I am an online teacher so I am constantly manipulating data and trying new things to learn how the data can be best interacted with. I started out by creating online philosophy courses but they eventually evolved into “television shows” as I could trick the viewer into learning but by presenting my information as entertainment. These countless films are then presented along with five books which include audio versions. Digital media is my best friend and I am very good with it. Text, audio, and video all collect on your site and mould it into its best version.
I like to compare this with the story of Pygmalion and Galatea. The Internet is like the Ivory in which can be slowly chipped away at. The result is a beautiful woman. I use this story literally, metaphorically, and allegorically all throughout my work. All of my projects are like Ivory projects, starting out with a shapeless mass and eventually ending up with perfection. Doing many things on a website over time will eventually evolve that website. Chipping away at a website is like chipping away at the statue until she is perfect.
In my line of work, I am constantly sending and receiving information in useful ways. I can see what people like and what they dislike. Information such as website statistics can be used in various ways if and when I choose that. My job is to manipulate the information that I have previously created into a receptive media format. A new example of this is me attempting to get all the chapters in all of my books to have hyperlinks to their location. The information that I receive in which is generated automatically assists me in deciding future direction. The World Wide Web is a feedback system and you can build something great if you merely start with something basic and build upon that until you have a masterpiece. But any true masterpiece, takes a lifetime. This is why I have now shifted my focus to games.
Within digital games, as you create environments, assets are automatically created. This enables you to easily copy and paste another, let’s say, tree. The tree is identically copied and now you need only play around a little with the colour settings to get a unique tree. This copy and paste trick makes assets very valuable. This is why I am focused on making environments in my game and I haven’t yet done a lot insofar as storyline. Those environments and their resources will come in very handy in my future. Investing in expanding one’s game assets is important to easily create new future assets.
“Learning design entails mapping desired learning outcomes onto learning activities and experiences, taking into account psychological, pedagogical, and technological factors.” (Ford, 2008. p. 81)
Taking into account the above quote, through my game I must create activities and experiences (quests) that will lead the player through a compelling story. My challenge is that I must make this 3D adventure RPG without any violence within it. But this game has high hopes, aspiring to be a DLE (Digital Learning Environment), quite literally digitising a campus in which you will learn in and around.
I am a “digital native” if one truly ever did exist. I have worked with audio-video technology for a very long time. I was very young when we got our first computer. I am a man of many skills but I do lack certain abilities, particularly, I am very weak in programming. There is this website called fiverr that you can very affordably hire people from around the world to do tasks for you that you are struggling with. This website bridges the gap between what is possible between the rich and the poor. Where there is a will, there is a way. And where there is fiverr, there is a way if the price is right.
Reference:
Ford, Nigel. (2008). Web-based learning through educational informatics: information science meets educational computing. Hershey, PA: Information Science Pub.
Thanks for your thoughts Wendell. You have a solid idea of what you wish to accomplish and I look forward to seeing your ideas translated into something wonderful.
Carole
Wendell, you are very invested in your work and have a great passion for it.
For this particular post, I was keen to see how you could harness the module readings and further research to reflect beyond your own work to explore ideas from others. You have made an attempt to do so by quoting Ford.
Remember, the question was:
“Reflecting on your experience as an educator, and using your readings and interaction with the subject to date, develop concise statement about concepts and practices in a digital age within the context of your work or professional circumstances. Consider the challenges and opportunities for educators, and the personal aims and knowledge enquiry that brings you to this subject.”
How has the use of open source provided a greater access to information for your students? How has it hindered them or confronted them? What impact does this have on society as a whole? Just some questions that could have been explored further. I would have liked to have seen wider reference to your module readings and further research to inform your reflection as well. This is important in academic writing, particularly in a Master level degree.
You have made effective use of the blog affordances, particularly with categories and tags. With further references beyond your own work, you could then embed links to these other sources. I like the use of imagery embedded at the start of your post.
Please continue to reflect and share your ideas with others!
Thank you Lori. I agree with your assessment and will take that on board to improve my future work. Thanks for your feedback. I find myself wanting to write much more than allowed. It isn’t easy for a writer like myself to pack so much information into so few words. I like to spread myself out and words limits always hurt me. I like to allow for a topic to open up naturally instead of forcing it to come out before it is ready.