Telephony/VOIP/Communication and Conferencing Progression

Telephony/VOIP/Communication and Conferencing Progression

In 1876, Alexander Graham Bell developed the telephone. He conceived a sort of electrical telegraph that mailed signs as musical notices produced by shaking needs. Eventually the landline based telephone morphed into wireless communications.

The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks. Millions of systems linked are collectively. Traditional communication media including telephone, music, film, and television are or have been reshaped by the invention of the internet.

VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) is a technology for the delivery of voice communications and multimedia sessions over Internet Protocol (IP) networks, such as the Internet or an Intranet. VOIP does away with traditional landline and cable based communication procedures.

Internet Protocol television (IPTV) is a system through which television services are delivered using the Internet, instead of being delivered through traditional terrestrial, satellite signal, and cable television formats.

When you bring all of these communicative pieces together, you get an invention similar to Skype, or VOIP with chat/IM capabilities, multiple person conferencing, video conferencing and multiplatform performance. Skype is a software application that allows user to make voice and video calls over the Internet. Skype has additional features such as instant messaging, video conferencing and file sharing or file transfer. Skype is a peer-to-peer system, not a client-server system.

Simulation in Online Education- Trends

Most people’s ideas of current distance learning include the use of technology. Most online courses today include elements such as audio, video, email, and some level of technological interactivity. Environment can now be customized to suit the specific needs of the student, and include emerging forms of technology such as simulations. While simulated learning has been around for decades, their widespread use in education has not. With the advances in web based or LMS based learning, educators are now realizing that simulations and virtual worlds can assist in reaching all levels of learners, especially those who are visual and kinesthetic learners. The users are able to experience learning and take an active role in the learning process.
Simulated learning can be difficult and expensive to produce. Additionally, there can be an overall lack of support when problems arise in the virtual environment. Certain simulations are user centered (working through a problem on their own) which takes out the social element of learning. Instructors may feel that they can take a backseat when simulated learning is present, but in fact, the learner should experience the instructor as a coach in order to discover the full benefits of experiential learning.
In order to successfully implement a virtual environment for student learning, there needs to be team members involved that are familiar with the technology and are able to troubleshoot, modify and adjust when problems arise. Social elements should be built into the learning environment so students do not feel as though as they are lost in cyberspace. Students and instructors must also realize that certain simulated environments are subject to user bias. The environment relies on human input, and the outcomes of the environment are dependent on that human input. The simulated learning environment may not necessarily be as accurate as what would happen in a real world scenario.
The University of Maryland has been using simulations in education for some time, both online and on ground. Their website is found here. http://www.icons.umd.edu/highered/home#.Tm4urU_bG9o
http://www.umm.edu/news/releases/ss_tc.htm

Final Project

Week 5 concept map

Week 4

When designing online courses, it’s important to include various tools that will encompass different learning styles of students that may enroll in the class. In order to explain difficult concepts, one must refer back to Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences and account for diverse learning style.
Content should be presented in mediums that encompass text, audio and visual. One should strive to include different ways to parlay the information. While a student may not want to read a written lecture, they will readily listen to it via Ipod or download.
Collaborative groups should \be allowed to communicate via different mediums. While some may like live communication such as skype, other would prefer text-based communication such as discussion forums. Regardless of delivery, communication is a vital part of the online learning experience, so learners may bounce ideas of each other as well as collaborated to accomplish a task.

Responded to:
http://waymyers-distanceedu.blogspot.com
http://farawaylearning.blogspot.com

Week 3 Blogs posted to

This week I posted to:
http://lkortecc.blogspot.com/2010/04/assessing-collaborative-efforts.html
http://waymyers-distanceedu.blogspot.com/2010/04/module-3-motivating-adult-learners.html

Week 3 Assessing Collaborative Efforts

Assessment in a collaborative community can be difficult due to the varying skill levels of students and the nature of communication issues in an online learning environment. Collaborative learning communities focus on higher level thinking skills, not the standard “read and repeat” of yesteryear. As Siemens (n.d) states, collaboration is not the issue, it is how we rework the former models of assessment to accommodate this new type of learning. Peers can assess each other in a collaborative manner to assist the educator and the educator needs to realize that not all assessment translates into a ‘mark’. As with younger students, peers can sometimes explain things to each other in a more simplistic form that an educator may not. Collaborative community assessment needs to be incorporated in the course design. Outcomes of the project need to be stated clearly. The educator then can manage the collaboration by using technology in the LMS to assess the students via hourly participation, logins, posts, etc along with peer assessment. Education is shifting to participation in a larger environment, much like in the workplace. The concept of assessment needs to broadened.

Sometimes students are unwilling to participate in the online collaborative group. Students have been conditioned to work by themselves and find a loss of self when asked to work within a learning community. Within a collaborative community students need to be made aware that they will be assessed on participation as well as be recognized as an individual and rewarded as such. Design of the collaborative task is important. The learning community task should be practical and engaging. It’s also important to introduce these students, who for so long have worked by themselves, to the experience within the online community first before jumping into full-blown collaboration.