The Virtual Learning Environment Education Essay

The Virtual Learning Environment Education Essay Is the Internet only about social networking sites. How does it relate to a whole new dimension of E-learning, what are its effects on traditional teaching methods? Virtual learning environments (VLEs) are prevailing in education nowadays and are effectively used to deliver training materials and assist the progress of communication within a module. There has been a comprehensive study which aimed at exploring the task- technology for two main groups namely trainers and students with the help of VLE WebCT. It has been apparent that students task technology usage, user satisfaction, perspective towards the usage and expected consequences of use were higher than trainers. Trainers had higher perceptions of social rules and regulations with higher perceptions of promoting conditions than students. However, there has been no difference in the level of practice of the VLE between the trainers and students. VLE had more impact on the learning of students rather than trainers in the whole learning process. These outcomes suggest that in spite of high levels of support approved by the tutors, they may still be confused about the benefaction of VLEs to their teaching. Introduction Higher education has been increasingly influenced by the progress of information and technology. The core training requirements in Universities and other institutes involve e-learning processes. Distance education has been possible with the introduction to new innovative courses due to the World Wide Web and online education is now available to in numerous students and lecturers for their training purposes (Peffers and Bloom 1999; Alexander 2001; Chen and Dwyer 2003). Information Technology has introduced new terms and forms which are further categorized into different segments. Some of these are e- learning, distributed learning and technology- mediated learning. The term e- learning has been extensively used to define education and training which is supported by the Internet. A virtual learning environment (VLE) simplifies e-learning by supporting an information system. Teaching and learning is carried out through communication support, broadcasting educational material, storage and processing of the VLEs. In spite of the omnipresence of VLEs in teaching, much of the proof to support their use is unreliable or inefficiently established. The usage of VLEs by instructors and how they signify student learning has been a topic of debate for many researchers. They believe that an extensive theory should be available which is reliable and rigorous in order to authorize the usage and its complexities (Alavi and leidner 2001; Poccoli et al 2001). This dissertation will mainly focus on the difference between Knowledge which has become more accessible on the Internet and the process of teaching and learning which has changed, but not always improved due to Information Communication Technologies (ICTs). Furthermore, it will also discuss about the information society in a wider context. The title global auction warns that the info society anticipated in the 1980s has failed to generate jobs, instead computer programs are used to substitute for skilled workers (in accountancy, education, law, manufacturing and other occupations) who become unemployed. This is partly because the internet facilitates outsourcing of jobs from the West to China and India, so globalization is another issue which will be discussed. Virtual learning Environment Virtual learning environment (VLEs) are defined as computer based environments that are relatively open systems, allowing interactions and encounters with other participants and delivering a huge database (Wilson 1996, p 8). Furthermore, he suggests that VLEs differ from computer micro-worlds and classroom based learning environments where we use technologies as tools or in micro-worlds where students help themselves by entering a self- contained computer based learning environment. Computer aided instruction (CAI) or computer micro-worlds have many similarities with VLEs. For instance, materials can be fetched or accessed individually by learners; different paths can be followed through them and can be utilized in material displays discrepantly. Although we see, that the VLE concept is much different and broader than the CAI as it adds new dimensions to individual learning. Electronic interaction and discussion, building up new infrastructure for widely available network are some of the things encouraged by the VLEs (Wilson 1996). In a broader context, VLEs augment the progress of an individual not only in the corporate sector but also enable him or her to connect and share experiences with a larger learner-learner and instructors group. Chapter 2 Introduction It has been observed that e-learning or VLEs had been the central supporting system for the formal countenance of learning by enhancing predefined formats and learning objectives. Although, it has been in the human nature to learn informally on the unconscious level which is essentially not based on traditional exams or curricula, as a part of education to some extent. The learning outcome can largely be depended upon VLEs which support and guide the learning system. E-learning and technology enhanced learning are provided with support and recognition with the growth of Social media with their probabilities to communicate to a larger group, reflect, relate and collaborate. Research Review On a global frame, it has been examined that social media have excessive potential influence on e-learning and technology- enhancing learning, mostly within the framework of contemporary learning methods (Baird and Fisher, 2006). This impact is however partly technologically derived. The whole truth is, with the concept of web 2.0, learning is influenced technically as well as socially. They encircle the strong alliance of informal environments, the desire to engage with the learning groups beyond the classroom environment. Technologies like instant messaging (chat), wikis and weblogs are considered to be social media which enable users to publish and be a part of online communities as well as manage them in a broader scale (Schaffert, 2006). The publication and exercising of content is cheaper and more flexible unlike traditional media. Precisely, social media aims to connect with a broader mass by forming and supporting user groups and communities. This dissertation focuses on the usage of social media in teaching and acquiring knowledge in higher education. The promotional culture of social media highlighted the shift of contents from producer generated