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Re: [xmca] http://www.elluminate.com/support/



So, given that in the US alone we have three time zones, how might we begin
to explore XMCA seminars in a synchrnous meeting?
Might some of the experienced users form a support team and suggest a time
(perhaps, a schedule of somewhat different times)
when those interested could participate? We could pick a given text, or
people like Debbie Piecka could tell us about her
dissertation work in more detail, with the ability to show as well as tell.
Maybe we could all be part of Peter's webcast. I am
planning some meetings with Regina Langhout's group at Santa Cruz on the
work of Seymour Sarason ("creation of settings")
that might usefully be opened up (we plan to use a set of readings printed
some time back in MCA).

But to make this happen, others besides LCHC/UCSD folks have to give a
helping hand. We have our hands full with the existing
media we are working to support! (With obviously mixed results  :-((  ).
mike

On Sat, Jul 25, 2009 at 3:51 AM, <dpiecka@comcast.net> wrote:

>
>
> Good day, I am sure that the software would be wonderful for XMCA seminars.
>   I completed my doctoral degree in instructional technology as a completely
> online student and used many different platforms in the courses of my
> studies.
>
> While platforms are wonderful, what seemed to really work well was any
> situation where there was a period of instruction so that participants could
> become familiar with the software/environment.   This includes allowing
> extra time to learn how to raise hands, take turns, mute the microphone, and
> all of the little things that make for a great synchronous environment.   It
> is also very helpful to have two people ready to facilitate a meeting – one
> who is running the general progression of the content or discussion matter
> and another to help those that may be having technical issues.   This way,
> the conversation doesn’t seem to get interrupted.   Those who need technical
> help know where to go for support (this can be done with a banner
> announcement or pre-meeting emails).
>
> Well, it is probably time for me to introduce myself.   I have been lurking
> on the listserv since April.   I recently graduated from Duquesne University
> in Pittsburgh, PA, USA in the instructional technology doctoral program.   I
> am working as a contractor at Wheeling Jesuit University’s Center for
> Educational Technologies, NASA-supported classroom of the future project
> (Wheeling, WV, USA).    I joined the listserv on Martin Packer’s
> recommendation as I wanted to continue research about learning with
> technology from a Vygotskian perspective.   I completed my dissertation,
> Show and Tell:   Learning with Interactive Videoconferencing in
> Kindergarten.
>
>   I examined the meaning making of kindergarten students (ages 5-7 years
> old) while they participated in interactive videoconferences with national
> and international peers and content experts.   My data included over 500
> hours of participant observation, 2 notebooks of field notes, movies of 7
> interactive videoconferences from 2 digital camcorders each, transcriptions
> of the videoconferences, and general student and teacher artifacts common to
> an early childhood classroom.   The students participated in three local
> (within a few miles of one another) videoconferences with peers about birds,
> bird homes, and polar worlds (penguins and polar bears).   They collaborated
> with a content expert about sharks and The Gingerbread Boy folktale as
> performed and read with shadow puppets.   Finally, they also participated in
> an international set of videoconferences with a primary British classroom
> where they investigated astronomy concepts as facilitated by a 2 university
> professors (a mathematician and astronomer) from a leading British
> university.
>
> Prior the study, I did a pilot study to assist me in my research design,
> choice of theoretical perspective, and general experience with being in an
> early childhood classroom, capturing the data, and using the ATLAS.ti
> software for data analysis.   I imported all of my data into the ATLAS.ti
> software, and worked with the videos, transcriptions, and field notes to
> examine the meaning making of the students using four Vygotskian tenets: 1)
> the social origins of cognition, 2) sign and tool use in mediated activity,
> 3) the role and importance of language, and 4) the zone of proximal
> development.
>
> My results indicated that learning with interactive videoconferencing in
> kindergarten supports meaning making using these 4 tenets.   Hence, I mapped
> examples of the kindergartners’ meaning making to the Vygotskian tenets.   I
> will give some quick examples.   In the astronomy videoconferences, the
> young students were given 10-15 minutes to just meet and greet one another.
>   They observed differences in the Pennsylvania USA English and the British
> English language.   They laughed about certain terms, pointed out their
> locations on an atlas, learned that they shared the Atlantic Ocean between
> their continents, chatted about lunches, common names, toilets, and other
> things common to young children.    This time provided an introduction for
> the students to build rapport in their virtual environment, and they were
> very motivated to continue into the videoconference to begin their
> activities about astronomy concepts.   Sign and tool use through mediated
> activities were abundant as students saw pictures of the solar system, began
