relative ease. This might help them in their learning.

However learning from laptops means that they might have multiple windows open at the same time. So they might be listening to rock music, watching a movie, playing a game, all at the same time while "listening" to the lecture. Also, what makes learning fun sometimes is the classroom environment: seeing the teacher's expression when he is telling a joke, feeling the enthusiasm of the class for an interesting topic. These are very different sensations when experienced over the internet.

Are we moving to the stage where everyone is poised to have an alter ego in a virtual world? Would you know my real emotions, for example, when I am typing this blog? Its already quite difficult to read a person's thought face-to-face, whatmore over the internet. For now I cherish what little face-to-face meetings we have and hope when virtual teaching comes, I will be mentally prepared for it.

Chester's 2nd Life

Frankly, i wasn't all too impressed with Second Life (SL) when i got my 1st hands on experience at the mxl. What i didn't know is that universities exist in SL! Why go for lectures when we can do it in SL? You can even fly to your virtual lecture venue. Nonetheless, i feel that SL does have its limitations (based on my half an hour hands on session that is).


In order to interact, most of us type. In a class of 40, there might be too many words on the screen. Even if we use a microphone, our message cannot be delivered effectively because there is a lack of body language (or rather natural body language), which accounts for 70% of communication.

In SL, we can see and hear, but cannot we touch and smell. Disaster for chemistry teachers like us? How are we going to show students that an alkali is soapy and ammonia gas is pungent?

Having said that, i'm not trying to say SL is useless for education. I feel that while SL cannot be the primary source of education, it can serve as a complementary tool. For example, we could conduct e-learning using SL. We could also use SL as a tool to bring students to places. Planning a trip to Marina Barrage? Perhaps we can have a marina barrage in SL to let students have a feel of what is the place like before the actual trip. Or we can take students to the effel tower without actually travelling to paris.

That's all for now. I probably have to sign up for SL to appreciate more of its advantages and disadvantages.

ICT e-learning 2 reflections part B

After watching the video on Singapore’s iN2015 vision, I can imagine Singaporeans no longer using cash (as in coins & dollar notes) in transactions, going through the hassle of travelling to & fro just to get paperwork done, having to worry about the availability of parking lots, taking the trouble to visit the library etc… with all the information and functions available in one small handheld gadget. I see the possibility of Singapore going increasingly digital in these essential day-to-day communication processes. With all these further technological advances, it may possibly reduce paper usage and hopefully help to alleviate environmental problems caused by deforestation (for paper manufacturing). In fact, with more and more Singaporeans possessing iPhones and Blackberry devices that allow access to the internet, newsgroups and emails while on the move, as a nation I believe we are somewhat heading there.

With such further advances in technology, I can picture ICT being incorporated as a very important tool in classroom lessons. Sure, students would be wowed by the frills in accessing information with just a click on the handheld device but over time, will they become jaded as such tools become more common? Will their attention span decrease during lessons & teachers would then have to again go through the vicious cycle of brainstorming even more interesting lesson ideas just to captivate the students’ attention after having exhausted all the possible ICT tools? What if technology breaks down? Will teachers & students be prepared to revert back to the old approach of using the whiteboard, markers and worksheets?

To a certain extent, I think NIE is preparing me by training me in the necessary to develop a balance between a teacher-centred and student-centred approach in lessons. Unlike the days of old, teachers would no longer function as the ‘information bank’ for students, with information now being readily available through the internet and other ICT tools. Nonetheless it is of utmost importance that we keep abreast with what’s happening in the world to remain relevant to our students and be well-read in the subjects we are teaching.

ICT e-learning 2 reflections part A

Digital natives are those whose time is vastly spent on technology-related activities, so much so to the point that their lives can be considered to be pretty much revolved around technology. Their brain process and cognitive abilities are very much shaped by repeated exposure to video games and digital media that they come in contact with day in and day out. Albeit their much shorter attention span than previous generations, they are better able to visualize graphical representations, reason inductively, multi-task and respond to both expected/unexpected stimuli. With the much faster pace of life that comes with technology, digital natives tend not to slow down and reflect, which is crucial before meaningful learning actually takes place.

In my review, I have chosen to compare Virginia (http://www.edutopia.org/digital-generation-profile-virginia-video) against a typical Singaporean secondary school student. There are some similarities I noticed between her and the latter, in that both spend quite a substantial amount of time on social networking websites such as Facebook, Youtube and even blogging while still keeping up with school commitments. I’m not too sure whether teachers actually teach their students how to blog or even create blogs for classroom discussions at that level here in Singapore though. One thing that struck me was that Virginia was already playing a role in educating the younger ones about cyberwellness at a young, tender age of 14, which is something I hardly see back home; or at least happens at a slightly older age. Like her, Singaporean youths need to learn to exercise self-control in internet usage lest it does more harm than good to them.