to user generated content within the Web 2.0 framework. The standard change in the context of technology-enhanced learning symbolized the shift from traditional e-learning, established upon courses and the phenomenal of learning module to an active cooperation of the learners and their support as a community for general interest. So much so, social media is predestined to augment traditional learning and also e-learning environments. In a typical university curriculum, promotion or cultivation of informal learning with formal one is not done but Social media makes this possible. Informal learning has had a parallel shift from pedagogical standards from behaviourism to constructivism. It has been suggested that informal learning was held valuable due to its characteristics of be ing passively progressive outside the so-called traditional teaching. For example, Workplace coordinated learning, where the amount of information is sought in a permanent basis. (Tochermann and Granitzer, 2008) Research Questionnaires and Outcomes I had taken an online survey which was responded by 100 people from different countries for this thesis which focuses on the articulation, development, application and evaluation of implemented situations for social media in the background of higher education. These implemented situations are designed to answer the most crucial questions listed below for my research questions. Subsequently, the outcomes for each are precisely summarized under the respective questions. Are you familiar with the applications and technologies under Web 2.0 i.e Social Networking sites, Blogging, Web content Voting, Tagging, and Bookmarking? Can you tell me which of these do you use or used for your education? This research question drew the fact that most of the students were familiar with the applications of Web 2.0 but had little knowledge about their impact on the society as a whole and how social media trends keep changing in a profound way. Most of them used Social Networking sites, completely unaware of publishing data. Moreover, this was used as the base to confirm their intent to use the internet. Were you introduced to E-learning during your education? Library Catalogues, E-books, E-journals? Do you communicate with your lecturers via mail? This question was also conducted for research amongst students to test their attitude towards e-learning. Except Wikipedia most of them had little or no interest in other user contents for education. How do you think the concepts of E-learning 2.0 be applied to your education, if you are a software development or software engineering student? While from the above answer it is apparent that most of them used Wikipedia as their learning source, weblogs also counted as the second application crucial to the implementation of e-learning 2.0. Weblogs had been newly introduced in the software development education as learning logs dated back in the 1990s when it was used as blogs only. HTML and FTP was used to publish web content. How do you think Peer Review or Self Reflection helps you when you get feedback online about your assessment or work? The concept of Peer Review has been augmented to provide better assessment of software development students for themselves as well as their peers. In this way, a new adaptation meant better work as they now became familiar to faster feedbacks and more collaborative online components. How do you think the concept of Social media can be used to refer to a larger audience globally? Can we think of distance learning without social media? If no then why? Use examples to support your answer. These questions aim to externalize knowledge and were used as an online mind mapping tool. Probing how they use visualization of information to their maximum abilities. This is the traditional way of new features in the social media education arena which enhances students to determine the possible outcomes of e-learning. Possible use of situations for education have been improvised and evaluated. What do you think about mobile learning in higher education? Does scrolling down a map while youre outside help you? You can explain what you think about location based services. Mapping materials provided possible mashups for location based services as it has been seen as the renaissance in the previous years. To support successful expedition in higher education, a collaborative system essentially location based and lightweight had been developed. Structure and Methodology The methodology applied to the analysis presented in this thesis is constructed on the notions of situations and services denoted to itemize the crucial topic of social media to clarify concrete problems and enable learning in definite situations. Situations or Plots Situations or schemes are the devices for improving our perception. A problem becomes insightfully manageable and can be better mastered by putting a composite set of events and relationships into a story. (Van der Heijden, 1997) A plot is an idealized but detailed description of a specific scenario (Young and Barnard, 1987). Furthermore, a plot is an informal approach widely used in provisional engineering (Alspaugh and Anton, 2008). One of the critical advantages is the comfort of the designer to predict outcomes before trying to specify them, making necessities more proactive in the advancement. (Carroll et al., 1998) These situations can be used to define and identify details of individual research investigation. Furthermore, developing evaluation situations for individual investigative goals can be used efficiently after research. In the scenario of education, the OECD puts forth the definition of situations for the research of expected education in order to administer a basis for stakeholders from different fields to establish long-term strategies. (OECD Publishing, 2006) In technology- enhanced learning, situations or schemes are used in the parameter of an activity-based instructive theory. In this instructive model, learning situations are described as a series of activities, a list of associated user roles, system tools which are applied, and the tutorial content (Helic, 2005). These schemes provide the fundamental assembly of the learning process within this methodology. In the background of this research, situations were used firstly to define the individual issue domains for specific aspects of social media to be adapted to education and thus, by providing concrete scenarios, simplify the possible influence on the learning process. Secondly, these situations describe a test of cases with the help of which the suggested solution can be evaluated to examine the validity of the access.

