I'm very pleased with the diversity of opinions that we receive. The 2008 Democratic Presidential nominating process has been the #1 topic for months. For the first time ever, I am publishing a reader's comment. He has been one of our most active members and has always delivered his thoughts with passion. The reason I'm lifting his comments and posting them are because they summarize what we feel regarding today's unforgiveable comments from Sen. Hillary Clinton.

A. Maurice

Comments From Greg Jones...

From Blacks4Barack !
Demand To DNC: Kick Hillary Out NOW !
Insinuates That Obama Could Be ASSASINATED !

Now, things have gone way too far. Today, in an appearance in South Dakota, Hillary Clinton justified her reason for staying in the campaign by referring to the fact that presidential hopeful ‘Robert Kennedy was assasinated in June’…implying that the same could occur to senator Obama. THIS IS SICK !!! Regardless of how the pundits try to spin this as just another misspeak, the statement speaks for itself and displays the diobolical mentality of Hillary Clinton.

It is unclear as to whether she is actually hoping that Obama would be killed, therefore giving her an open path to the Democratic nomination, or if she may be signaling her desire to some sick, warp minded homicidal maniac. Whichever be the case, her statement is automatic grounds for the Democratic National Committee headed by Howard Dean to demand that she remove herself from the race. If he does not, American Democratic should demand HIS stepping down !

This can not be tolerated. Regardless of who you are a supporter of, Hillary, Obama or McCain, ANYONE who would wish the death of another human being in order to win a political position is sick, dangerous, maniacal, duranged and totally mentally and morally unfit for any political position, particularly President or V.P. of the United States.

CONTACT THE DNC….
HILLARY MUST BE KICKED OUT NOW !!!!
FLOOD THE PHONE LINES…CALL THE DNC TODAY !!!
CALL DNC: 202-863-8000

E Mail SuperDelegate Donna Brazile:
donna@brazileassociates.com

MSNBC
chuck.todd@nbcuni.com
andrea.mitchell@nbcuni.com
hardball@msnbc.com

HILLARY MUST BE KICKED OUT NOW !!!!
SEND THIS EVERYWHERE !!!!!!!!!!
Visit: http://www.Blacks4Barack.org

The book is divided into two sections, Concepts and Applications. My article leads off the applications section, which also has several other fine chapters. Find the complete table of contents here. If you’re in the states, and you don’t mind waiting for overseas delivery, the book is only $16.50.

When UNT students meet together for a session in Dr. Jones’ Created Reality Group (CRG) virtual classroom, they have three primary ways to communicate. First, they can speak through microphones attached to their computers. When one talks, others listen. In this way, students can share with one another and professors can give lectures. If multiple groups of people need to carry on conversations at the same time, they can go into different classrooms in the virtual school building for private conversations.

Second, a text chat window is also available. This is particularly useful for those students without a microphone. It also allows students to type in questions while someone is lecturing. The software keeps track of written activity, allowing the professor the opportunity to review it at a later date. The chat window can be moved and resized on students’ screens.

Finally, presentation slides can be shown during lectures. Each student sees the same slides as the lectures progress. The teacher (or student) giving the presentation is in control of when the slides advance. This results in lectures similar to what we are used to hearing and seeing in real life, the difference lying in the remote location of the participants.

In short, teaching elements found in the typical classroom are replicated in the CRG virtual classroom. The question remains, how do students like it? In his research with UNT students using the software at a distance, Jones and his colleagues discovered new students displayed an almost universal urge to explore the environment their first time logging in (Jones, Morales, & Knezek, 2005). Other elements lent themselves to a need for familiarity with the new environment before settling down and using it as the teaching tool for which it was designed.

After getting used to the software, students have expressed enthusiasm with the idea of three dimensional virtual classrooms. Many students, both in high school and at the university level, are used to traditional distance learning software. Commercial titles include WebCT and Blackboard, which have now merged, and open source products including Moodle and Sakai. All these distributed learning environments offer a two dimensional replication of paper learning. Students read the assignments, submit papers, take online quizzes, and post to discussion forums. On occasion, a real time text chat may take place.

