Your own Soap Box

Review of homework from last lesson1) Describe two advantages and two disadvantages of using a Blog (4)

2) Describe what is meant by “social Bookmarking” (2)

3) State two features of “Social Networking” sites (2)

4) Some profiles on social networks can be “open”. Why might this not be a good idea? (2)

5) In 2010, students organised protests (riots!) using social websites such as facebook and Twitter. Discuss the impact on society of widespread use of social networks (6)

When is a blog not a blog?

Nor a microblog?

Image by: Shutterstock/Pedjami

Image by: Shutterstock/ Kosta Kostov

Image by: Shutterstock/ Matthias Pahl

• Blogs and microblogs are designed for input from a single user, with possibility for other people to comment.

• So, blogs are like a simple home page where other people may contribute with comments, but one person rules (blog owner) and the blog owner can delete any comment he/she doesn't like. 

• Blog and microblog owners can choose whether or not to make comments visible to the public.

But what if you want a discussion between several people? Or even the capability for thousands of people posting topic messages and also adding comments? Would a blog be the right tool? What else could occupy ‘Your Space’?

Whilst it is true that most blogs have the option to post a comment on any blog message, thus making a blog look like a discussion forum, every blog message becomes one little discussion forum. Specific forums have their own set of functions and features, so they have a different purpose or audience

In this lesson students are learning about:

• the features, functions and target audience of forums

• forums as a communication tool

• the functions and target audience of virtual worlds

At the end of this lesson students will be able to:

• define the functions of a forum as a collaboration / communication tool

• explain how virtual worlds are being used by different audiences

Online forum

Some questions….

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1)What is a forum?

2)What can forums be focused on?

3)What are forums also sometimes known as?

4)How is a forum different to a chat room?

5)What does a user have to do before they can write on a forum? What kind of rules are there?

6)What are separate conversations in a forum known as?

7)What is the role of the administrator/moderator?

1) What is a forum?

An online forum is a discussion area on a website. Website members can post discussions and read and respond to posts by other forum members

2) What can forums be focused on?

An online forum can be focused on nearly any subject and quite often a sense of an online community, or virtual community, tends to develop among forum members.

3) What are forums also sometimes known as?

An online forum is also called a message board, discussion group, bulletin board or web forum. However, it differs from a blog, as a blog is usually written by one user and usually only allows others to respond to the blog material. An online forum usually allows all members to make posts and start new topics.

4) How is a forum different to a chat room?

An online forum is also different from a chat room. Members in a chat room usually all chat or communicate at the same time, while members in an online forum post messages to be read by others whenever they happen to log on. Online forums also tend to be more topic-focused than chat rooms.

5) What does a user have to do before they can write on a forum? What kind of rules are there?

Before somebody joins an online forum and makes posts to others, he or she is usually required to register. They must usually agree to follow certain online rules, sometimes called netiquette, such as to respect other members and refrain from using profanity. On most forums though, users do not have to log in to read existing messages.

6) What are separate conversations in a forum known as?

The separate conversations in an online forum are called threads. Threads are made up of member-written posts. Online forum members can usually edit their own posts, start new topics, post in their choice of threads and edit their profile.

7) What is the role of the administrator/moderator?

An online forum administrator or moderator may also participate in the forum. A forum administrator can usually modify threads as well as move or delete threads if necessary. Moderators often help the administrator and moderate online forum members to make sure the forum rules are being followed.

Online community

As we have discussed, one way to form an ‘online community’ is through a forum. Another was to form an online community is through a virtual world.

Virtual world

The term ‘virtual world’ has become largely synonymous with interactive 3D virtual environments, where the users take the form of avatars visible to others. I am sure you will be familiar with this concept…

MMORPG

GamePlayingRoleOnlineMultiplayerMassively

Image by: Shutterstock/Johan Swanepoel

The largest and most common is known as ‘MMORPG’.

Can anybody tell me what this stands for?

Virtual worldCan you think of a few ways in which virtual worlds are currently used?

Commercial gaming Commercial gaming worlds tend to focus on a singular fictional theme and consistently follow formal conventions such as character-focused avatars, progression through an interactive narrative storyline, and a series of competitive events.

Socialising / Online community building There are many commercial community-focused virtual worlds that emphasise socialising rather than gaming. These worlds offer a more open-ended experience and are strongly influenced by text-based chat rooms. Participants use them to socialise with others and, in many cases, create and decorate a personal space such as a home, room, or apartment. Social worlds tend to use settings based on idealised versions of reality. Most provide some basic building tools and the ability to host activities and events that revolve around a wide variety of topics.

Education

Some virtual worlds have been created for educational purposes. Educational worlds come in a wide variety of forms, including:

* 3D recreations of museum and gallery spaces

* computer programming tutorials

* virtual libraries

Military training

Virtual world technologies are also being used in some interesting ways to develop training simulations, e.g. flight simulators.

•Shared Space•Graphical User Interface•Immediacy•Interactivity•Persistence•Socialisation/Community

Image by: Shutterstock/nmedia

There are many different types of virtual worlds, however, all of them have six features in common:

1. Shared space: the world allows many users to participate at once.

2. Graphical user interface: the world depicts space visually, ranging in style from 2D “cartoon” imagery to more immersive 3D environments.

3. Immediacy: interaction takes place in real time.

4. Interactivity: the world allows users to alter, develop, build, or submit customised content.

5. Persistence: the world's existence continues regardless of whether individual users are logged in.

6. Socialisation/community: the world allows and encourages the formation of in-world social groups like teams, guilds, clubs, neighbourhoods, etc.

HomeworkWatch the following:

Second Life (a happy ending)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpvsoP6UDGM

Virtual Soldiers

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V34gCw4fyLs

Education

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hitoA7W5KhU

Question: What are your own personal opinions on the use of Virtual communities? Are they good? Bad? Why? Why not?

Your answer should be written in the style of a “6 mark” question therefore you should be looking to write around 2/3rds of a page at least.