Constructivism & Technology/Case Examples/Mashups

This Wiki section discusses Mashups. This section will review the history of the term, including the "original Mashup." It will then discuss what Mashups are known as currently. This section will make direct connection to Mashups and the relevance they hold in the Constructivism Learning Theory. Lastly, this section will take a look at the makeup of Mashups as well as the various functions they utilize, including various contextual uses for the classroom.

Key Concepts
Historically, the original term Mashup came into use during the hay-day of pop culture. The term was used when vocal and instrumental tracks from vastly different genres of music were mixed together (Schulz, Sielaff, & Tuf, 2008). This, now outdated, procedure parallels to the computer mashups this section discusses in the way in which they are created. According to the Wikipedia article a mashup is a, "Web application that combines data from one or more sources into a single integrated tool,"(Wikipedia Mashup, 2009). Mashups may include, but are not limited to images, data, video, and audio files. Any or all of these file types can be sourced from various web locations and pulled into a single view otherwise known as a Mashup. While this technology is known, it is still emerging and is being developed more and more everyday. Constructivism is a hands-on learning approach where learners become active in the learning process. The use of manipulative's is one way to make a classroom more constructivism-friendly. Mashups are simply a web-based manipulative. Students have the opportunity to achieve learning goals by creating mashups using various web sources. For instance, students studying mammals could create a mashup containing images, sounds, and videos of different mammals.

Examples
Not a lot of Mashups are widely available with the intent to be used with specific grade levels or subjects, but more as a tool to aid in learning. Most of the most common Mashups include video, photo, and mapping applications (Schulz, Sielaff, & Tuf, 2008). Wiki has an application called WikiCrimes (WikiCrimes, 2009). It is a wiki where users report and review different crimes by putting "pins" in a GoogleMap (GoogleMaps, 2009). All crimes classified by category such as robbery, assaults, and battery. This application could be used in a classroom in the subject of Social Studies, provided the topic was age-appropriate. Students could become crime watchers in their own neighborhoods, or perhaps students could do comparing and contrasting of their neighborhoods statistics to other neighborhoods. Another example is Flickervision (Troy, 2009). Flickervision is a real-time image mapping display. Essentially users all over the world upload images to the site, viewers see the pictures appear in real-time and from the specific place on the map from which they were sent. Students of any grade level could easily use this application to be introduced to various cultural and/or geological differences from around the world.

A final example for this section of a Mashup is GoogleMaps (GoogleMaps, 2009). GoogleMaps is an application that incorporates text (written driving directions) and images (maps) together. Images are in map, satellite, and terrain views. Students of any grade level could use this Mashup to discover different cities, for mapping purposes, to explore various terrain, or perhaps to estimate distances between locations. GoogleMaps could be used to elaborate on Social Studies or Geography lessons easily.

Chapter Quiz
1. In today's standards a Mashup is:
 * a. A web application that combines data from one or more sources into a single integrated tool.
 * b. A mix of vocal and instrumental tracks from vastly different genres of music.
 * c. A kind of potato.

2. Mashups can consist of the following types of files:
 * a. image and video
 * b. image, data, and audio
 * c. images, data, video, and audio

3. The majority of all published Mashups at this point in time are:
 * a. teaching applications
 * b. video, photo, and mapping applications
 * c. grade-level and subject specific application

4. True or False: Mashups have the ability offer another avenue in teaching with a constructivist approach and technology incorporation.