3 articles

The first article I chose to read and discuss is, Blogging in the Classroom: A Preliminary Exploration of Student Attitudes and Impact on Comprehension. This article was written by Nicole B. Ellison and Yuehua Wu. The main focus of their article is emphasizing the importance of technology in the classroom, specifically, blogging. The authors explain how there are many advantages to students blogging and how it can impact them inside and outside of the classroom. The research the authors conducted is evidence to support their thoughts on blogging. In the next paragraph I will name a variety of ways students can benefit from blogging and how technology in the classroom is a new way of learning for students.

This document states that students ranging from ages 8-18 spend 6 ½ hours a day using some form of technology. They usually use more than one at a time which makes their use of technology up to 8 hours a day. With the way students and young generations use technology these days, it would be wise to incorporate that with education. This article explains that reading blogs by other people helps students understand the course concept easier and faster. It also exposes students to new viewpoints. Using blogs on the internet allows students to express themselves freely and cooperate amongst each other, and the communication between the students and faculty increases. Studies in this article show that student engagement and learning increases through the use of blogging in the classroom. Another study explained that students now a day spend more time on the internet than in the library. The library is a good foundation for learning but as the resources to students continue to grow so must their accessibility to technology. Blogging enables students to write creatively and this also is a far stretch from typing an assignment and submitting it or handing in a traditional journal. When students share blogs they are reaching a bigger audience and this also highlights the individual. Blogs also build confidence, knowledge of the internet, and help students become more computer literate. The software skills gained by using blogs will be able to be used in other academic courses and in the student’s future even outside the classroom. Students also negotiate meanings of different blogs which the article showed is rewarding to students. Using a discussion board for blogging will remind students to check their other classes while online and this will translate to higher grades. Blogging allows students to create, compile, and edit. This will let the students see the progress of their work. This use of technology transfers responsibility and will enhance the attention span of students. This will transfer to other curriculum and students will pay more attention in school over all. Self knowledge, technology and organization skills development, and critical thinking skills are skills that can be enhanced through the use of blogging. Blogging is not simply used in the classroom as people can write about a particular subject over a sustained period of time. Conversations can be initiated through the use of blogging. If one person starts a blog, a person can follow up by responding to that blog and this starts a back and forth conversation between the two people blogging. Learning can be understood in a new manner and students will see the relevance of what they are learning instead of attempting to gain the knowledge in a textbook or work sheet. Both authors did an excellent job of naming the benefits from blogging in the classroom, they noted that this use of technology appeals to the students, helps their writing skills, and gives the student a chance to reflect on what they are writing after seeing it published online.

The second article I chose to elaborate about is Games and Simulations by Nathan Balassubramanian. This is another article highlighting the benefits of technology in education and how teachers can grasp student’s attention through games and simulations. There are various elements to gaming and simulations that are discussed in this article. The author mentioned how teachers choose which games to display for their students, where to look for these games, which games should be used, and how teachers evaluate the use of these games after students have used the games. In the following paragraph I will discuss how students can learn from different games and simulations and apply them to real life situations beyond the classroom.

