12OCT2014

I would like to look at reusable design or learning objects, digital games or simulations and virtual worlds. I think these combined could be the future of learning. Already there are extremely popular virtual worlds, World of Warcraft is just one that comes to mind. It isn’t much of a stretch from having a virtual world game to adapting it to a learning environment. Young kids are already spending vast amounts of time playing digital. The idea would be to bring learning into the game world. Students learn well when they are engaged, a virtual world where they want to spend time would facilitate learning simply by getting the students interested. 

I could envision a future where students don’t leave home to attend school, they simply log on. The availability of internet access is expanding daily, especially here in America. If there was a nationalized education system that was completely online, the costs of buildings, upkeep and transportation could provide free access to the internet for students. Teachers would work from home also but would be more like a help line call center. This would allow students to work at their own pace, receive individual help when they need it and attend class when it is convenient. I honestly think we will eventually move to a program like this and I am interested in seeing it implemented.

There is always an ethical problem with teaching. Educating the young is the only way to truly continue as a country. This brings up several problems in what do we as a nation want our children’s future to look like? An obvious example of education gone wrong would be the Hitler youth in Germany. Children, especially young children are easily influenced. That can be used to change their beliefs or alter their perception of the world. If for twelve years we told a child Canadians are evil and eat babies, it is unlikely he/she would doubt it. If this were institutionalized, a war with Canada would likely result.

The same ethical problems are present in virtual worlds. What is taught is more important than how it is taught. The problem can be as simple as omitting parts of history such as slavery in the United States. If students don’t learn about the past, mistakes are likely to be repeated. You can see this today in the way news is reported. The same subject will be treated very differently on FOXNEWS and CNN. This is the slant that the network gives a story. The same slant can be included in education to alter the makeup of America in drastic ways.

4SEP2014

Currently I am unemployed. Since being diagnosed with PTSD I have had some issues. I am currently looking for employment that won’t set off my triggers. Right now and for the immediate future just finding a job that I can work without having an attack would be great. I am hopeful that eventually I will get better at managing my PTSD symptoms and be able to work as either a lawyer or possibly a professor at a college. I am working on my master’s in education and have completed law school. I haven’t taken the bar exam in Texas yet because of my PTSD symptoms. Once I have my other problems under control I would like to have the option of either taking the bar exam or getting a career in education.

Overall the type of work I want to do is focused on improving the community. After the Army I got my bachelors in criminal justice and then went to law school. The idea was to become a district attorney or assistant DA. What drove me towards this was the idea of getting the bad guys off the street. I thought about doing this in a more direct way such as police officer but I was attracted to the idea of how many people’s lives I could touch as an attorney. An average DA clears 10-15 cases a day, which is just a huge amount of people. If you do your job correctly as a DA, you can be a greater force for good in your community than anything else I can think of. The same ideas drew me towards education. How many lives does a teacher affect? If they teach three classes a week at an average of 20 students per class, that is a potential of 60 people per week. Admittedly both lawyer and teaching can be a positive or negative effect on the students or community, but that is really up to the teacher or lawyer.

I think I am developing the skills I need to proceed towards either of my goals when I graduate. I have the Juris Doctorate and am working on what I need for the teaching. My main hold up right now is my PTSD. I wish there was a way to just make it go away so I could get on with my life. I take pills every morning and every night before bed and they help. I have been to classes to teach me how to manage my symptoms and have been trying to get things under control.  Unfortunately I haven’t been very successful with this yet. I get worried about how well I will be able to cope with this when I see 50 or 60 year old men in group who are still dealing with PTSD. I worry that I will never be able to get past this and it scares me.

There are a lot of organizations that would help me professionally. The American bar association is the first that comes to mind. There is also the Veterans of Foreign War, and the V.A. I am involved with the V.A. and the VFW now, but not the ABA. The ABA fees are pretty high but they offer continued learning and a social network to help you with case law. It is more geared for practicing attorneys as opposed to people who do not have a license yet. I don’t think the benefit of professional organizations would outweigh the cost until I am ready to actively pursue a career in the field.