Microphytic Soil Crusts and Desert Ecosystems Essay -- Soil Soils Agri

Microphytic Soil Crusts and Desert Ecosystems Communities of micro-organisms create crusts on soils throughout semi-arid and arid regions of the world. These microphytic (also called cryptogamic) crusts are formed when all or some of a diverse array of photosynthetic cyanobacteria (blue-green algae), fungi, bacteria, lichens and mosses, bind together with inorganic particles in the first few millimeters of a soil. Microphytic crusts are dominant feature in desert soils; they are estimated to represent approximately 70% of desert soil biomass world wide (Belnap 1993). Un-restricted human activity (farming, livestock grazing, recreation) results in the denigration or destruction these prominent crusts. Many claim that soils and soil mechanisms are at the base of other ecosystem functions (Vitousek, Walker, Syers in Gillis 1994). In order to better understand and manage desert ecosystems, it is important to begin to understand how cryptogamic crusts form, what role crusts play in shaping desert soil properties, and further, how crust removal might effect soil quality and ecosystem stability. Crust Formation It is generally thought that the formation of microphytic crusts begins with the establishment of cyanobacteria or agal communities on the soil surface (Campbell et. al. 1989). There are many different types of algae and cyanobacteria which exist in the new crusts, however it is difficult to ascertain which types of organisms are responsible for which processes of early crust formation. Johansen postulates that crusts begin to form when filamentous cyanobacteria (as opposed to diatomic and nonfilamentous cyanobacteria or other algae) colonize the surface of soils in a period of moist weather (1993). As cyanobacter... ...ation and Dehydration. Soil Biology and Biochemistry v. 24:1101-1105. Johansen, J.R. (1993). Cryptogamic Crusts of Semi-arid and Arid Lands of North America. Journal of hycology v. 29:141-147. Loope, W. L., Gifford, G. F. (1972). Influence of a Soil Microfloral Crust on Select Properties of Soils Under Pinyon-Juniper in Southeastern Utah. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation v. July-August:164-165. Metting, B. (1991). Biological Surface Features of Semiarid Lands and Deserts. In Semiarid Lands and Deserts: Soil Resource and Reclamation , Skujins, J.(edt.). Marcel Dekker, Inc, New York. pp. 257-293. Skujins, J. Microbial Ecology of Desert Soils. :62-85. West, N. E. (1991). Nutrient Cycling in Soils of Semiarid and Arid Regions. In Semiarid Lands and Deserts: Soil Resource and Reclamation , Skujins, J.(edt.)Marcel Dekker, Inc, New York. pp. 295-327

