In an effort to simplify the search for emerging e-learning / edtech, I have reviewed four new products that can be used inside and outside the classroom to bring new media technologies to education. In order of review they are:

• Social Media Classroom – an open e-learning platform developed by Howard Rheingold and offered free to students and teachers
• iKnow – an e-learing social networking platform developed by Cerego that focuses on language learning
• Edmodo – it is Twitter for educators… enough said
• Xtranormal – this application allows you easily create your own flash movies complete with dialogue and 3D animated characters

That was for the busy people. For a more complete look at each of these new platforms / application, continue reading below.

Social Media Classroom

Social Media Classroom is the brainchild of Howard Rheingold, a professor at UC Berkley and Stanford and the author of Smart Mobs. Social Media Classroom is built on the free Drupal CMS platform and provides teachers and learners with an integrated set of social media tools.

Each course created can use these tools as required and customize its usage for its own purposes. SMC has integrated forums, blogs, comment, wiki, chat, social bookmarking, RSS, microblogging, widgets, and video commenting.

The idea behind SMC was to create a free, easy to use, “student-centric pedagogy that engages students in actively constructing knowledge together about issues that matter to them, rather than passively absorbing it from texts, lectures, and discussions.”

Further enhancing its potential is the ability to utilize SMC in enterprise level organizations. The SMC becomes a collaboration platform where “groups, teams, nonprofit organizations, communities of practice can bring the advantages of online media to the purposes of their enterprises.”

So what is my personal take on this? I have not yet had the chance the chance to explore SMC, but I love the idea. I have been using WordPress and Ning to enhance the classroom experience and bring the learning out of the classroom environment. One of the things that I appreciate most about WordPress and Ning is the ability for every individual to customize their blogs (Worpress) or their profile pages (Ning). I have noticed that this feature does a lot toward encouraging students to take it and adopt these platforms for more than just classroom assignments. And I hope that SMC supports similar customization features. (If you have information on this… please let me know)

iKnow

Cerego introduced iKnow at DEMO Fall 08 as “the first intelligent social learning platform.” iKnow is built on sophisticated learning algorithms that is supposed to enable individuals to learn faster and improve memory retention. (Anyone have any data to back this up?) Because individuals learn at different paces each person’s training schedule is unique and customized according to their periods of time for studying and learning.

Even more exciting though is the community that iKnow is building around this platform. iKnow is not only a tool to help users learn but also an intelligent social network where they can share and collaborate with other users. The goal is to create a member-centric platform where members voluntarily help each other learn within these customized online systems. Ultimately, users from all over the globe will be able to remix content and share it with others within the learning community.

Reading about this I couldn’t help but remember the post that I had written on the XPrize for Education idea. There is no XPrize for Education yet, but already with iKnow it seems that we are seeing some of the ideas being bounced around there coming to life. The future is an exciting one for educators.

Edmodo

Edmodo is a tool for students to ask questions either within the classroom timeline, pose questions to the teacher directly, and submit their assignments. Edmodo is the brainchild of Jeff O’Hara and Nic Borg, two techies who work in the field of education. The simple explanation is that it is a microblogging platform (think Twitter) for education.

But it is much more than that. Edmodo contains the all the functionality of Twitter, but then adds some very useful applications on top of that, such as a calendar that teachers can use to post events and assignment due dates. But Jeff and Nic plane to expand Edmodo even further so that teachers can use it as a grading system and a way to interact with parents.

For more information on Edmodo, check out this interview with Jeff and Nic of Edmodo.

Xtranormal

Xtranormal is my favorite program on this list. Not because it is better as an educational platform… it isn’t even an education platform. But rather because it is a lot of fun. Xtranormal gives anyone the ability to create flash movies complete with 3D characters and dialogue… simply and painlessly – all you need to do is click and type. No programming required.

Now this won’t dramatically change the way we teach our students, but it can make teaching and learning a hell of a lot more fun. Want to make your student’s watch the Presidential debate? Why not have them create their own mock movie of it, rather than having them write a report.

I have not yet had a chance to use this for my classes yet, but you can be sure that I will. This would make a great project for my writing class… script writing plus animation. I wish something like this had been around when I was going through school.

Once I have given it a try, I will let you know how it works out.

Concluding Remarks

I hope you found this information useful. Check back regularly to find updates on new educational technologies. I will post them as I find them. If you have any suggestions, or if you have used any of the above, I would love to here about your experiences. Leave a comment below, or link back to this post.

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But video games have moved well beyond entertainment. From addictions, to ADD therapy, to providing comfort during economic recessions and depressions, video games are playing an increasingly active role in defining us.

With the role of video games growing in importance, is it really any surprise to think that education will have to follow suit? I don’t think so. Video games as education have existed for as long as I have been breathing. Growing up I played Number Crunchers, Math Blaster, Oregon Trail, and US Presidents to name a few. Even games that I wouldn’t have considered educational at the time contain educational value (Sim City) according to Mark Prensky. Simulations (like Sim City) were once “the province of gamers, scientists, and the military, [but today] has emerged as a huge buzzword in training.” Take for example the flight simulator. The “flight simulator was originally conceived as an entertainment device for fairs. Nevertheless, the flight simulator is [now] acknowledged as a revolution in learning and training [by the military and commercial flight schools].”

The real question is will games ever be accepted by those who need to accept it – the teachers and parents? That is a much more difficult question to answer. According to a 2007 survey conducted by Project Tomorrow we have some work to do in this area.

Among the survey findings:

• More than half of students in grades 3 through 12 believe educational gaming would help them learn.
• Only 16% of teachers, 15% of administrators and 19% of parents are on board today – although there was significantly more support for further exploration of the potential.
• And 11% of teachers say they’re already using video games in class, no matter how much you roll your eyes.

To download the full report by Project Tomorrow click the link below.

Speak Up: 2007 National Findings

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