McLuhan's+Tetrad

=media type="custom" key="12942760"= = EDUC 67151-2 New & Emerging Technologies =

**Online Learning Community: Leading Technology Change**
**McLuhan's Tetrad**

Summarize the work you completed in the Application Assignment: McLuhan’s Tetrad for week 2's application. Assignment length: 2 paragraphs Select at least one technology contributed by a member of your Learning Community and add your thoughts and ideas about using that technology in an educational setting.
 * STEP ONE**
 * STEP TWO**

//When posting, please label your 2 paragraph summary as "Learning Community Assignment (your name)".//

//When posting step two, please label your additional thoughts and ideas feedback as "LCA feedback from (your name) to (group member's name)"//

For this week’s application I focused on Kinect, an emerging technology Microsoft supplies with its latest version of the XBOX 360. The Kinect allows the player to operator an avatar in a virtual world using only their body and movements to control the digital character. It also has a voice recognition system that gives a person the opportunity to start, pause or stop a movie using only their voice. This technology is on the verge of making controllers for gaming systems obsolete and could assist in the creation of new technology that allows a person to control any mechanical or virtual object without being in the same place. One example could be a doctor operating a mechanical arm using the natural movements of their hand as they perform a delicate procedure that normally could not be performed by a human hand.
 * __Learning Community Assignment: David Keniston__**

The Kinect could be used in an educational setting for many different reasons, one the most impactful being motivation. Students of the current generation are completely engrossed in video games and the Kinect could be a way to incorporate something that sparks the students’ interest in order to learn educational and content specific material. The website kinecteduction.com has blogs, forums, videos and other forms of information that demonstrate ways Kinect can be used in an academic setting today and what it could lead to in the future.

__LCA Feedback from Laura to David__ I would never have thought of Kinect in the classroom! It is true though, that is makes such a good motivational tool. Many students have it in their homes and are very familiar with how it works. It is a great way to get kids up and moving around instead of sitting in one place. I might have to look into the kinecteducation to see how they have used it in the classroom. Even glancing at the site, I see how many students are making their own apps and using kinect in different ways. This helps them gain the skills they would need for the future as well as having fun and being engaged!

__**Learning Community Assignment: Laura Mahany**__ This week, after trying to think of something besides an iPad or other go-to device for technology, I focused on the site Pandora. This site allows people to chose free music to listen to and seems to fit in the tetrad that was discussed this week. First, it allows a person to listen to music without purchasing the songs, can be tweaked to personal preferences, allows for multiple music stations, and is available in any computer, cell phone, or tablet. It seems to replace a CD, mp3 player, and record because it is more portable and available where ever there is internet access. Plus, a song that is free usually dominates over paying for the same song.

It is difficult to rekindle anything when music is concerned since music is a large part of our society. However, there is a larger access for music so people tend to listen to songs more when they have free songs than when they go out and buy a CD or download only a specific song(s) to their mp3 player. What is going to replace Pandora is what I am not sure. I know that you cannot relisten to songs that have already played on that station unless you wait a long time, there are a few commercials after every-so-many songs, and there requires a large bandwith that some schools cannot maintain. I like to use Pandora for my students while they work, and you can have different stations for different concepts. I have more classical-based songs for students when they are working and thinking, and more fun-based for when they earn free time. I can also share these stations with my co-workers so we all have benefited from using Pandora in the school.

__LCA Feedback from Jennifer to Laura__ Pandora is something we listen to in the art room while students are working on projects. Another down side with the free version is you can only skip four songs or so in an hour. I learned this the hard way when the students asked if they could listen to today's top pop hits. Well, the songs are not edited like they are on the radio as they have cuss words in them. I went to skip the song, the students had already skipped too many, and so I just shut-down pandora for the day. I have used specific genre on Pandora for students to listen to and draw a response. This way, students are making connections from the music and the way they feel, to their art. __LCA feedback from David to Laura__ Another physical education teacher at my school has been learning about Pandora and told me she would give me a quick run through once she figured out what it was all about. Music is a major contributor to my class because music is so motivational. Classical songs are appropriate for your classroom setting where I use a mixture of hip-hop, alternative, pop and many other genres of music to encourage physical participation in class, we all know how much easier it is to exercise when you are listen to music that motivates you. Currently I us my iPod and shuffle through my own pre-selected music I keep on a playlist, but with Pandora I could have more student input and come up with creative ways that allow students to pick the music we listen to during our activities.

__LCA feedback from Dawn to Laura__ I have just recently begun to use Pandora so I am still learning more about it. The students like it when I put it on while they are working. LIke you Laura, I use more classical-based songs during work time and more fun songs (giving them a choice of what they would like to listen to) during their choice time. The students can not get into Pandora from their own computer since it is blocked so I have to do it from my computer. The music does motivate my students to work and keeps them focused believe it or not...otherwise they are distracted and talking to one another when they should be working on a computer assignment. One of my co-workers just set up Pandora on her phone and she syncs it to her radio in the car. I need to spend some time setting up songs on my account at work and plan to do this with the student's input.


