Second life is basically a virtual world. You can create your own avatar to interact with other avatars. You can create groups to gather people of common interest, or simply socialise with others. Lecturers can build structures that make the virtual world more like the real world, e.g. build the lecture room.
It runs through the internet making it accessible worldwide. Lecturers may pre-record the lecture and stream the lectures to the students, allowing them to focus more on the questions asked. This would also allow the lecturer to ensure all points are covered, and anything they missed can then be addressed live.
Other activities on second life, such as DJ-ing, can engage “residents” (the term for users of second life) more onto second life. This would lead to more time being spent on second life and residents becoming more accessible to other residents. Students and lecturers can then interact more than just during the “lecture”.
Friday, 13 November 2009
Videos and Skype
Skype can be used as an instant messenger and allow video calls to be made. This can allow both users and lecturers to have “lessons” from the comfort of their own home, reducing travel expenses and time wasted whilst commuting. Often students and lecturers may be put off teaching or studying at a distant university, so this can help overcome that “downer”.
These calls allow the same teaching strategies that would be used in a lecture hall to be used. Learning would be audio and visual, and the chat feature and call feature allows interaction between students and lecturers. Rather than waiting for the end of the lecturer, students may post questions to the lecturer privately, which the lecturer can answer and all viewing can benefit from, but also leaving the student that posed the question anonymous.
Often their can be students in class who are disruptive, or can make it harder for others to learn. Using Skype helps overcome obstructions like that by simply blocking or muting that particular individual. Lecturers can record calls made through skype and put it up on the blackboard/oasisplus, allowing the material to be reached outside lecture time.
Pre-recorded videos can be used in a similar manner, to record tutorials which can be uploaded online or burned onto a CD which may prove to be cost effective. However they may not necessarily be as interactive and may not aid the lecturer to monitor student progress and gain formative feedback. Putting it on a website that allows students to comment about the video can prove to be more effective. Again an obvious advantage is that the videos will be accessible at any point of the day while the lecturer may not be, and can be played and replayed as meeting the requirement of the student needs.
Students who are ill or unable to go to lectures can view videos at their own leisure. Lecturers do not need to be present at the particular time of day when lectures would be held, allowing them to use their time to do other things, i.e. marking, preparing other videos, going to seminars or doing other activities that they would not be able to do had they been in a lecture room teaching.
This would allow mature students that have family to look after or have other dependents, and students that work to easily adjust their studies into their working schedule. Students with degrees and work experience combined have better chances of getting a job. This would allow academic and work based learning. Students who are not eligible for loans or with other financial difficulties can support themselves and their studies.
These calls allow the same teaching strategies that would be used in a lecture hall to be used. Learning would be audio and visual, and the chat feature and call feature allows interaction between students and lecturers. Rather than waiting for the end of the lecturer, students may post questions to the lecturer privately, which the lecturer can answer and all viewing can benefit from, but also leaving the student that posed the question anonymous.
Often their can be students in class who are disruptive, or can make it harder for others to learn. Using Skype helps overcome obstructions like that by simply blocking or muting that particular individual. Lecturers can record calls made through skype and put it up on the blackboard/oasisplus, allowing the material to be reached outside lecture time.
Pre-recorded videos can be used in a similar manner, to record tutorials which can be uploaded online or burned onto a CD which may prove to be cost effective. However they may not necessarily be as interactive and may not aid the lecturer to monitor student progress and gain formative feedback. Putting it on a website that allows students to comment about the video can prove to be more effective. Again an obvious advantage is that the videos will be accessible at any point of the day while the lecturer may not be, and can be played and replayed as meeting the requirement of the student needs.
Students who are ill or unable to go to lectures can view videos at their own leisure. Lecturers do not need to be present at the particular time of day when lectures would be held, allowing them to use their time to do other things, i.e. marking, preparing other videos, going to seminars or doing other activities that they would not be able to do had they been in a lecture room teaching.
This would allow mature students that have family to look after or have other dependents, and students that work to easily adjust their studies into their working schedule. Students with degrees and work experience combined have better chances of getting a job. This would allow academic and work based learning. Students who are not eligible for loans or with other financial difficulties can support themselves and their studies.