> to distinguish between planets, stars, and galaxies, answered open ended
> questions, and used inflatable globes to represent the Earth and an apple as
> the moon.   They absolutely loved make a human model of the rotation of the
> Sun, Earth, and moon.   The microphones were muted while each site practiced
> making their human models – students getting dizzy and rotating counter
> clockwise around one another.   Then we turned the microphones back one and
> they demonstrated their models to one another. Imagine the laughter   J   So
> many more examples.   In videoconferences, language is essential and they
> used their language to negotiate new content, answer questions like “what is
> your favorite planet and why?” use the mnemonic   “My Very Excellent Mother
> Just Served Us Noodles” to learn the order of the planets outward from the
> Sun, and much more.   Lastly, I used graphs to represent the ZPD.    I
> included a picture of the one for the astronomy videoconferences.
>
> I am in Namibia this month working with the National Archives to build some
> history CD-ROMs to accompany the 10 th grade syllabus.   One of my passions
> is finding ways to use technology to promote multicultural learning
> situations.   This is my 2 nd trip to Namibia– my first was 2 years ago as a
> study abroad student .
>
> I feel very at home on the listserv.   While I am quite inexperienced
> compared to others in my Vygotskian understanding, I feel at home and
> realize that many are pondering the same questions that I am.   I spent
> several months reading Vygotsky for my dissertation – something I never,
> never imagined I would do.    However, I think it so important to
> investigate learning with technology in different ways than have
> traditionally been done over the past 2 decades.   I’ve spent the last few
> months attending conferences in many fields – technology, distance
> education, early childhood education, ethnography, qualitative research, and
> soon educational psychology.   I enjoy learning from the many comments,
> thinking about how they apply to my own research, and gaining ideas for
> writing.   My, I think I have gone over my word limit.
>
> Debbie Piecka
>
> dpiecka@comcast.net
>
>
>
> Debra C. Burkey Piecka, Ed.D.
>
> Independent Educational Researcher
>
> Contractor, Center for Educational Technologies, www.cet.edu
>
> Volunteer, National Archives of Namibia, Africa
>
> Pittsburgh, PA USA
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Mike Cole" <lchcmike@gmail.com>
> To: "eXtended Mind, Culture, Activity" <xmca@weber.ucsd.edu>
> Cc: "langandlit" <LLE-L@listserv.uga.edu>, "lego" <LEGO-L@listserv.uga.edu
> >
> Sent: Friday, July 24, 2009 7:46:56 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern
> Subject: Re: [xmca] http://www.elluminate.com/support/
>
> Wow!! This looks irresistable. I will check it out immediately.
> I wonder if it would be a medium for XMCA seminars?
> mike
>
> On Fri, Jul 24, 2009 at 3:43 PM, Monica Hansen <
> monica.hansen@vandals.uidaho.edu> wrote:
>
> > I worked with this software in a course last semester. First, it is
> > synchronous, so as opposed to other online learning systems that may be
> > more
> > like old-fashioned correspondence classes, it provides a medium more like
> a
> > live classroom. When participants access the meeting, they can hear each
> > other, see visuals, see a common visual like a powerpoint, an
> application,
> > a
> > webpage, etc. Also, participants can message each other on a chat board,
> > raise their hand or use tools to post to the whiteboard. Once, everyone
> > trouble shoots their computers, software compatibility, and headsets, it
> is
> > relatively smooth.
> >
> > I think it has real potential to be used with a more collaborative style
> > classroom management to enable distance learning and accessibility.
> >
> > My advice: practice, practice, practice before holding the first session.
> > Make sure you have good tech support for the students so they are not
> > frustrated.
> >
> >
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: xmca-bounces@weber.ucsd.edu [mailto:xmca-bounces@weber.ucsd.edu]
> On
> > Behalf Of Peter Smagorinsky
> > Sent: Friday, July 24, 2009 12:19 PM
> > To: 'eXtended Mind, Culture, Activity'; 'langandlit'; 'lego'
> > Subject: [xmca] http://www.elluminate.com/support/
> >
> > http://www.elluminate.com/support/
> >
> > Is anyone familiar with this software and willing to comment on it?
> > thanks,Peter
> >
> >
> >
> > Peter <http://www.coe.uga.edu/lle/faculty/smagorinsky/index.html>
> > Smagorinsky
> >
> > Professor <http://www.yourdictionary.com/full-professor>  of
> > <http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/of>  English
> > <http://www.coe.uga.edu/lle/english/secondary/index.html>  Education
> >
> > Department of Language <http://www.coe.uga.edu/lle/>  and Literacy
> > Education
> >
> > The University of Georgia <http://www.uga.edu/>
> >
> > 125 <http://www.coe.uga.edu/about/directions.html>  Aderhold Hall
> >
> > Athens <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athens,_Georgia> , GA
> > <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgia_(U.S._state)<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgia_%28U.S._state%29>
> <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgia_%28U.S._state%29>>
> >  30602
> > <http://www.city-data.com/zips/30602.html>
> >
> > smago@uga.edu
> >
> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
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> >
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