 * __Learning Community Assignment: Jennifer McClure__**

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[]). As an artist and art teacher, this product is very exciting. Inkling is a pressure sensitive pen that is used on regular paper. The pen records the drawing using ultrasonic and infrared technologies. Images can be transferred to a computer for further design work. This technology is an enhancement because it bridges the gap between traditional drawing and digital art. The technology that Inkling obsoletes, at least for sketch artists, is the scanner. Having the pen record what is drawn, and transferring it to a computer, makes the task easier and less messy for clean-up once the image is in the computer. Although the Inkling causes rekindled images of a traditional sketch book, further back in generations it reminds me of the Etch-A-Sketch. Looking back into the very distant past, the Inkling could be compared to lithography, as it involves the transfer of an image. In the future, the Inkling has possibilities of being replaced by the next new technology. This could be a more advanced pen that instantly sends the image to the computer as the user draws in a sketchbook, or it could be a pen that creates a three-dimensional image as the user draws the two-dimensional version. Really, the possibilities are endless as i am sure imporvements can always be made.======

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In an ideal educational setting, where the arts encompass all the content areas, the Inkling could have a positive impact on teaching and learning. The Inkling works as a recorder and storage devise for artists who like to draw using traditional paper and pen. It then takes the art to the next level by making it digital, eliminating the need to scan beginning design concepts into the computer. Since it is a pen, students could also use the inkling to write and take notes. In today’s educational world, because of budgets and focus being on testing; the Inkling would not be an item every school would appreciate or look at. On the other hand, it would benefit art programs and design-based schools. In Brockton’s art class, it would be beneficial to students because they have an art journal they turn in each week. Students could turn their art journals in electronically, and they could also upload their sketches, manipulate them in a design program, and create finished artwork. ======

__ LCA Feedback from Julia to Jennifer __ WOW! Jennifer, I've been intrigued by these interactive pens for about a year now and have been itching to get my hands on one because they reproduce such clear representations of what a user writes of draws. After watching a youtube video about the Livescribe SmartPen I thought about buying one just to take with me to conferences and workshops, but them I watched a demonstration of the product and realized that this tool wouldn't provide me with what I want. What I REALLY want is no audio- just a digital recording of whatever I write down, in the order which I write it down in, even if it's just notes, but also having the capability to record drawings. In addition, Livescribe necessitates the purchase of the paper that goes with the pen...pain in the tail and extra expense. The reason that I prefer the Inkling which you summarized above also has to do with watching a demonstration video. The design of the inkling sensor which you clip to any paper looks like a good design....after all, how long have people been using clipboards? Since 1902! I also loved how the pen slid back into the doc and the sensor clicked into the doc....again, good design. I can see how powerful a tool this would be in your Art room and even for students outside of school considering that artists often draw wherever the mood strikes : ) In your classroom though, I would bet that the best practice would be to have two or three netbooks or laptops for students to use with the Inklings. When I tried to find information about the inkling in connection with an Ipad for example, that's where I found some competition because Ipad has an App for drawing directly on the touchscreen. The other thing that I would do if implementing the Inkling in an Art classroom would be to use Flickr and Photosnack to create virtual portfolios for students so that students could share artwork that they had created virtually. Thanks for sharing this technology Jennifer!

In this week’s Application assignment I chose to apply McLuhan’s Tetrad to presentation web tools such as [|Prezi], [|Voki] , [|Vuvox] and [|Glogster] supported by [|Audacity] or [|Flickr] embedded on the social media site [|Edmodo]. These tools enhance traditional tag board collage, and posters, by providing instant connection and feedback. Throughout the creation and feedback process, a norm or expectation emerges denoting possible improvement or change to presentations; samples are viewable anywhere the student can access the internet. Traditional presentation software such as [|Microsoft PowerPoint], and [|Photostory] have been made obsolete in a virtual education setting by presentation web tools due to the need for software installation, knowledge of menu needed, and limiting sequential movement within presentations. Nearly all presentation web tools mentioned herein have Ipad and Android applications available. Students don’t need a full size computer, instead having the option to use an Android device as small as 4 inches in length. A final obsolescent reality? Presentation web tools rely on graphics using JavaScript or flash to provide the user more information when hovering over a graphic. This trumps a mouse click on a menu or tab as traditional presentation software necessitates.
 * __ Learning Community Assignment: Julia Geiser __**