Facebook, Twitter and Mobile phones
Social networking sites such as facebook and twitter could be used to enhance one’s learning experience. These sites are accessible from anywhere in the world, as long as one has internet access, which can allow the teacher to reach out to students outside the boundary of just the lecture hall. If a student is on holiday, or is unwell to physically attend university, they may still be able to access these sites from home or elsewhere. These sites are also accessible on mobile phone, which means students could check for any new announcements or last minute messages on the go.
Features such as the status allow tutors to receive formative feedback on lessons. Statuses such as “This lecture is very boring” are an indication for the lecturer to bring some change into their teaching strategy, as their current method is not working for students.
The uploading feature may allow teachers and lecturers to upload class work and lecture slides quite like how it is done on oasisplus. Lecturers can record and upload videos of tutorials, which would allow students to view them, not just during the lecture, but even after that, and may be used to aid revision. Devices like Dictaphones and Mobile phones can be used to record lectures, whereas the videos would provide an audio and visual combined learning experience.
During classes, a teacher can only ask a certain number of students to express their views or ask questions due to time restrictions, if commenting on each lecture video is made mandatory for all students, the lecturer will be able to monitor each student’s individual progress and help indicate their strengths and weaknesses.
Question & Answer sessions may be also be scheduled online, after a “virtual lecture” to allow students to clarify anything that the videos may not have explained well, making the “virtual lecture” more interactive. Logs of these sessions may be kept on the site to allow students who missed the Q & A to view and learn from it.
Features such as the wall can allow students to post messages or queries, which may be viewed by other students and lecturers, who may have a better understanding, and allow them to respond before the lecturer that the message was intended for, which would then quicken the response the student gets and allows the lecturer to monitor progress of the student asking and student answering.
Mobile phones can be used as a means of instant communication between the students and lecturers. If a student has not been participating in any of the learning, the lecturer may call them up to ask why. Mobile phones are generally accessible to a person throughout the day, which allows messages like last minute lesson cancellations to be reached at any point, as a student may not check oasisplus 7am in the morning for a cancellation of a lecture that is taking place at 9am.
Other than lesson cancellations, reminder of assignment deadlines may also be texted from the lecturers to students. Most mobiles come with an organiser or calendar that may allow both teachers and lectures to view their schedule for the day. I personally use it to remind me the time and venue for my lectures.
Features such as the status allow tutors to receive formative feedback on lessons. Statuses such as “This lecture is very boring” are an indication for the lecturer to bring some change into their teaching strategy, as their current method is not working for students.
The uploading feature may allow teachers and lecturers to upload class work and lecture slides quite like how it is done on oasisplus. Lecturers can record and upload videos of tutorials, which would allow students to view them, not just during the lecture, but even after that, and may be used to aid revision. Devices like Dictaphones and Mobile phones can be used to record lectures, whereas the videos would provide an audio and visual combined learning experience.
During classes, a teacher can only ask a certain number of students to express their views or ask questions due to time restrictions, if commenting on each lecture video is made mandatory for all students, the lecturer will be able to monitor each student’s individual progress and help indicate their strengths and weaknesses.
Question & Answer sessions may be also be scheduled online, after a “virtual lecture” to allow students to clarify anything that the videos may not have explained well, making the “virtual lecture” more interactive. Logs of these sessions may be kept on the site to allow students who missed the Q & A to view and learn from it.
Features such as the wall can allow students to post messages or queries, which may be viewed by other students and lecturers, who may have a better understanding, and allow them to respond before the lecturer that the message was intended for, which would then quicken the response the student gets and allows the lecturer to monitor progress of the student asking and student answering.
Mobile phones can be used as a means of instant communication between the students and lecturers. If a student has not been participating in any of the learning, the lecturer may call them up to ask why. Mobile phones are generally accessible to a person throughout the day, which allows messages like last minute lesson cancellations to be reached at any point, as a student may not check oasisplus 7am in the morning for a cancellation of a lecture that is taking place at 9am.
Other than lesson cancellations, reminder of assignment deadlines may also be texted from the lecturers to students. Most mobiles come with an organiser or calendar that may allow both teachers and lectures to view their schedule for the day. I personally use it to remind me the time and venue for my lectures.
Photo Quizzes
Photo quizzes can be a good way of testing a persons knowledge, as texts can be searched on search engines to find answers, however having photo quizzes means either you know what the image is about or you don’t.
