VR in Education

Does virtual reality (VR) or the 3D web have a place in K-12 education?
I think that with more time to evolve and with the right rules and restrictions it would be a good thing to have in the classroom. However, it would have to be for high school and college students and possibly late middle school students;I do not think that it would be appropriate for elementary students. When students use VR they have to have control of what they are doing and the ability to stay on track, it would probably be to much for elementary students no matter how emersed they are in the virtual world.

Is virtual reality safe?
Like I said with the right rules and restrictions it would be pretty safe. There are always those predators out there in the virtual world that are ready to take advantage of young people but with a teacher to monitor what is happening it should not be too big of a problem. As long as the software allows a teacher to monitor the students at all times the VR should be fairly safe.

Given the time it takes to learn to interact in a virtual world, can an educator justify spending that time away from the typical curriculum?
I believe that as the virtual world evolves and becomes more advanced it could be a good tool for teachers to use in the classroom and away from the typical curriculum. At the moment however I do not think I could justify taking the time from the typical curriculum, I would have to invest more time learning about it first before I would use it in the classroom.

Do you think VR is just a fad?
I do not think that VR is just a fad, it is the technology in the world getting better and more interactive. As we go into the future I think that virtual reality will become a tool for people in their jobs and in education. All we can do is see what the future brings.

Software that can be used for education

I found some software that can be used in the classroom and the great news is that it is free software. Here is the link: http://www.schoolforge.net/education-software/educational-edutainment/gcompris Gcompris is educational software that has numerous activities for children 2-10, some are game oriented but they are still educational. There are a couple of questions I still have after reading the review for example: The platforms are Windows and Linux but is there similar software for Macs as well. Since this is free software, I would be willing to try it out but I would test it before I present it to my classroom.

Ning.com social networking site

This is the url to my page, birmanj.ning.com I titled it Teacher for Life. Ning.com was suprisingly easy to use. You just sign up with your email and your all set. When you are starting your page you choose the template you want (there is a large variety of these) and you personalize the colors and tools. You can add photos, videos, music, blogs, forums and events. You can network with other teachers you meet and share ideas and plans for your classrooms.

Blog Comment #2

The link to my comment is http://useyourhed.wordpress.com/2009/06/04/tweet-tweet/#comment-70 I used the name Jennifer ed205. I commented on bringing Twitter into the classroom.

Blog #1-- online learning

This is my first online class and I have to say that it is very different than in a live class. On one hand I like some of the aspects of an online class including the fact that you can do your work at your own pace on your own time, the fact that you do not have to do all your work in one sitting, and the fact that is fun to use the computer for most of the class work. On the other hands there are some downsides as well to having an online class. I have found that I tend to put off the work until later in the week because it seems like I will have more time to do it and sometimes that is just not true. Also there are times when I sometimes forget that I have homework/classwork for the class because I am so used to actually attending a live class. Overall, I have had a good experience with my first online class, it just takes discipline; I could see myself possibly taking another online class in the future.

Blog comment

Here is the link to my blog comment: http://ideasandthoughts.org/2009/09/24/blogging-is-like-extreme-sports/comment-page-1/#comment-32402. I commented on blogging being the extreme sport of writing. I used the name Jennifer 205. (edited for spelling)

Test

I hope I set this up right. This is my first blog.