Traditional collegiate courses were an earlier service that provided users similar access to information retrieved by presentation web tools. Universities could house and afford a vast store of information, while providing a collaborative peer setting for learning. Presentation web tools have access to as vast a collection of information as you would have found at a University in the past, limited only by the time students have to spend on the presentation. By embedding a presentation artifact’s code into a social network platform like [|Edmodo] , students can share, evaluate, revise and finalize their learning just as collegiate students have in the past. With the advent of holographic technology, presentation web software such as Glogster, Prezi, Voki and Vuvox would undergo McLuhan’s Tetrad progression of reversal. If these media formats were to become what they were simulating, a coffee cup graphic within Prezi or Glogster could be filled with information or emptied of that information as a real world cup could rather than having the information printed upon the cup. From their emergence, presentation web tools would have caused users to pose the question, by virtue of their use, what more could we do if we were to change certain elements of this tool? Presentation web tools such as Prezi which emerged in two thousand-one could be made obsolete in as little as ten years when considering England’s company [|Randstad and their Hologram keynote speaker]  at their 50th anniversary celebration in two thousand-eleven. Comparing the two instances of obsolescence only reinforces the need for education professionals and students to work together when considering the adoption of emerging. If students as well as education professionals would investigate technologies for adoption then teachers could potentially obsolete themselves with a portion of students. The remaining students would need teachers to facilitate their connections between formerly used media and emerging presentation tools, but the end goal would be for teachers to participate in their own obsolescence.

__LCA feedback Stephen to Julia __ I was fortunate in one of our previous classes to use Prezi as a presentation tool. I thought the software was excellent and the fact that studnet could use it concept map information was an added bonus. I think if more teachers are aware that there are other software programs other then PowerPoint then they will be likely to use it in their classrooms. I know many teachers that have become bored of the old PowerPoint presentations and students have demonstrated their lack of interest in them. I really like the idea of embedding a presentation into a social media format, this would allow for students to collaborate from home on projects or presentations that they have been assigned in class. It would also cut down on the in class time needed for students to create their presentations. I am excited to use such technology in my classroom because I like to use group assignments as a major portion of my class. I think students will gravitate to the idea of building something together within a social meda format. Nice work!

__**Learning Community Assignment: Stephen Gross**__ This week I investigated the Emerging technology of interactive whiteboards specifically the use of SmartBoard technology. Although this technology is not new it is still emering in many of the classrooms. Our school is fortunate to have some of these in place but for the most part our classroom's are still filled with old dry eraser whiteboards. This technology is definately making the dry eraser and chalk boards obsolete. Teachers can know use these devices in conjuction with software to present students with information that is more engaging and up to date. Although this technology can become very costly to a school or school district the benifits of it use are amazing. Teachers that I have spoken to have made great strives in their ability to present information in a new way. When applying McLuhans Tetrad I am reminded of a time when teachers had to use dry-eraser boards in conjuction with dvd's/vhs's but with the use of the SmartBoard these two technologies are now work in as one. Teachers can integrated up to the minute video into their presentations and use text that is clear a easy to read; which also reminds me of the use of overhead projectors that teachers use to utilize in their classrooms for that exact reason. Do I think this technology will be replaced? Of course I do, like any other technology something will come along that is better and more easily to use. I foresee a time when all students have a tablet of some sort where they can be presented with information by the teacher but at customized to their particular likes and dislikes. This could be possible but the budget of schools would hinder its immediate implimentation so for know the use of interactive whiteboards it the best possible choice.

__**Learning Community Assignment - Dawn Kinnell**__ I decided to do my tetrad assignment on the Smartboard. I know the Smartboard is emerged in many schools/areas, however, it is still new to some other areas. In my school alone, we still have chalkboards, as crazy as that sounds! I do have ceiling mounted projector that projects onto a pull down screen, however my classroom is one of the few that have that. Since I teach computers, it only made sense I had one in my room. Many teachers still use the overhead projectors and TV's to view VCR tapes. We are so behind when it comes to technology because of funding...it is really frustrating. The Smartboard enhances the way students learn and it motivates them to learn more. It reaches all types of learners and helps students pay more attention and learn. The Smartboard obsoletes the chalkboards and overhead projectors that have been used in schools and even offices. When I think way back in times what people used for communication tools, it reminds me of the cave paintings and the pictograms. It makes me wonder what it is going to be like many years from now, the way we are going with technology today. With that thought, I keep trying to think of what could ever replace the Smartboard years from now and while I can not come up with something, I know there is going to be something in the future, but I do not believe it will be anytime soon. I hope I at least have a chance at working with one in my own classroom before it phases out.

I believe all schools should have at least one Smartboard. If it were up to me, I would have them in every classroom. The learning that takes place with a Smartboard is amazing. Students who do not normally raise their hand to participate are raising their hands more with a Smartboard in the classroom and are so much more motivated to learn! It increases students engagement and promotes inquiry driven learning. It also enhances teacher preparation as it streamlines lessons more.