Mississippi State University Adams

Hot Topics In Technology Mississippi State University Tyna Adams Leigh Ann Hussey Carolyn Lang Dorothea Mack

In the field of Student Affairs, it is important to strive to continually identify and address the ever changing needs of students. The committee has identified five hot topics in technology that, when addressed properly, will allow for student affairs practitioners to provide a safe and educational environment for students.

Hot Topics in Technology Virtual Worlds Podcasting Campus Internet Security Blogging Institutional Spam

Virtual Worlds This topic was chosen because the virtual reality gaming environment is now being used as a tool for teaching. These virtual worlds provide a unique and flexible environment for educators interested in distance learning, computer supported cooperative work, simulation, new media studies, and corporate training.

Virtual Reality Not mainstream yet but will be, “early adopters” have already begun using it. Fully 3 dimensional virtual world where students can fly, change body types at will, and build structures that can float. Multiplayer online game that enables students to create nearly anything imaginable. Open ended virtual world with a developed economy, neighborhoods and communities, with all manner of vehicles.

Virtual Worlds Virtual worlds offer an opportunity for people to interact in a way that conveys a sense of presence lacking in other media. Settings can be created to pertain to any subject or area of study; locations and artifacts can be as realistic and detailed, or as generic and undefined as desired. Social aspects of virtual worlds lend themselves to role playing and scenario building.

Second Life provides an opportunity to use simulation in a safe environment to enhance experiential learning, allowing individuals to practice skills, try new ideas, and learn from their mistakes.

Benefits to using Virtual Worlds in Teaching Ideal environment for students, the focus is experience, the virtual experience is shared, like the classroom experience. Games can be applied in many learning contexts They engage learners in ways that other tools and approaches cannot. And their value for learning has been established through decades of research. Games offer opportunities for discovery based and goal oriented learning. The game teaches more than the controls required to move through the world.

Problems associated with Virtual Worlds The virtual world can become less virtual and more reality for some. People will become addicted to using virtual worlds and will become isolated where the only social contact they may have is within the virtual world Costs associated with using virtual worlds in the classroom.

PODCASTING Podcasting is a method of publishing audio and video files to the internet. This allows users to subscribe to a feed and receive new files automatically by subscription. Through podcasting you can download audio files that can be listened via the computer, iTunes, iPod, MP3 player, or AAC (Apple iTunes format).

Research Says… In November of 2004, Podcast Alley, a podcast directory website, listed fewer than 1,000 podcasts for download. Today Podcast Alley catalogs more than 26,000 different podcasts, totaling more than 1 million episodes.

Research says… Internet is a big tool used to communicate with adults. 87% of teens 12 to 17 use the internet 51% are on-line daily 43% have bought items on-line 45% own a cell phone 16% of all teens report they do not have any media devices-computers, cell phone, PDA, etc.

MSU Technology Boost Information Technology services participated in a webconference to aid in the introduction of podcasting in the classrooms at Mississippi State University An instructor used a voice recorder, the file was uploaded to a PC, it had to be encoded to a “podcastable format, add metadatafile information, upload the file to the server, and update the webpage or html/xmlcode. Faculty members wore over the ear microphones that were wireless connected to the recorder. A faculty member registered his class then recorded the episode. Shortly after recording the episode, it was available for students to listen.

Student Affairs at other Institutions Georgia Tech-Career Podcasting North Carolina State University-The Career Ambassadors Ohio State University-Ask the Techies University of Connectict’s Waterbury Campus-Video Podcasting

Reasons for Student Affairs Podcasting Learning Styles-using audio and video Training-aid in a new avenue for training professional and student staff. Students are using technology-student affairs staff can related better to students. They are always looking for new ways to interact with students.