As teachers, we face very real challenges in capturing the attention of digital natives. To hold their attention it would be of great importance to vary our teaching pedagogies with ICT tools being incorporated into lessons. This would include choosing the right games (where appropriate) to use during lessons which would enhance the educational value for the students. For students to better make sense of what they are learning, it would be good to present the facts/theories to them in graphic form since digital natives learn better through visualizations. At the same time, it is of great importance that students are educated in cyberwellness since they use the internet for quite a fair amount of time and it can affect them negatively if certain boundaries aren’t drawn.

E-learning 2 (Part B) (Han Kiong)

Having read through the articles and watched the videos, it is alarming how technologies have progressed and evolved. The extension of digital technologies has crept into the educational landscape or is still in the process of increasing its presence.

I am looking forward to changes yet fearful of how well prepared I am to these changes. With students having more autonomy of their learning, it will no doubt drive greater learning as they might be intrinsically motivated. However, at the same time, I fear teachers are rendered obsolete. This is particularly true for teachers not able to adapt to the changing educational landscape.

With the immense amount of information available for the students, they might be at a loss on how to search for relevant information. Teachers could guide the students to their desired learning acting as a facilitator. In this respect, teachers are still very much important. Teachers are no longer regarded a wealth of knowledge but their experience in pursuing knowledge is still helpful to the students. I will no doubt be attempting to assume the role of a guide and let students do the bulk of their own learning.

Living, learning and working will no doubt be taking place in a more dynamic environment. The pace of life will become faster. Beware, those people craving a more serene lifestyle. I strongly believe we have to keep pace with the changing environment or risk being an outcast.

NIE has tried to sway us to in planning a more student centric learning and I believe it is paying dividends slowly or will pay dividends eventually though not manifested explicitly. I have been persuaded to let students have more autonomy in their learning. I will no doubt get the students to realize that teachers are no longer the wealth of knowledge and they are the ones to drive their own learning. I will take on the role of a guide as in the case of a lighthouse, steering the students to their desired course of learning.

E-learning 2 (Part A) (Han Kiong)

What are some characteristics of digital natives? (What are they good at? What are they poor at?)

Pictures speak more than a thousand words. You can basically figure out the differences between a Digital Native and a Digital Immigrant from the picture above. Digital natives are those who were born in an age of digital technologies and raised with these digital technologies pervading their lives. We on the other hand are the Digital Immigrants who are left gasping for breath in a digital laden environment (I’m referring to the likes of me).

Based on research and studies, we know conclusively that Digital Natives’ brains are physiologically different from ours due largely to huge exposure to digital media. They would naturally have expertise or competences that are different from us. Digital Natives may be contrasted with the Digital Immigrants in terms of the following:

• Parallel versus linear processing: Digital Natives have parallel cognitive structures while Digital Immigrants have linear processing. While we focus on one task at a time, Digital Natives are comfortable multi-tasking; they could listen to music, talk on mobiles and surf the net at the same time. This no doubts enable them to complete multiple tasks in a shorter time. I question the quality of work done though.

• Graphics first versus text first: Digital Natives are primarily visual learners as the exposure to computer games and other digital media has enhanced their visual spatial skills and texts are subsidiary aids for these visuals. We on the other hand rely more on texts which may then be reinforced with visuals.

• Connected versus stand-alone: the development of internets and other digital media has resulted Digital Natives to be connected even over far distances and it is even extended to the popular LAN gaming. The Digital Natives may then collaborate actively with others over these channels. They thus adopt the slogan “Think globally, Act globally” in contrast with the Digital Immigrants; traditional approach of “Think globally, Act locally”.

The contrast of Digital Natives with Digital Immigrants has highlighted what these Digital Natives are good at but they too have areas they need to address and improve. Digital Natives are weak in reflections which involves learning from experience. Reflections are essential as it enables us to generalize with the formation of mental models.

Which portrait did you select? (In your blog, create a link to the portrait.) In terms of their digital background, how similar was that student compared to a Singapore student?

