iPod. eHarmony. H.H.Greg. E-moderating... ¿E-moderating?

An E-moderator moderates online communication between students and teachers.  As explained in E-moderating: The Key to Teaching and Learning Online a learners experience is central to knowledge construction.

E-moderating: The Key to Teaching and Learning Online is different from A Practical Guide to Developing Effective Web-based Learning because is focuses more on the interaction between students and teachers.

Although the educational website toward capstone is not being created as an online course, understanding the importance of communication in the learning process is helping to mold the website in a whole new way. Initially, I was going to design the website based primarily on the principles I learned in A Practical Guide to Developing Effective Web-based Learning. Although I will probably present information in the same ways that were suggested in A Practical Guide to Developing Effective Web-based Learning. I would like to adopt the importance of communication into my thinking and create a portal for website viewers to contact me. I do not think that e-moderating is the most appropriate choice for this website, however, I would like to be able to hear from website viewers and answer questions for them whether they are students or teachers.

This resource did not seem like an influential book for this capstone project at first, then I realized that it had far more to offer than I thought.

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1600's Games

Researching games from the 1600's in the United States is difficult because the Declaration of Independence was not signed until the late 1700's. Consequently, 17th Century Native American and European toys and games will be discussed instead.

One popular Native American Indian game was the bowl and dice game. The bowl and dice game has three separate phases. The object of the game is to win more sticks than any other player. Arguably, this could be considered a game that catches the essence of gathering materials for survival. However, its primary purpose seems more like an original means of having fun.

In the UK, children played with dolls and they played skittles. Children did not have nearly as many luxuries as kids do today. The majority of children in the 1700's had to rely on their own imaginations and didn't have toys.

As it was stated in the 1700's Games blog, dolls do capture an essence of real-life experience, but skittles does not.

The fact that children were being creative and thinking of ways to have fun seems original. However, it is hard to distinguish imaginative games as an essence of life experience or not. The children could have been playing house or pretending to play school, but they also could been creating games such as "freeze-tag"as well.

The 17th Century is certainly different from the 18th and 19th century. It will be interesting to see how it also differs from the 20th century and see whether or not it is an outlier in the experience and time correlation or not.

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1800's Games

  "It might be that all games are silly. But then, so are humans." ~ Robert Lynd

     Most of the popular 18th century games were just as prominent in the 19th century as they were throughout the 1700's. Although it was still common to see games and toys such as pick-up sticks, the yo-yo, dominoes, and cup and ball, the19th century did have their own innovations.

Toy guns, the rocking horse, the rolling hoop, Jacob's ladder, tops, game of graces, building blocks, and school house sets became popular in the 1800's.

There are far more games from the 19th century that capture the essence of a real-life experience. The only toy from the 18th century that really captured the essence of a life experience was the baby doll.

However, the toy guns, the rocking horse, the building blocks, and the school house set all imitate real experiences.

It is interesting to see how the popular games of each of these centuries has changed. Although I have only researched two centuries, I am certain that there is a positive correlation between popular games and their ability to capture the essence of real-life experiences and time.


9th Century Games
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Rocking Horse
Games of Graces

Motion Graphics Resource

Have you ever walked up to a door expecting for it to open only to find yourself trying to turn a locked doorknob? I feel that same aggravation when I try to edit something but do not understand how it is done. Creating Motion Graphics with After Effects is a book of editing keys. 

I am going to make a short motion graphics video in After Effects. Although the web is full of tutorials I am very interested in seeing what this book has to offer. When I watch tutorials while I am editing I am constantly playing a game of stop-and-go. I have to pause the video to switch windows and imitate the tutorial. One of the benefits of having a book is that I can edit more fluidly.

I have also found myself  searching for information or for a tutorial I did not understand how to search.  For example, when I first learned about key-framing, I probably searched, "how to place an object in After Effects at a certain time ..." One of the benefits of using this book is that I will be able to learn the proper vocabulary for editing in After Effects. 

This resources will undoubtedly unlock new doors and right now, it is only $1.46 on Amazon.   


After Effects Logo
After Effects Image

1700's Games

Benjamin Franklin once said, "We do not stop playing because we grow old, we grow old because we stop playing."

Originally, I had decided to research popular games starting in the1940s but Franklin has inspired me to go back to the early 1700s. Colonial American children played with games and toys such as marbles, skittles, cat in a cradle, ball in a cup, dominoes, checkers, hopscotch, jacks, jump rope, pick-up sticks and yo-yo.  Children would also play with stuffed dolls made of worn socks and play cards games such as solitaire.

The Art of Game design says that a good game does "Not need to perfectly replicate real experiences... [However it does] need to capture the essence of those experiences" (Schell 20). The early 1700's-games are interesting in that the only activity that actually replicates a real-life experience would be playing with dolls. Playing with dolls  captures the essence of parenthood. All of the other games are original experiences.

It will be interesting to find the century when the majority of popular games captures the essence of real experiences instead of original thinking.

Publishing

A second resource I choose to help guide my capstone was Inside Book Publishing. I have not read the book from cover to cover but as I read, I am encouraged to ask myself, “Why do I want to get this book published?”

Inside Book Publishing seems to be written for an audience of authors seeking to reach the top of the best sellers lists. The book exposes some of the cutthroat realities of a books success. For example it explains that, “In a market increasingly dominated by powerful retailors and book sellers, publisher size is crucial . . .” Although I would like people to buy The Corkboard Curriculum, the purpose of getting the book published is not for financial success or name credibility. I would like the book published in order to secure the content and have the freedom of distributing or selling the book to anyone who would benefit from having it. This being said, parts of Inside Book Publishing do not apply to my capstone.