Handheld Devices Portable Electronics Pocket PC and Palm Pilot Cell Phone BlackBerry GPS Units Potential Uses in Student Affairs Text Messaging Mobile Incident Reporting Mobile Check-in and Check-out

What is Campus Internet Security? Management of passwords Firewalls, proxies, user access controls Network monitoring and bandwidth management Vulnerability scanning and Managed Security Systems

A Few Reasons to have Campus Internet Security Credit card #’s Student Records (SSN) Institution financial records Donor Records Research Data

Challenges to having a Secure Campus Internet Culture and Tradition of open and free networking Lack of control over users Financial Resources IT has not always been central to institutional mission

Blogging A blog is a user-generated website where entries are made in journal style and displayed in a reverse chronological order. Blogs often provide commentary or news on a particular subject, such as food, politics, or local news; some function as more personal online diaries. A typical blog combines text, images, and links to other blogs, web pages, and other media related to its topic. The ability for readers to leave comments in an interactive format is an important part of most early blogs. Most blogs are primarily textual although some focus on photographs (photoblog), sketchblog, videos (vlog), or audio (podcasting), and are part of a wider network of social media. The term "blog" is derived from " Web log ." "Blog" can also be used as a verb, meaning to maintain or add content to a blog

History of Blogs Chronicles, commonplaces, diaries, and perzines can all be seen as predecessors of blogs. Before blogging became popular, digital communities took many forms, including Usenet, e-mail lists and bulletin board systems (BBS). In the 1990s, Internet forum software, such as WebEx, created running conversations with "threads". Threads are topical connections between messages on a metaphorical "corkboard".

Types of Blogs By media type A blog comprising videos is called a vlog, one comprising links is called a linklog, a site containing a portfolio of sketches is called a sketchblog or one comprising photos is called a photoblog. By device Blogs can also be defined by which type of device is used to compose it. A blog written by a mobile device like a mobile phone or PDA is called a moblog. Genre Some blogs focus on a particular subject, such as political blogs, travel blogs, fashion blogs, project blogs or legal blogs (often referred to as a blawgs). Legal status of publishers A blog can be private, as in most cases, or it can be for business purposes. Blogs, either used internally to enhance the communication and culture in a corporation or externally for marketing, branding or PR purposes are called corporate blogs. Blog search engines Several blog search engines are used to search blog contents (also known as the blogosphere), such as blogdigger, Feedster, and Technorati. Technorati provides current information on both popular searches and tags used to categorize blog postings.

Where can I blog? Facebook Xanga Myspace Google Blogger.com-create your own blog

Legal Issues of Blogs The emergence of blogging has brought a range of legal liabilities. Employers have "dooced" (fired) employees who maintain personal blogs that discuss their employers. The major areas of concern are the issues of proprietary or confidential information, and defamation. Several cases have been brought before the national courts against bloggers and the courts have returned with mixed verdicts.

Court Cases Ellen Simonetti- flight attendant lost her job after posting pictures of her in uniform that had more cleavage showing than ordinary. She took legal action against the airline claiming loss of future wages, wrongful termination, and defamation of character. Aaron Wall- was sued by Traffic Power for defamation and publication of trade secrets in 2005. Mark Cuban- owner of Dallas Mavericks was fined during 2006 NBA playoffs because he criticized NBA officials on the court and in his blog.

Institutional Spam Spamming is the “abuse of electronic messaging systems that are used to send unsolicited bulk messages” It is estimated that Spam has increased from 10% of all electronic messaging in 1998 to approximately 80%

Mississippi State University Statistics MSU anti-spam and anti-virus e-mail filters stopped an average of 9,200 messages infected with worms or viruses each day over the past year. The same filters blocked or tagged 155,000 spam messages.

Benefits of Addressing Spam Distinguish good e-mail from Spam Become more effective and consistent with blocking Spam Increase security of the University network Increase student satisfaction with the University e-mail system

Problems Surrounding Spam It is difficult to adapt a policy addressing such an ever changing issue such as Spam. Students must be proactive when dealing with Spam. Many people do not understand the source nor repercussions of Spam.

References http://www.eff.org/bloggers/lg/ http://en.wikipedia.org/ Wired News: Campus life comes to Second life Retrieved from http://www.wired.com/news/games/1,65052-0.html on 2/6/07. The 2007 Horizon Report a collaboration between the New Media Consortium and EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative ISBN 0-9765087-4-5 http:// secondlife.com / http:// www.there.com / http://www.activeworlds.com/ http://www.educause.edu/ en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Podcasting http://web.archive.org/web/20041111235835/podcastalley.com/list_all_podcasts.php . http:// www.podcastingalley.com http:// www.studentaffairs.com http:// www.career.gatech.edu/podcast / http:// www.pewinternet.org

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