Dylan is an interesting subject that I have chosen to review. Dylan is a typical Digital Native who uses a wide array of digital technologies ranging from educational tools to learn phonics, websites to showcase his projects, online forums, chats and conferences to collaborate with others for his projects to making video and publishing them on YouTube. This sounds familiar to what most students in Singapore are using. Singapore children with access to computers, the internet, mobile phones made possible by the affluence of the nation have learnt or are learning to apply these tools in daily life. The pervasiveness of these digital technologies is alarming, you could just observe the people around you one early morning and you are bound to see multiple digital tools used by those people. I, labelled as a Digital immigrant have social networking accounts; rely primarily on the internet to search for information, blog occasionally much less students who are Digital Natives.

How might teachers in Singapore today engage and teach our digital natives?

Teachers in Singapore may start by recognising that students or the Digital Natives’ brains are physiologically different from us backed by evidence from neurobiology and social psychology.

From this fact stems the need to innovate the teaching approach to engage students. Knowing that students have parallel cognitive structures, teachers can no longer teach in linear or sequential fashion. They must attempt to create interactive lessons with frequent feedbacks. They can also use text sparingly and have more visuals in their lessons since students use text as subsidiary aids to learn. The use of concept maps may be helpful as it reinforces mental maps in the students. Teachers can pose challenging problems to students to motivate students as they may be bored easily.

It is hard for most teachers including me to move away from traditional approaches to teaching that emphasises linear thinking but knowing that students are vastly different now and learning can only be achieved by revising our teaching approach, we must make an effort to bring about changes.

Sakinah's Elearning 2 Part B

The first impression that came across my mind after watching iN2015 is honestly something like this: Is this for real? I don’t think it’s going to happen so soon. That will be like 6 more years so how can things move that fast?

Oops! I know it’s a very pessimistic view and very shallow. I’m very guilty of that. The thing is I failed to see the big picture of the whole thing. The thing is I failed to realize that things HAVE been moving very fast. Technology has been changing and advancing at a speed never before occurs in history of mankind.

Technological advances have caused a change in many aspects of life. From the way people communicate and connect to each other to the way people learn and observe from the surroundings. I think the way students learn will be very different as compared to 10 years ago. The students craved for other things. They want it fast, exciting, thought-provoking and relevant. The same goes to their learning in school. They don’t want it to be linear and one –way. They want it to be interactive and energetic; like how fast everything is changing. If they don’t see the relevance in it, they simply would not be interested in it.

NIE is doing a fine job in preparing future teachers. Maybe not fully but hopefully the teachers get the gist and CHANGE the way they teach. It may be very hard even for me, since we’ve been brought up in a different kind of technological advances. It may be hard because it has been hard-wired in our minds that there is only certain typical ways to teach. I hope as a teacher I will make my class more interactive and thought-provoking. They want immediate feedback. So hopefully I can incorporate that in my teaching. I shall respect their different ways of learning and not see it as a problem.

I hope I can understand their different ways of learning and adapt towards it.

Sakinah's Elearning 2 Part A

Good at: Problem solving. They think differently and process information differently. They develop hypertext minds and think in a parallel manner and not in sequence. They possess multi-dimensional visual-spatial skills and they are able to respond faster.
Bad at: Reflecting. Reflecting is very important since reflection let us realize and acknowledge our mistakes. How do we learn from our mistakes if we did not acknowledge them first? Are we forever going to live in denial? Reflection also let us realizes what to learn from the environment.


Justin. 16. Very similar to Singapore students. Similar to Singapore students, they are exposed to technology, gaming and internet at a very young age. They utilize technology as a way to express themselves. One of the problems he managed to avoid is game addiction. Like most Singapore students who are gamers, they suffer from addiction. They miss the thrill of adventure and the world of fantasy. Fortunately, he learnt to balance his time. Justin managed to play his games and at the same time, carry out his normal everyday life.
Teachers cannot use the linear way to teach. We must let the students explore and relate the topics learnt to real life. There should be immediate response like how the games do. Classroom activities should include interactivity. Must let them ask questions. Let them enquire. Let them do their own problem-solving.

E-learning 2 (Part B)

It looks "cool" to have the future portrayed by the Singapore's iN2015 vision. Everything seem to be made so much easier and faster. Though it has many benefits which we expect to come, a negative possibility crossed my mind. Teachers are going to lose their jobs! Perhaps, we may require teachers to be around, we no longer need so many! I wonder if it is a good or bad thing...

Things are made far too easy. Are we going to cherish things around us? Since, we do not necessary need help from others (Technology can help us instead)...Are we going to feel grateful upon receiving help from others?