However, Inside Book Publishing has encouraged me to look into a variety of publishing types. Today, I read an article on the benefits and drawbacks of self-publishing.

Nonetheless, if I decide to get the book published with a small local company or opt to try self-publishing, Inside Book Publishing will still be a great resource. Chapters 10 and 11, for example, are full of applicable marketing and sales techniques. 

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Teach-In on Syria

On Thursday, September 19th Shepherd University's Political Science Department hosted a teach-in on Syria.

 Prior to the teach-in I had not taken the time to study or listen to the news on Syria. I wanted to learn the facts but I did not want any bias twist. The teachers in the Political Science Department presented the information beautifully.

Dr. Stephanie Slocum-Shaffer lead the discussion. First, she presented the current news. She explained that Obama asked congress to use force in Syria. Syria, as most people have heard, attacked using chemical weapons. Congress needs to pass a resolution in order for Obama to send ground troops. Once a resolution is purposed it goes through the same process as a bill. Once it is passed, it has force of law. If I understood correctly, a resolution has not been passed because the government is waiting to understand Russia's role in this situation.

After the current events, Dr. David Stump explained U.S. Policy and a chronological list of important interactions between the United States and the Middle East since Truman's turn. He also made it a point to specifically mention the relationships between Egypt, the Soviet Union, Iran, Syria, and the United States.

Dr. Aart Holtslag explained why the U.S. started acting against Syria's use of chemical weapons. He explained that the use of the chemical weapons was in violation of the chemical weapons convention. However, Syria was not a part of the convention. Conversely, Syria did sign an agreement for gasses in 1968 and in 2000 Syria signed a National Statute of Criminal Report that made an agreement against chemical weapons. In order for the United States to act and honor their position in the U.N., the U.N. Security Council would need to approve a declaration based on the resolution that the U.S. congress would need to pass. The U.N. Security Council will not approve a resolution for the U.S. to have ground troops in Syria unless it has been proven that there has been a breach of peace against the U.S. or that there is a need for self-defense. An additional concern is that if a resolution is passed there will have to be a reinforcer to hold the U.S. to its word.

Dr. Joseph Robbins explained Russia's role in this situation. Dr. Robbins mentioned Vladimir Putin's article in the New York Times. He presented the information from a factual stand-point. Dr. Robbins explained that the article appears that Putin has America's interest at heart, that Russia is concerned for international law, that Putin felt Syria had the right to use chemical weapons as an act of defense and finally, that Putin was concerned about unintended negative side effects. Although Dr. Robbins did not put his personal opinion into the discussion he did mention that the sincerity of the article has been put into question.

Early in the teach-in Dr. Stump mentioned that Syria and Russia were allies, but in closing, Dr. Robbins explained a few more reasons why Russia would be so concerned with Syria's foreign affairs. Economically Russia needs Syria. Russia has given billions of dollars toward Libyan and Iranian sanctions. Additionally, the last Russian base not on post Soviet Union ground is in Syria. Finally, oil is an issue. Iran and Russia want to run an oil-line from Syria to their countries.

There are, of course, a few outstanding issues as well.

• Russia thinks the U.S is hypocritical and that the country is not the golden democracy it appears to be.  
• Also, if there was a political fall-out, Russia is not interested in being overthrown by radical Muslims.
• Finally. Russia is looking to be pragmatic. 

Minus the Q&A portion of the teach-in, the professors only spoke for about an hour on Syria. I was extremely pleased to have attended the event. I do not feel as though I walked out of the teach-in with any kind of revolutionary conclusion. However, I feel far more informed than when I first walked in. 

Furthermore, there are aspects of the teach-in that I might have misunderstood. Although the information might be helpful in guiding someone's understanding on Syria, I would not quote the information above as fact without doing further research. 

Developing Effective Web-based Learning

Although some people assume that a classroom environment would be ideal for learning , “On average, students in online learning conditionsperformed better than those receiving face-to-face instruction.”  


Since online learning has become  increasingly conventional it is important for educators to develop effective web-based materials. Initially, I had placed a greater emphasis on the in-classroom application of  the Corkboard Curriculum than on online learning. After considering the weight of online-learning, I realized how important it was to have a well-developed website. 

 A Practical Guide To Developing Effective Web-basedLearning is a brilliant article that will highly influence my capstone project. The article was created to "assist readers in developing effective educational websites by integrating principles of active learning with the unique features of the Web." The article not only explains how to effectively showcase an idea or present an activity, it explains the "why's" for formatting and incorporating certain elements into a website, as well. The article includes a preparatory section and a section dedicated to the website's implementation and maintenance. Each section is divided into easy-to-follow, practical steps that help guide website construction. 

This article is a diamond in the rough. The authors understand the gravity of online learning. I will absolutely be applying the information they have provided.

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Press Release 20min. Exercise

HUMANS IN THE AIR!

The Wright brothers are flying.




by: Brianna Miller


 

In Kitty Hawk, North Carolina on December 17, 1903 Orville Wright successfully flew the flyer, an airplane, at 10:35 a.m.


It was a cold windy morning in North Carolina.

"The two brothers, plus several helpers, set up the 60-foot monorail track that helped keep the Flyer in line for lift-off. Then Orville clambered on board for it was his turn to be pilot." The crowed went wild as "Wilbur ran alongside holding onto one wing to help stabilize the plane. Around 40 feet along the track, the Flyer took flight, staying in the air for 12 seconds and traveling 120 feet from liftoff" (Rosenberg).