Having photo quizzes on blogs can make the blog more interactive, and give the followers an activity to do on your blog other than just commenting. Questions that are answered correctly can indicate what most people are aware of, and help narrow down the specific area of the topic of your blog people are interested in.
It is essential to have a camera to produce a photo quiz or you may have to rely on other images that are not copy-right protected. Photos must be clear enough for the user to be able to identify what the question is asking for.
These can be particular interest to visual learners, having answered a photo quiz may aid them to recall what they did. Also people who enjoy photography may use it to enhance their learning by including their hobby to work around a subject that they may not be so keen on otherwise.
Having photo quizzes on blogs can make the blog more interactive, and give the followers an activity to do on your blog other than just commenting. Questions that are answered correctly can indicate what most people are aware of, and help narrow down the specific area of the topic of your blog people are interested in.
It is essential to have a camera to produce a photo quiz or you may have to rely on other images that are not copy-right protected. Photos must be clear enough for the user to be able to identify what the question is asking for.
These can be particular interest to visual learners, having answered a photo quiz may aid them to recall what they did. Also people who enjoy photography may use it to enhance their learning by including their hobby to work around a subject that they may not be so keen on otherwise.
Student Groups
What is a student group?
A group formed of students who share a common interest. These may be formed to discuss opinions, share ideas and gain further knowledge on subject.
Uses:
• Meet students that share your common interest.
• Using it as a base for socialising with students that do not necessarily study the same subject as you.
• The group may allow students from other universities to join and participate, allowing students to communicate with students around the world.
• Expand knowledge on the topic that is being discussed and reinforce one’s understanding.
• Students get to know each other through these groups which may aid their decision when forming groups for group projects and assignments. One will have an indication of who they are most likely to work well with.
Restrictions:
The group topic may restrict you from discussing anything other than what your student group is about. Also it restricts people other than students to join.
People who follow your blog would be the ideal candidates for your student group, as they share your interest that you like writing about.
A group formed of students who share a common interest. These may be formed to discuss opinions, share ideas and gain further knowledge on subject.
Uses:
• Meet students that share your common interest.
• Using it as a base for socialising with students that do not necessarily study the same subject as you.
• The group may allow students from other universities to join and participate, allowing students to communicate with students around the world.
• Expand knowledge on the topic that is being discussed and reinforce one’s understanding.
• Students get to know each other through these groups which may aid their decision when forming groups for group projects and assignments. One will have an indication of who they are most likely to work well with.
Restrictions:
The group topic may restrict you from discussing anything other than what your student group is about. Also it restricts people other than students to join.
People who follow your blog would be the ideal candidates for your student group, as they share your interest that you like writing about.
What is a blog?
What is a blog?
A blog is form of commentary or a review on an event, or anything an individual may write about at regular intervals. They may include a large chunk of text, pictures, photos, videos, polls, quizzes, music clips or other form of graphics relating to the topic of the blog on a website. It is like a log of events. Information on it may be factual or based on the opinion of the individual writer.
Users may be allowed to comment on the commentary to express their views, allowing the author of the blog to receive formative feedback from other followers. Comments can be regulated by the author, selecting which comments may be displayed and which maybe removed, as it may be offensive to others. This makes the blog more interactive. A blog may be used as a means of communication, to get across the views of the author. The more interactive the blog is, chances are there will be more followers. Followers are people that subscribe to your blog.
Blogs are based on an individual’s interest. It may be a diary, or commentary on a team or sport that an individual follows, about their favourite celebrity, a discussion on a political issue or anything of interest to the writer. Businesses may use it for marketing purposes as blogs are accessible by anyone from anywhere in the world.
My particular blog is based on Snooker Grand Prix, where one may view the results of the current tournament and past recent ones, watch games online via videos uploaded on the site, take part in photo quizzes, view the roll of honour, schedule of tournament and much more to come. The link for the blog is:
http://snookergp09.blogspot.com/
Blogging has a huge scope for receiving formative feedbacks. If a follower does not comment much, or is too busy to comment, features such as reaction allows them to tick boxes to suggest whether they found the post funny, interesting or cool. This allows the author to observe what followers like best in their blog and what they should include more of to attain the followers’ attention.
Positive feedback via comments can motivate the author to do more on their blog, and constructive criticism can be used to improve and look, feel and other aspects of the blog.
