Final Post

Well I am finally finished the modules for the Web 2.0 course. I am very proud of myself since this is my second attempt at it. Doing this course has been a great opportunity to revisit some of the tools that I have previously used in the classroom and to learn about some new ones that I can begin to explore with my students in the future. The development of the iLearn model in 2009 was a great initiative which helped us gain a common understanding of what e-Learning is and the processes that we should be focusing on with our students. The use of Web 2.0 tools enables our students to develop highly valued skills, build community, share and build knowledge anywhere, anytime and anyplace.

Module 10

I really didn't know the difference between Wikis and Nings before I started this module. Now I have learnt that a wiki is a place where you can collaboratively create and edit pages. People join the wiki to create the content together, it is also used as a reference site. A Ning is slightly different because it is used to build a community. I have experienced using both of these. I have used a Wiki in my class as a site for sharing and creating research on a topic. Each student had their own page. It needed to be monitored very closely though as anyone that was a member could edit each other's work. I am also part of a Ning for the Southern Region e-Learning Coordinators. As the name suggests it is a community of teachers sharing work with each other. We can communicate and each have our own school page, however, we cannot edit or change each others. Both of these tools are useful in learning environments because it helps to build community. Knowledge is also shared more easily and work is made easier.

I have been thinking about the question I have to answer, "How can Web 2.0 tools assist in improving learning outcomes for students?" The answer is not very easy because I think we need to think about what it is that we are actually measuring. If for example we were measuring the achievement of outcomes according to our current syllabus it would be difficult to show whether learning outcomes have been improved. In other words, I do believe that the syllabus needs to change to reflect the skills we value in the 21st century. If we were measuring the skills that are highly valued in the 21st century e.g problem solving, collaboration etc. then these processes could more easily be measured. In any case, I know this sounds confusing but I do believe that Web 2.0 tools assist in learning. They engage students since this is how they learn today and they do assist in developing processes that are highly valued in today's society.

Recent research is suggesting that Web 2.0 is having positive results.

Module 9

Scootle is a tool that is used regularly at my school. We are very fortunate to have access to thousands of learning objects and Australian curriculum content. The resources are very valuable and allow us to teach concepts to the students using digital media. When I use Scootle I create learning paths for students and organise the content I have bookmarked into topics so that they can also access them at home for revision.
In terms of social networking sites, I am an occasional user of Facebook. However I think there are many issues around the use of these sites, most of them have already been published in the news. As for Twitter, I have joined twice now but really have not used it well. I do love technology but I can't imagine making tweets several times a day. In saying that though I have seen some really amazing content shared by other CEO staff, e.g Simon Crook.
Linked In is a tool that I need to explore a little bit further so I will get back to that one later.
I have to say I was surprised to see Second Life as part of the Web 2.0 course. Is anyone actually using this in schools? I think it is fascinating and when I used it for the first time I could not believe that we could actually exist in a virtual world. I explored this tool in a Digital Literacy course that I did at Sydney University. The lecturer used it for a virtual learning space. We each created an avatar and she opened up a room. All of the students flew into the room and we had learning conversations online. The different between this and online chat for example is that you can interact with other avatars, dance with each other, go to a different virtual world, buy a house, get a job, earn money. It kind of blurs the distinction between fantasy and reality. It is really is incredible but once again you would need to have a lot of time on your hands to use this and I am sure real world social skills would regress!! In saying this though, the possibility for learning in a global virtual classroom is amazing.

Module 8

RSS (Really Simple Syndication) has been around for years now but I have to admit I probably have not used it to its full potential. The principal of RSS is great. Rather than following several bloggers for example, you can set up a gadget to have information e.g updates sent directly to your own blog. So if someone writes a new post you can be notified through an RSS feed. I have previously used RSS in MyClasses by copying the code from different sites and pasting it in a DYI property. This was handy because when I logged on each day I was able to get the latest news headlines and topics of radio broadcasts I was following on my own desktop. I did not have to go directly to their site. Like many Web 2.0 tools, RSS feeds make a life a little bit easier by allowing us to track what going on around us without having to leave our own page. Google Reader works in a similar way but is much easier, you can search for other bloggers and just add yourself as a follower and any updates with come straight through to Google Reader. Right now I am following the other Web 2.0 course participants from my school. Each time they add a post I can see it in Google Reader. This tool could be great for students if they were each managing a blog.

Module 7

Aaahh... bookmarking! Don't you just hate when you can't remember that website you used last year or find that bookmark that you made on your PC at home or was it at work or on the laptop?? It always happens to me... I can never find the website I thought I bookmarked. Well it is possible to be super organised and able to access your bookmarks from anywhere, anytime and anyplace. And even more you can access other people bookmarks about the same topics and they are ranked according to how popular they are. This can all be done using the social bookmarking website called Delicious. The wonderful thing about this tool is that we can build professional learning communities. Teachers can share information, websites and tools that they have found and they can be ranked according to their popularity. When I created my delicious account I was also able to import all of my bookmarks from Internet Explorer and the desktop bars allows me to update them regularly. My students can also access my bookmarks by searching for me using this tool as well.

Module 6

Flickr is absolutely one of my favourite tools because I am a bit of a photography buff. I have been using Flickr for a few years now and there are many Flickr tools that people are not aware of. For example, there is Flick River which allows people to view hundreds of photos at the same time without having to click next. You can also view photos according to what lense was used to take the shot. Then there is Flickr Storm which also displays hundreds of thumbnails according to how the photo has been tagged. In fact there are a whole range of third party flickr tools available on the web. http://www.quickonlinetips.com/archives/2005/03/great-flickr-tools-collection/

Flickr is great for using with students because it allows them to be able to access photos from anyplace, anytime and anywhere. When I used Flickr with my Year 3 students I added a badge to the class blog which really was a hyperlink to the photos that I had uploaded for them. Another great point about Flickr is that people can nominate a creative commons license for their photographs. These licences determine whether or not we can use them and to what extend the photo can be changed or redistributed. Teaching students about copyright from a young age is becoming very important particularly now since it is so easy to unintentionally do the wrong thing online.

I haven't seen The Make Stuff page before but I would like to try making a photo book with some of my holiday snaps.

Module 5

Gone are the days of going to the library to do some research and photocopying some pictures for class assignments. The fancy classroom posters with hand written text and titles made from glue and glitter seem to be becoming a thing of the past. The tools that I explored today seem to easily replace what was once done on paper. Mind maps can easily be created online using Bubbl.us and research can be prepared and presented using online posters that intergrate sound, text, video and images. Glogster is an amazing tool to say the least and gives students the opportunity to represent their learning in a multimedia capacity. When looking at some of the example glogs, it seems that learning can be made so fun with this tool. Prezi is a new tool that I have not had experience using yet but I like the way that information can be presented and it seems easy to use.

I do have some questions though. How does assessment of learning take place in a e-Learning classroom? If learning is occuring anywhere, anytime, anyplace what should assessment look like? What are the issues around the equitable access to e-Learning tools?