Spencer+Shives'+Page

Hi, Welcome to My Page,

I am a fifth year teacher at Hancock Midde Senior High School in Hancock Md. I teach Soical Studies to seventh and eighth grade students, and am also a graduate of Hancock. I enjoy using all forms of technology and think it is the most ineresting way to communicate. If I'm not playing the computer I am hanging with my son (just turning six months) and wife Megan. Im excited to work with all my educ635's for this class!

~E. Spencer Shives

Great Video for anyone interested in our growing population [|7 Billion Nat Geo Video]

Students of Good Teachers Make $250,000 more than students of poor students over a lifetime check out the video [|Teacher Eval video]

 America is becoming so educated that ignorance will be a novelty. I will belong to the select few. [|Will Rogers]  

= Assignment 1: Special Topic Report: Digital Divide =

= Assignment 2: Gadget Report = media type="custom" key="13536722"

= Assignment 3: Technology Projects =

Google Resource Web Site - [|Resource Page (Digital Divide)]

Instructional Video - [|Jing (Edmodo) Video]

Edmodo: Several teachers in my building have used this program with great success. Dubbed the educational Facebook, students tend to have a great buy-in. Early exploration of the program shows a quiz and self grade tool, educational communities, poll feature and badges.My students greatly enjoy this program and ask to use it daily, This is one of the best educational programs that I have encountered for middle/high school, I would suggest for anyone to try it [|Edmodo]

Desktop Publishing - [|Desktop Publishing PP]



= Assignment 4: Technology Integration Plan =

[|Resource Page (Digital Divide)]

= = = Assignment 5: Second Life Explorations  = = = Avatar: Gremlynn

My first experiences with Second Life was naming and creating an avatar which I chose the dragon and named him Gremlynn, which is a former nickname of mine. I then logged onto Second Life and wound up near some avatar’s cabin in the woods. This was followed by a T.P. request to move to the classroom, which I quickly accepted. Then in the classroom I learned to do simple items such as learning to sit, walk, fly and talk to one another. My next major experience was receiving goodie bag with Frostburg T-shirt and learning to use the items in my inventory as well as the worn items. My last general experience was a trip to the Art exhibit which was very neat but I had a great deal of trouble keeping up with the class. I did really like the floating exhibit that resembled water.
 * __General Experiences__**:


 * __Second Life Trampoline Building__**: My experiences varied greatly with the building of my trampoline. The first attempt occurred as a class. However, I was unsure we were supposed to make a trampoline as I did not access the directions located in the inventory. I understood we needed to create something though so I began a table. I learned a great deal just toying around with the features and tried to create a table. I was able to create flat area and use color, texture and brightness features to create a shiny blue top with a yellow shine. I became very frustrated when trying to add legs and am still unsure how to attach them. During the next class I realized that we were to create a trampoline and viewed the instructions and the movie created by Dr. Ladores. I then set to building a trampoline. I created the platform and colored fairly easily but ran into trouble when placing the “Jump!” graphic on the trampoline. Each time I tried to place the graphic on the trampoline it tilted the image, after scraping the initial attempt I realized that I needed to place the graphic on the trampoline before I colored it. I also experience problems when I tried to change the material from wood to rubber and found it did not have a bouncing elasticity, I switched it back to the original setting and it worked. I next proceeded to bounce for about ten to fifteen minutes and logged out. It was a memorable experience and I enjoyed it greatly, but I would still like to complete my table.

__**Second Life Movie: 99%**__

I viewed the movied "99%" at 8:20 in Second LIfe at the New Synthetic Theater.

Overall the Second Life movie was a very unique and interesting experience. The creator did a great job of incorporating a few elements in which I am used to when going to a movie. The billboard with show titles and begin times where one pays (I got a little hung up on this because I was trying to click buy and not pay). After paying you receive a ticket from the vender which must be displayed to view the show. Announcements and advertisements before the show begins to keep the audience attentive. However, I was quick to realize that was where the similarities ended. Once the show started my avatar traveled via T.P. to a village which I believe was made to resemble paradise, then the flora turns yellow and dies followed by the trees. The setting changes to a 99% march next cities crumble and dies, as triumphant music plays in a flash of fallen stock market quotes. Then without warning my avatar is flying with jets way above the action, and parachuting back to the 99% march. This time police with riot gear and gas are pushing protesters away from the streets. I had trouble identifying which side my avatar was representing during this portion of the show. Looking back I think I would have tried to push the limits of the interaction between the others in the show and my avatar. I kept finding myself drawn in by what was going on around me and now participation in the actions. Lastly streaming fact pour over the screen listing facts mainly about people in the world who die over poverty through various reasons. I often enjoy activities and experiences that make me truly feel like a student, and this was one of them. I had never had a digital experience such as this one and am still trying to completely analyze the whole experience. I also had many questions in my mind after viewing which I assume is part of the intent of the show. How long does it take to complete such a show? Are there others in Second Life and what are they about? Are the proceeds donated to the 99% initiative? I look forward to more events and activities that reflect the changing global society due to evolving technologies.

I learned a great deal about myself as well as the digital world when using Second Life. After hearing from the Mr. Allen, creator of the 99% movie at New Synthetic Theater discuss how he has several avatars and one was a woman (Lumiere) I realized that I assumed people only select avatars that are the same as their gender. I also realized that communities such as Second Life are very large and connect people from all over the world. I think it was a very interesting experience but I also realize that it requires a high level of understanding of digital programs as well as digital communities. I became frustrated and felt isolated a few times during the experiences and required aid from Dr. Ladores. Second Life explorations as well as other project completed for educ 635 taught me how to trouble shoot new technology in general. I feel more confident as a digital citizen due to these experiences. Furthermore, these are experiences that I would have never completed on my own which make them all the more meaningful. I hope to continue my Second Life experiences in Advanced Instructional Design!
 * Second Life Reflection**

(** Note from Dr. Ladores ** - You said you'd like to continue your table. I can show you a few more things if you are ever curious. There are also plenty of building lessons that are free within SL. Builder's Brewery is one such group and they have a calendar of classes from complete beginners to advanced builders. There are many people who come to Second Life to build worlds for recreation. This is their major entertainment. One of the most excellent builders I know is a dentist in real life, and he builds in between patients. Just to amuse himself.)