A blog is form of commentary or a review on an event, or anything an individual may write about at regular intervals. They may include a large chunk of text, pictures, photos, videos, polls, quizzes, music clips or other form of graphics relating to the topic of the blog on a website. It is like a log of events. Information on it may be factual or based on the opinion of the individual writer.
Users may be allowed to comment on the commentary to express their views, allowing the author of the blog to receive formative feedback from other followers. Comments can be regulated by the author, selecting which comments may be displayed and which maybe removed, as it may be offensive to others. This makes the blog more interactive. A blog may be used as a means of communication, to get across the views of the author. The more interactive the blog is, chances are there will be more followers. Followers are people that subscribe to your blog.
Blogs are based on an individual’s interest. It may be a diary, or commentary on a team or sport that an individual follows, about their favourite celebrity, a discussion on a political issue or anything of interest to the writer. Businesses may use it for marketing purposes as blogs are accessible by anyone from anywhere in the world.
My particular blog is based on Snooker Grand Prix, where one may view the results of the current tournament and past recent ones, watch games online via videos uploaded on the site, take part in photo quizzes, view the roll of honour, schedule of tournament and much more to come. The link for the blog is:
http://snookergp09.blogspot.com/
Blogging has a huge scope for receiving formative feedbacks. If a follower does not comment much, or is too busy to comment, features such as reaction allows them to tick boxes to suggest whether they found the post funny, interesting or cool. This allows the author to observe what followers like best in their blog and what they should include more of to attain the followers’ attention.
Positive feedback via comments can motivate the author to do more on their blog, and constructive criticism can be used to improve and look, feel and other aspects of the blog.
Photo Quiz!
Name the following snooker players and their nationalities. Answers may be submitted in the comments section below..Good Luck!
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Answers to this quiz can be hunted on this site, you just have to look hard enough! :)
Tuesday, 10 November 2009
Snooker Grand Prix 2009 - Finals - Watch Online!
For all those who had missed the Grand Prix Final due to whatever reason, I've taken the time to upload most of the final. The commentary is in chinese, but you can mute it and put some music on while watching it? But its the best I could do, maybe you viewers can podcast the commentary for it in english? Enjoy the videos! :)
Finals - Frame 1 of 17 Neil Robertson vs Ding Junhui
Finals - Frame 2 of 17 Neil Robertson vs Ding Junhui Part 1 of 2
Finals - Frame 2 of 17 Neil Robertson vs Ding Junhui Part 2 of 2
Finals - Frame 3 of 17 Neil Robertson vs Ding Junhui Part 1 of 4
Finals - Frame 3 of 17 Neil Robertson vs Ding Junhui Part 2 of 4
Finals - Frame 3 of 17 Neil Robertson vs Ding Junhui Part 3 of 4
Finals - Frame 3 of 17 Neil Robertson vs Ding Junhui Part 4 of 4
Finals - Frame 4 of 17 Neil Robertson vs Ding Junhui Part 1 of 3
Finals - Frame 4 of 17 Neil Robertson vs Ding Junhui Part 2 of 3
Finals - Frame 4 of 17 Neil Robertson vs Ding Junhui Part 3 of 3
Finals - Frame 6 of 17 Neil Robertson vs Ding Junhui Part 1 of 2
Finals - Frame 6 of 17 Neil Robertson vs Ding Junhui Part 2 of 2
Finals - Frame 7 of 17 Neil Robertson vs Ding Not Available.
Finals - Frame 8 of 17 Neil Robertson vs Ding Junhui Part 1 of 2
Finals - Frame 8 of 17 Neil Robertson vs Ding Junhui Part 2 of 2
Finals - Frame 9 of 17 Neil Robertson vs Ding Junhui Part 1 of 5
Finals - Frame 9 of 17 Neil Robertson vs Ding Junhui Part 2 of 5
Finals - Frame 9 of 17 Neil Robertson vs Ding Junhui Part 3 of 5
Finals - Frame 9 of 17 Neil Robertson vs Ding Junhui Part 4 of 5
Finals - Frame 9 of 17 Neil Robertson vs Ding Junhui Part 5 of 5
Finals - Frame 10 of 17 Neil Robertson vs Ding Not Available.
Finals - Frame 11 of 17 Neil Robertson vs Ding Not Available.