Personally, I am those who still prefer hand-write letters than electronic typed emails. There is always a lack of humane and emotions when we typed things out and send through electronic emails. I do not know about others, that is my feel. In the 2015 vision, it seems everything is made electronic. Did you see any papers and pen ink? Similarly, I do not like the presents given by the kids to their mother- Lack of feelings... Again, that is my feel.

In the whole new world, the working environment will change too. Tasks will will be completed in a much shorter time. Perhaps, we do not need any more face to face meetings. We can all do it online. We need not go around and seek help from our colleagues as information can easily be found. Again, does it reduce social interactions?

In NIE, I can only see my ICT module being relevant to the possible future. Under Dr Tan's supervision, we need do constant reflections and think critically about various issues. Through this module, I learnt that we need to adjust our lessons to cater to our students. Hence, in future, teachers will face a even greater challenge to educate the future generations who are proficient in the technologies. NIE cannot teach us the things we use to teach our kids in the future, it mentally prepares us in dealing with possible situations in future.

To cope with the possible future, we need to equip ourselves with the necessary IT skills. Hence, I will consistently upgrade myself to the new technologies, attend relevant courses and etc. Most importantly, we need to abandon old teaching strategies and devise new ones to appropriate learning environment for students.

E-learning 2: Part A

Digital natives are good at things which are more interactive. They are better at reading 3D representations, discovering things inductively, monitoring multiple locations simultaneously and responding to expected and unexpected stimuli as compared to non-digital natives.

Since, they crave for interactivity, tasks which are non-interactive will put them off. They appeared to be poor at focusing their attention in class. However, after knowing their interests, we should understand that they do can have long attention span, but not for the "boring" old ways of learning environment.

As for the portrait, I chose Olivia almost instantly.
http://www.edutopia.org/digital-generation-profile-olivia-video
It has always been a mind-bogging issue on whether to assign E-learning tasks to the students as some of them do not have computers at home.

During my one year of contract teaching, my form class, a 1NT class has many students under the FAS programmes. It always worried me about those who do not have computers at home. Are they able to finish my online assignments on time? Are they having difficulties in getting computer and Internet access? The school did book a computer lab for those students to use and complete their assignments. However, this issue never seems to get off my mind.

After viewing the video on Olivia, I do have a different perception on those students without computer access at home. I started to reflect on how IT savvy they were. Many of them still have HP (often confiscated by teachers if they were caught using in class) and tried to take photos with me on my last day in school. They wanted to add my on Facebook and also asked me for my email address and contact particulars. Well, I should not have undermined their IT knowledge and how much IT meant in their daily life.

Teachers today should take a step back and really look at the kind of students who they are teaching. Students today are no longer the same as before. Teachers need to adjust their teaching strategies to cater to the digital natives (students).

GBL should be incorporated into the lessons as the digital natives require a more interactive learning environment. Even without GBL, it is crucial for teachers to bear in mind that they need to include activities such that students are able to voice their opinions and interact with one another (more meaningful learning experience).

Teachers may employ Facebook, blogs most students are familiar with for classwork. Students may be asked to blog weekly under a group blog or their class blog. Teachers need to keep track of what the students are doing and interested in. These will help in planning and delivering the lessons better.

Weiqiang e-learning Activity B

SCARY!!!

Looking at the stats shown form the video actually made me becoming more aware of the fast-paced evolution in the world of technology. We can understand that by the introduction of better-improved gadgets like handphones, gaming consoles and laptops.

Knowing that what I studied in technology will 'expire' in two years time, isn't that scary?

If we connect all these onto the educationa landscape, it seems like we will be changing our job title to facilitators instead of teachers. I believe that learning will be geared towards independent and authentic learning. The use of the 'transparent piece of material' seems to enable learning to take place anywhere and anytime. Everything is just a click away and updates are all going to be real time!

One thing I will like to highlight regarding the way Big Picture High School works is that this way of education serves a very noble plan. But I still think the conventional 'old school' kind of school, where the use of summative assessments is still present, is needed for some kids whom had not decide on the future path. It is just that they have to tweak their teaching style with the fast evolution in both technology and curriculum.

The use of digital devices will then be a necessity. This brings along a problem I think applies now but maybe not in the future. MONEY. All these technology advancements do bring along various convinence to life. But what about the cost of living and sustainability of this kind of lifestyle?

What NIE taught me do serve as an exposure to me on what is going to happen in the future of our educational system. BUT, I guess it is not up to us whether we can do it. Rather, it is whether the educational system will finally enforce it. For now, I can only foresee what NIE taught me, especially in ICT, serve as an awareness and exposure for us in terms of what to expect in the years to come. Actual implementation? At least for now, I still think is not up to me to decide.