Software like Dr. Jones’ CRG environment offer the next step in online learning: a three dimensional representation of a school building users can meet in and take live courses from the teacher at a distance. As Dr. Jones’ research continues, he posts updates of papers on his site at UNT: http://courseweb.unt.edu/gjones/

In the last couple years, Dr. Jones’ CRG team has kept busy refining and adding to the company’s offerings. I was intrigued to discover a CRG booth at TCEA 2008, and dropped by to visit with my professor and see what his team has been up to. What I discovered was a brilliant concept for teaching students at the middle and high school levels, a new product from CRG called Chalk House. Here is the introduction from the CRG website:

Chalk House, the first in a series of situated learning modules being developed as a collaboration between Created Realities Group and the Design+Research Collective, is an online computer-based 3D environment in which game play and engaging narrative are used to improve student literacy skills, namely reading and writing, are the key focus of learning. Chalk House uses the CRG 3D online learning environment to deliver this learning module.

One thing became clear while I played through Chalk House at CRG’s booth: students used to modern videogames will feel right at home in the environment. Quest givers and fulfillers use common nomenclature and symbolism. The environment uses situated learning, placing students in the role of investigating a spooky house. Several literacy events ensue, involving an engaging narrative and requiring much reading and writing for students. A six step writing process is required of students in which they go through a pre-writing step, create rough drafts, revise their drafts, engage in peer editing and teacher editing, and finally turn in a polished product.

Chalk House offers a product specifically tailored for students resistant to traditional text teaching. By couching extensive reading and writing in a virtual world, the program offers pedagogical opportunities students won’t find in many other places. It’s a well-polished product backed by extensive research. For more info on Chalk House, and a bibliography of the papers backing up its philosophical and functional frameworks, visit http://created-realities.com/chalkhouse.html

References:
Jones, J. G., Morales, C., & Knezek, G. A. (2005). 3d online learning environments: Examining attitudes toward information technology between students in internet-based 3d and face-to-face classroom instruction. Educational Media International, 42(3), 219-236.

Rice, J. (2006, Spring). The (virtual) classroom of tomorrow. TechEdge 25(3). 14-15, 41.

Good move on the Jaguars' part for re-signing Greg Jones. I might not know a whole lot about Jones, since fullbacks hardly ever get mentioned, but I do know of Jones-Drew and Taylor. And I always thought that if you know of the runningbacks, it's because they're able to produce lots of rushing yds and tds. And if a runningback can do that, then you gotta give credit to the blockers.

And if Jacksonville can produce two well-respected halfbacks, credit's gotta be given to their lead blocker, Greg Jones. It's good to see that Jacksonville recognizes that they have something special here. I think many people would agree that Jacksonville wouldn't have been the leader in the NFL in rushing from 2006-07 with a 154.1 average per game without the help of blockers like Greg Jones. And with the Jaguars leading the AFC and ranking second in the NFL in 2007 in rushing, Jonehas proven that his efforts (along witht he o-line's) are consistent.

What educators really need are VWs they control completely, regulating who has access as well as the pedagogy that is covered. Dr. Greg Jones over at UNT is a pioneer of this idea. Now, the potential for teachers to easily create their own online education worlds is proffered with a new service from VastPark, which bills itself as a “distributed virtual worlds platform.” Essentially, you design your VW using VastPark’s tools, invite users to stroll your virtual realm with their avatars, and achieve your online objectives whether that be making money or teaching students at a distance.

VastPark is in closed beta, but is available by invitation. For those who’ve seen the tools in beta, such as Jason Stoddard over at Centric, the worlds are amazingly detailed, and remarkably easy to work with. I’ve taken a look at CEO Bruce Joy’s video of VastPark’s Creator Tool, and can attest that it looks fantastic. Its feature list is also impressive.

If VastPark can help teachers easily make their own VWs, we may see a surfeit of online worlds dedicated to educational purposes.