For IDE 611 one of the class assignments was to create a blog and post discussions on assigned topics. As I reflect on my fist time blogging, I would say overall the writing in itself was an enjoyable experience. My topics were social networking and virtual worlds, I find them both interesting and with a little guidance from the professor I begin applying my profession to the topic. I felt that made it a little easier to write my blogs. I’ve also enjoyed writing about things of interest so once I was able to tie the topics to my profession, I was also able to gain interest in the actual topic.

Although I enjoyed the writing aspect of blogging, I really struggled to keep up with the blogging. In addition to the blogging, we (the students) were also responsible for posting weekly discussions and facilitating one of the discussions. I was also taking three other courses and teaching full time. To say I bit off a little more than I could chew would be an understatement. As a result I did not meet all of the requirements for this particular assignment. However, for my first time blogging it was a positive experience overall. I’m hoping to continue and eventually create a culinary blog that introduces unique topics.

As I’ve tried to tie in my occupation with the last topic, social networks, I thought it might be interesting to explore culinary in the virtual world as well. A fun space has been created with culinary and virtual reality. From virtual cooking classes around the world to cooking games for kids, culinary has become a growing trend in the virtual world.

There is also a growing trend with “virtual restaurants” this where foodservice owners have no physical dining space, they only operate through food delivery mobile apps such as Uber Eats, and Grub Hub. All business is conducted through mobile delivery apps. With the recent events of Covid-19 more restaurants are offering takeout, which raises the question, What will be the future of restaurant dining? Will restaurants stop offering dining options? especially if it could potentially cut cost.

The opportunities for culinary creativity in the virtual world seem to continue to grow. I also see opportunity in culinary education. I could definitely see ( if it hasn’t happened already) culinary colleges incorporating virtual worlds into programs. As a high school culinary instructor I’ve been thinking about the pros and cons of introducing virtual reality into the classroom, but then I think once again about the current climate we are in and I guess in a sense I’ve already began introducing aspects of the virtual world into my classroom.

Without dating myself too much, I remember being in high school, in the 90’s during my senior year. I recall being in my current events class, and the teacher introducing “the web”, and putting the web address on the board. I remember at that time not really understanding what it was exactly, but I knew it was definitely something that was going to change the way the world communicates. Fast forward twenty plus years later, I think it’s safe to say my prediction was correct. However, I never imagined it to be what it’s become, including having the ability to create avatars and explore virtual worlds.

History

One of the earliest examples of this technology was created Morton Heilig, who created a mechanical device called Sensorama. This was one of the earliest examples of 3D technology. Heilig was a cinematographer who saw theater as a platform to surround the senses and draw an audience creating what he called “experience theater”. Ivan Sutherland, a computer scientist widely known as “the father of computer graphics”, created the first virtual reality and augmented reality head mounted display system. Originally developed as text-based games capable of serving only a handful of users, virtual worlds now feature persistent 3-D worlds with graphical user interfaces providing the ability to interact with other people and objects while experiencing immediate feedback within a world inhabited by millions of users.

Present and Future

Virtual worlds have become an evolution in today’s world. It provides endless formats and configurations for companies and organizations to experience and choose for consumer use. The future of virtual worlds present many opportunities. From sports to conferences, creating virtual audiences has provided an innovative way to connect, especially given our “new normal”. Virtual worlds will continue to be an essential part of technology in the future as it extends experiences and opportunities to engage users and provide innovative ways for collaboration and networking.

Sanchez, Joe. “A social history of virtual worlds.” Library Technology Reports, vol. 45, no. 2, 2009, p. 9+. Accessed 15 Nov. 2020.

As I culinary arts teacher, keeping up with the all the current trends in the food industry and sharing them with my students is a daily occurence. Part of that trend is social networking in the food service industry. Within the past ten years social media has played a very intricate role in the way food is presented. From food blogs to IG to photo and recipe sharing apps how we view food has become a thing unto itself. It has become a platform where just about anyone can market themselves as a food expert. I have struggled with this…. As someone who’s gone through classical chef training, has worked in the food industry, and now teaches students how to cook, I can’t help but feel slightly bothered by those who whip up a few recipes, talk about it on blog, post some pictures with props and good lighting, and now all of the sudden they have been deemed the title chef, foodie, food expert etc.. However, on the flip side, it is a pretty cool thing to be able to use social media platforms to market yourself to be whatever you like.

Despite the slight frustration with certain aspects, social networking in culinary arts has grown to become a vital part of food education. I’ve noticed my students gravitating more to social networking platforms for information as opposed to the textbooks and demonstration videos. It also allows for more creativity for the students as well. By allowing students access to create using these various social media platforms, it keeps students not only engaged but they have true interest in learning as well as a sense of ownership in what they are learning. This week I facilitated a discussion around mobile learning and teachers reluctance to embrace technology in their classrooms. The consensus was that most teachers were uncomfortable because of lack of skills and training on the teachers part. I’m happy to say I feel that I’m somewhat ahead of the curve with embracing mobile/e-learning technology as I see it to be necessary for the students professional and skill development. I also feel confident that my students won’t just be the average food blogger that can follow recipes, but that they’ll be trained foodservice professionals with creativity and subject knowledge.

The discussion topic in class this week focuses on social networking in education. When I think about the advancements in technology I don’t really see how education and social networks could not coexist. Social Networking in itself is a form of education, it’s using multiple communication platforms to share information that people can extract, share, teach, train and learn. With that said, I’ve thought about my own journey with social networking.

For the most part I’ve always considered myself to be somewhere between an early adopter and early majority when it came to technology, but I’ve recently discovered that I’m more of the late majority particularly when it comes to using social networks in education. I’ve found a few platforms to use in my classroom, but for the most part I find myself going back to the old tried and true powerpoint presentation or demonstration videos. I think my saving grace has been that it is a very interactive hands-on course (culinary arts), so students really don’t spend a lot of time in the classroom. However, with things being different due to the pandemic, it has completely changed how I will teach my students moving forward, and has forced me to start thinking of new innovative ways to keep my students engaged.

Welcome to my first Blog post on Social Networking Talk! Social networking platforms have become a way of life for most us. It’s way to instantly stay connected family, friends, news, entertainment, and any other individual interest. You literally have access to just about anything with social networks. It plays a very intriget part in our day to day needs and interest. There are so many advantages to social networking, it allows people to have constant engagement, but from an education perspective, social networking has created a new way of learning which has made a huge impact on how we view education.

Since social networks have began implementing educational platforms, accessibility and opportunities has led to greater advantages overall for students. “Starting from elementary school up until university graduation, social media has the role to empower parents, students and teachers to use new ways of sharing information and build a community. ….What’s even more extraordinary is that, even though some of the students use the social networks for entertaining and other purposes, there are a lot of them that actually use it to promote a lot of positive and useful activities. From finding a summer internship, promoting a success story about how to win the student-loan battle or collaborate on international projects, everything is made possible” (Wade, Georgetown University).

Clearly social networking has created more educational advancements for students to succeed. While I don’t disagree that social networks have some disadvantages, which I will discuss in a future blog, there is no denying that it’s impact has changed how we view education.

Wade, Lisa. Center for Social Impact Communication at the School of Continuing Studies. Georgetown University.