Pandorabots and Pikkubots

My Pandorabot
This week our assignment was to create an object and put the trained brain of a Pandorabot inside it.  Here is my introduction of my object:  Hello.  My name is Oliver Twist and I am here to help you learn more about me.  If you ask the right questions I will answer them.  I hope that you have fun learning about me.   Here is how it looked as I was created:

 

 

 

My idea behind creating  a book was to introduce and reinforce learning about this classic novel.  This concept could serve two purposes.  The first way could be used to introduce students to a novel before they had even read it.  The second way could be used as a quiz for students that had already read the novel.

I did not include my questions and answers in this blog as I did not want to take away from the element of surprise.  Here are some broad categories of the kinds of questions that are included in my object:

• Name
• Birthplace
• Age
• City
• Symbolism
• Orphan
• Pickpocket
• Parents
• Famous phrase

I can include the questions and answers in a later post if deemed appropriate.

In total I have about 54 different questions.  Some are simple yes/no answers and some are more thought provoking, with a few that included concepts from Bloom's Taxonomy.  The categories that I used from Bloom were:  Knowledge, Comprehension and Analysis.

The hardest part of my thinking process was trying to anticipate what someone would ask, but I tried to cover all my bases.

Putting the questions and answers on the Pandorabots site was not difficult (Thanks Cheryl for the great directions).  When it came time to train my Pandorabot, I asked all of the questions that I had put in and then went to the "Advanced Alter Response" to make sure that the answers would project as I wanted them to.

Second Life Issues and Happenings

I watched the "Virtual Worlds Presentation for 2012 Virtual Enterprise Conference at Glyndwr University -The Right Tool for the Right Job:  Best Practices in Virtual Worlds.  What a great video!  It was very informative and full of useful information.  During the presentation, I discovered that there was a book entitled New Media 1740-1915 that shows how technology has evolved.  I might have to read this as I think that it would provide good background information on technology and the endless possibilities that it can provide.  There were several things that were said in the video and here are some that stuck with me:

• "The deepest learning happens not when we feel safe, but when we are fascinated with and challenged by our environment."
• "Finding a balance between the familiar and the fantastic."
• "Engage people in memorable ways."
• A Jibe world can be embedded on any web page."
• "Jibe integrates and communicates with web portals, LMS/CMS and industry standard databases."

I think this company is definitely on the right track to finding a way to transform how students are educated in the future.


I also read postings from SLED and Linden Blogs.  One of the readings that I read was, "K-20 Educators Exploring Virtual Worlds"  and I discovered that voicethread.com is free for educators to use in the classroom.  I have experienced using voicethread in a previous CED class and I can see how this kind of technology could enhance a lesson in a classroom setting.


I also watched a video entitled, "Game engine renders photorealistic Earth-sized worlds."  This video was great!  Although the video and accompanying article is about gaming, I can see how using something like this could be used in an educational environment.  I can visualize teaching students about different points in history from all over the world using this type of environment.


My favorite part of class so far
I still like the concept of the Holodeck but as we are exposed to more ideas about using different types of instruments for teaching, its getting harder to pick a favorite.  I really enjoyed the Pandorabot activity this week as it really challenged me as far as trying to think of questions and answers about my object.  The challenge was trying to anticipate what someone would ask and then based on that what the answer would be.  I can see how using a Holodeck or a Pandorabot in a classroom environment would benefit students by enhancing their overall learning experience, and perhaps make it more memorable.

Questions
I do not have any questions up to this point but I'm sure that I will have some as we progress with class this semester.