4: Response to Articles

Using the ADDIE Model to Design Second Life Activities for Online Learners

The benefit of Second Life that spoke to me was enabling students to experience many different environments and gain from the virtual exploration. In line with the constructivist theory of learning which is the belief that students learn by connecting new information to past experiences, this program can be a great way to provide the experiences for students to connect to. This can be especially beneficial for online classes or for classes that have students with disabilities whose opportunities for real-life experiences can be limited. Students' social understanding as well as their recognition of different settings that they may explore in Second Life can be greatly enhanced.

However, these benefits can also be achieved through many other ways. This tool should be carefully evaluated for its pros and cons before implementation into a class.

Theories and Practices of Multimodal Education: The Instructional Dynamics of Picture Books and Primary Classrooms

Multimodal Reading can encourage students to read between the lines and to pick up messages and feelings that are better conveyed through other modals than the text alone. The examples that I liked were using the text color or size to emphasize meanings. I've seen text in which the words were written ascending or descending and which powerfully conveyed the deeper message. Such type of reading can be helpful for students who are primarily visual learners to understand books and texts that would be at a high level if written in standard text alone. Another benefit that multimodal reading offers is the encouragement of creative thinking, reading and writing. Students also learn to interpret symbols and use cues to enhance text comprehension.