Finals - Frame 12 of 17 Neil Robertson vs Ding Junhui Part 1 of 4
Finals - Frame 12 of 17 Neil Robertson vs Ding Junhui Part 2 of 4
Finals - Frame 12 of 17 Neil Robertson vs Ding Junhui Part 3 of 4
Finals - Frame 12 of 17 Neil Robertson vs Ding Junhui Part 4 of 4
Finals - Frame 13 of 17 Neil Robertson vs Ding Junhui Part 1 of 2
Finals - Frame 13 of 17 Neil Robertson vs Ding Junhui Part 2 of 2
That's All Folks! Congratulations to Neil Robertson! His second Grand Prix Trophy. All the best to him for the future
Monday, 2 November 2009
Snooker Grand Prix 2009
When is it taking place?
Runs from Saturday 3rd October till Sunday 11th October.
Who are the participants?
(Posted with surname in alphabetical order)
Mark Allen, Stuart Bingham, Nigel Bond, Jamie Burnett, Marcus Campbell, Ali Carter, Jamie Cope, Mark Davis, Mark Williams, Ryan Day, Ken Doherty, Peter Ebdon, Marco Fu, Gerard Greene, Stephen Hendry, John Higgins, Mark Joyce, Ding Junhui, Mark King, Stephen Maguire, Ian McCulloch, Robert Milkins, Shaun Murphy, Ronnie O'Sullivan, Joe Perry, Barry Pinches, Neil Robertson, Mark Selby, Matthew Selt, Matthew Stevens, Ricky Walden, Liang Wenbo.
Basic Schedule of Tournament:
Round 1 takes place from Saturday 3rd October to Tuesday 6th October
Round 2 takes place from Wednesday 7th October to Thursday 8th October
Quarter Finals take place on Friday 9th October
Semi Finals take place on Saturday 10th October
Final takes place on Sunday 11th October
Grand Prix Roll of Honour
1984 Dennis Taylor
1985 Steve Davis
1986 Jimmy White
1987 Stephen Hendry
1988 Steve Davis
1989 Steve Davis
1990 Stephen Hendry
1991 Stephen Hendry
1992 Jimmy White
1993 Peter Ebdon
1994 John Higgins
1995 Stephen Hendry
1996 Mark Williams
1997 Dominic Dale
1998 Stephen Lee
1999 John Higgins
2000 Mark Williams
2001 Stephen Lee
2002 Chris Small
2003 Mark Williams
2004 Ronnie O’Sullivan
2005 John Higgins
2006 Neil Robertson
2007 Marco Fu
2008 John Higgins
Runs from Saturday 3rd October till Sunday 11th October.
Who are the participants?
(Posted with surname in alphabetical order)
Mark Allen, Stuart Bingham, Nigel Bond, Jamie Burnett, Marcus Campbell, Ali Carter, Jamie Cope, Mark Davis, Mark Williams, Ryan Day, Ken Doherty, Peter Ebdon, Marco Fu, Gerard Greene, Stephen Hendry, John Higgins, Mark Joyce, Ding Junhui, Mark King, Stephen Maguire, Ian McCulloch, Robert Milkins, Shaun Murphy, Ronnie O'Sullivan, Joe Perry, Barry Pinches, Neil Robertson, Mark Selby, Matthew Selt, Matthew Stevens, Ricky Walden, Liang Wenbo.
Basic Schedule of Tournament:
Round 1 takes place from Saturday 3rd October to Tuesday 6th October
Round 2 takes place from Wednesday 7th October to Thursday 8th October
Quarter Finals take place on Friday 9th October
Semi Finals take place on Saturday 10th October
Final takes place on Sunday 11th October
Grand Prix Roll of Honour
1984 Dennis Taylor
1985 Steve Davis
1986 Jimmy White
1987 Stephen Hendry
1988 Steve Davis
1989 Steve Davis
1990 Stephen Hendry
1991 Stephen Hendry
1992 Jimmy White
1993 Peter Ebdon
1994 John Higgins
1995 Stephen Hendry
1996 Mark Williams
1997 Dominic Dale
1998 Stephen Lee
1999 John Higgins
2000 Mark Williams
2001 Stephen Lee
2002 Chris Small
2003 Mark Williams
2004 Ronnie O’Sullivan
2005 John Higgins
2006 Neil Robertson
2007 Marco Fu
2008 John Higgins
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