RACHEL+STRIPLING


 * MUVEs, Classroom Use, and Professional Development**

[] The first MUVE that I explored was made available through the National Science Foundation. This is a MUVE designed for middle school students to enhance their inquiry skills. River City is a town that has come down with health problems and students must perform experiments and test hypotheses in order to determine what is making residents sick. River City Project sends out CDs, sends trained professionals to schools, and provides distance education for training purposes. One personal network within this MUVE is a group of trained educators that are available within areas of the United States that are available for technology support, ideas, and experimenting with curriculum. Another area that I found for helpful information concerning new and emerging technologies is an ‘In Practice’ section of the MUVE. In this section, educators describe the most current technologies that they are using within their school or classroom.

[] This MUVE is sponsored by organizations such as NASA, School Nutrition Association, and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Through Whyville, students can participate in scientific activities that promote ‘socially responsible behavior’. Students can make their own avatars and communicate and connect with their classmates or students from around the world. This MUVE provides digital conferences to understand how to better use WHYville as well as virtual worlds in general. WHYville updates a link with PDFs about their site as well as new and emerging technologies that can be used in the classroom.

Based on the wealth of resources I found and the MUVEs that I researched, I could think of a variety of ways to engage my colleagues in professional development workshops. Instead of initially implementing a MUVE in our classroom, we could first practice together to fully see HOW and WHY we could benefit from this type of technology. We could work together to solve problems and create solutions, so we can better tell our students what they will experience when using virtual worlds.

McLuhan's Tetrad


 * **Enhances: ** What does this technology do that is new?  * Lessons are interactive
 * Multiple windows open at one time; accessible at the touch of a finger
 * Accommodates a variety of learning styles within one tool || **Obsoletes: ** What does this technology replace?   * Overhead projector
 * Pencil and paper activities
 * Dry erase boards
 * Computer with projector ||
 * **Retrieves: ** What does this technology bring to mind from the past?  * Group activities
 * Visual lessons (previously used overhead projector)
 * Ability to easily save and transfer files || **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Reverses: **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> What might replace this technology in the future, or what might it cause to occur?   * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The iPad might replace the SMART board, moving from working on one activity as a class to working individually. ||