Sahara Desert

General facts: Largest Desert in the world 10 percent of the African continent, 5000 years ago had a significantly larger mammal population, due to it getting dryer and over hunting in the last 100 years, the mammals are near extinction in the sahara. Intro: Definition of desert: â€Å"a region so arid because of little rainfall that it supports only sparse and widely spaced vegetation or no vegetation at all† Deserts cover about one fifth of our planet, and are caused by extremely low rainfall over an area. Arid deserts generally occur at low latitudes, and can be found in North-America, South-America, Africa, and Southern Asia. In deserts such as the Atacama, there has never been any rainfall recorded since record keeping has come into existence. While â€Å"coastal deserts† are mildy warm and get some rainfall and â€Å"cold† deserts are cold. Climate: Temp: The average temperature for this desert is 86 degrees Fahrenheit with the hottest ever recorded being 122 degrees. With freezing temperatures in the winter the climate of the Sahara is one the of the strangest on the planet. Temperature swings of 37.5 to 99.5 have been recorded. Rainfall: the average rainfall for the Sahara is just 2.5 cm and in the eastern parts it only gets .5 cm of rain a year. Seasonal Variations: There are not much variations in seasons in this desert. It is mostly hot with very little rain. The only exception is winter. During winter the temperature can drop below freezing and it is more likely to rain during these times. Human Interaction:  The current state of the biome is as usual with one exception: the water supply. The only human presence is around areas of permanent water supplies, such as oasis’ and water that is underground but close to the surface. Humans that live in these areas use the little water that is available for them selves and take that small amount away from the creatures that live there.

Critical Analysis Of The Awakening - 1412 Words

The humanly gift of imagination is a unique power within that subconsciously is a locomotor to both the body and spirit to a person s individual Elysium. It goes far and beyond our cognition into an exuberant fantasy molded by our wants and desires, reaching untamed worlds. Turning imagination into realism is denounced as an impossible being, but it s in fact the awakening to our lucid dreaming. Edna Pontellier is a woman with a heart that soared beyond the horizons into a limitless world, forced into cage by the inevitable way of life. Kate Chopin through the beautifully sculpted novel â€Å"The Awakening† condemned Edna with a mindset beyond her years, finding meaning through her unsocial actions shunned by the eyes of others. Edna used her†¦show more content†¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"The voice of the sea is seductive; never ceasing, whispering, clamoring, murmuring, and inviting the soul to wander for a spell in the abysses of solitude; to lose itself in mazes of inward contemplati on. (Chopin 13). Edna was a person that found passion within arts of life, her admiration to her most intimate friend who had the gift of writing, a personal way of expressing, as well as Mademoiselle Reisz who played the piano with a passion that broke tradition for which Edna was the only one to appreciate it, Mademoiselle Reisz music evoked a waking with Edna s body and soul that could not compare to nothing else - But the very passions themselves were aroused within her soul, swaying it lashing it as the waves daily beat upon her splendid body. She trembled, she was choking, and the tears blinded her(Chopin 27). Approximating the end of the summer Edna also nears a personal growth within, she learns to swim, simply ineffable to Edna but ordinary to many other people would not care for its gift, she learned to swim and she went as far into the ocean where no woman had swum before, a point in Edna s life that prepares her to open herself up for new choices. She choices to find she lter in a man that had aroused herself as a young beautiful woman, she choices to dream and long for Robert Lebrun like the other forbidden men in her childhood, but its only when she returns to her charming home onShow MoreRelatedThe Awakening Critical Analysis1596 Words   |  7 Pages The Awakening by Kate Chopin Critical Analysis The novel, The Awakening by Kate Chopin, was written during the late 19th century, when the feminist movement was in its infancy. During that era, the novel was yet to be discovered and the few considered it as a disgrace. Many thought that it portrayed a negative example of how a women should think and behave. 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(376) By employing a variety of critical approaches (including feminist, gender, cultural, new historicism, psychoanalytic and deconstruction) Wolff offers the reader a more complete (albeit complex) explanation of Edna PontelliersRead More A Deconstructionist Critique of Chopin’s The Awakening Essay536 Words   |  3 PagesA Deconstructionist Critique of Chopin’s The Awakening The multiplicity of meanings and (re)interpretations informing critical studies of The Awakening reveal a novel ripe for deconstructionist critique. 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