The introduction of this article describes people using games are problem solvers, creative thinkers, more confident, and are more social. This is a clear example of how using games or simulations can help students outside of the classroom and beyond their academic studies. The introduction explains how students want learning to be fun, engaging, hands on, challenging, interactive, and thought provoking. If students find what they are learning engaging and fun they will desire to learn more and retain the information at a higher rate. Critics will offer that technology in the classroom, specifically games will be too much entertainment and not enough education but if the games are challenging students will still be learning and find their task at hand interesting. Student’s attention span can be very short because they are not intrigued by what they are learning and their minds often wonder or are not focused on the lesson plan. This would be eliminated by teachers using games or simulations in their lesson plan. The article describes how males and females are both intrigued by the use of games in the classroom. If both sexes enjoy this use of technology, then the whole class can benefit from games and simulations. Strategic thinking takes place through the challenging games as students have to be set goals and plans to conquer whatever level they are on. Students can also experiment, recognize patterns, and their decision making will be tested as the games will have time constraints. Studies in this article point out that student’s retention in math, physics, and language arts have all gone up. This is very pivotal because these games will help students learn and keep information for more than one subject. Teachers in different subjects will agree to apply these games and simulations to their lesson plans and both students and teachers will benefit. The research conducted for this topic highlights how games can be used for instructional purposes for math and science. Information processing, social development, academic ability, cognitive objectives being formed, process skills, students-centered learning, affective objects, and a sense of completion were all listed as outcomes students will gain through using games and simulations. Due to the fact challenging games will be used, students will use perseverance to answer the questions correctly and complete the different levels the game offers. Students will experiment with these new games and this discovery learning will lead to qualitative learning. After students begin to master the games and get a feel for them they can create and design their own games that can be used for educational purposes. Participation in the classroom will increase and the desire to learn new material will also rise. Teachers control the classroom when they are in front of the class lecturing or reading an article from a book, but students will feel in control when they are guiding their way through the games and simulations. This will be new to students and they will feel more empowered. In order for teachers to choose the correct games for students they will need to examine the content of the game, usability, quality, and if it is appropriate for the age group learning. There are many other beneficial ways games and simulations can help students inside and outside of the classroom but I have mentioned the arguments for games in a classroom that stand out the most in this arguement.

The third and final article I read was Adult Learner Participation in an Online Degree Program: A Program-Level Study of Voluntary Computer-Mediated Communication. This article stood out to me because I am currently in an online masters program through the University of Toledo. My whole program is online and this article highlights the student’s participation and how effective it is for them to be successful in a program such as mine. The article states how online programs have become more and more popular since the 1990s. With technology continuing to grow, this does not come as a surprise. This study explained that 2/3 of major universities have an online program. Colleges continue to work on offering more courses online as well as more teachers to teach these courses. This is a direct impact from an improving performance of students in these programs, the rise of more online courses and programs being offered, and the feed back universities get from their students. The introduction to this article discusses how research has shown how some students respond better to online courses and participation than face to face. It is said that America’s number one fear is public speaking. As a communication major, I did a lot of public speaking for my undergraduate degree. Although it did not bother me, I noticed it bothered a lot of other students. Without meeting face to face in an online program, students will be more eager to learn and give their all without worrying about the fear of public speaking. The introduction also mentioned how these online programs reflect on specific issues, build social networks, and encourage interactivity. As noted earlier participation is very important to the success of an online course and program. There are three factors that the reading mentioned that effect participation. Student’s experiences with online courses, the class, and the instructor are pivotal to a smooth transition to courses that are online. During my undergraduate tenure at The University of Toledo I had taken a few online courses that made the transition pretty easy for my program. The class is also important because if the student is taking a class where they need to be present to learn then they might want to take a class in a classroom. The instructor is the last factor the reading mentioned that will impact the effectiveness and participation of the student. I have had great teachers so far for my master’s online program and I am extremely thankful for that. If the teacher is not willing to communicate clearly or explain their assignments in detail then the program or course will be a failure. The instructor must also have an ample amount of patience because students will have questions and want to receive direct answers if something is not clear. I know in our current course, we have encountered several issues with programs not loading or being accessible at the time needed, and luckily Dr. Lambert has been patient enough to work with us and be understanding when something is not working properly. Finally, the study discusses how students at a major university participated in orientation to adapt to the program they would be entering soon. At orientation the students broke the ice with one another and did assignments that were relevant to the classes they would be taking. This proved beneficial to the students because they got a feel for what kind of work they would be doing. With people on the move and having busy schedules, it is not always easy to meet face to face and have class in a classroom. Technology growing and expanding allows students and instructors to meet in distance learning programs and virtual worlds and still learn valuable learning tools. I am glad I chose this article because I was able to learn how other students are adapting to online courses and their response and reaction to not meeting in class but in a distance learning program.