Group One Digital Technologies

The use of Blogs, wiki's and webpages as tools for learning has increased significantly since they became more readily accessible to the general public. They are an integral part of the world wide web and are used as communication forums, interactive social networks and creative outlets for individuals or groups (Williams and Jacobs 2004). They provide a place or space where people can collaborate on projects, publish and share information, reflect and create works.  The stand out for me is the blog; I enjoy using the blog, adding, editing, finding links, publishing things I have created and sharing with others. I like checking out other people's blogs too, especially other students and am always amazed by the variety and diversity of the entries and creations even though we are all studying the same subject. They reflect the individuality and personality of the `blogger' and their progress through the coursework: its fun and a little addictive! Blogs can be used for a variety of purposes; they can be collaborative or individualised and used for personal, professional or educational purposes. Whilst it is easy to analyse the use of blogs in education using a PMI tool  (visit Blog analysis), it is much more difficult to apply it to practice. One of the drawbacks of this course is that we don't really have the time yet to utilise the technologies in a meaningful way for students; so I feel we are playing with them. I realise my skills and abilities will continue to improve as I continue to utilise and apply the technologies. Whilst this is a fun, challenging and a vital part of the learning process and provides insight into how students may feel using the technologies, their real value and potential will be more apparent when they can be applied to actual learning situations. I have attempted to outline how I would use a blog in primary school in this PREZI but for ideas on how teachers have actually used blogs in education you might like to  go to http://huzzah.edublogs.org/ and peruse this page. I found it inspiring.

Using wiki's was initially quite difficult as I was not used to sharing information in such a direct way; I was hesitant in putting forward my thoughts or analysis and felt very unsure of myself. This is where the scaffolding was most useful; not only in organising my thoughts etc but also in providing a framework in which to share and collaborate. I created an analysis of wiki's in education (see wiki pmi in wiki page) which helped to clarify my thoughts on wiki's. The wiki's would be very useful in a classroom situation (given that the resources are available) for a variety of purposes that require collaboration. If they are well scaffolded and supported by the teacher they would provide an opportunity for the students to explore, contribute and plan their own learning experiences and then share them with others. This is a link to a wiki page - ABC ICT -that was created by a teacher with her Grade 6, 7 & 8 students; it really highlights for me what you might be able to achieve. It also further extends the students to challenge themselves to create things even they did not realise they were capable of! Another example of a wiki that is well established and resourced is Education Origami produced by  Andrew Churches (2011). I found lots of interesting and useful informatin in this wiki about 21st century learners.

Websites are such an integral part of the web that it is hard to remember a time when they weren't there. Web pages cover a myriad of topics, and designs, are major sources of information and are creative works in their own right (Ferdig and Trammel 2004). They are indeed a source of communication used by communities, institutions, companies, groups and individuals alike to provide a seemingly inexhaustible array of information. Using web pages in school at all levels seems to be a logical and valuable addition to education. The school itself can have a web page to promote the school, the events happening in the school and as an invaluable means of connecting with the wider school community especially parents and carers. Schools are having trouble keeping parents involved in school and this maybe one may of rectifying that. One high school in Gladstone conducted computer literacy classes for parents so they felt more confident in using them. Classes (or subject areas) could have their own web site - students might use web sites to

• promote and showcase their activities
• to design a motto for the class,
• map class rules
• explore legal and ethical issues,
• establish guidelines for use,
• profile students,
• upload photos
• flesh out topics
• share with parents and wider community
• explore the technologies within the web design
• tell a story (or report) about their journey

The skills learned by the students to create, develop and maintain the website would be immense and hopefully learned in such an engaging, creative and fun way that it might be student driven rather than teacher driven. The use of the various technologies within the web site design would further enhance the students skills and knowledge base and these could be applied to other areas of learning for example project work in science or presentations to peers or school assembly. The website I created in for practice is http://mezzaslearning.weebly.com/ which includes pod casts, photos, SWOT analysis of use of websites in education amongst other things. These could all be utilised by students.

Reference List

Borsch, S. (2009).  Accelerating Change Insights and Ideas in Internet, Social & Web Technology. Retrieved 10th April 2011 from http://blogs.scholastic.com/accelerating_change/2009/07/having-information-and-facts-at-your-fingertips-about-the-internet--and-web-is-absolutely-critical-whether-youre-formulatin.html

Churches A., (2010) Facilitating 21st Century Learning Retrieved 4th April 2011 from http://edorigami.wikispaces.com/home

 

Dickey. M, D (2004) The impact of web-logs (blogs) on student perceptions of isolation and alienationin a web-based distance-learning environment. Open Learning Vol 19, No. 3, Nov 2004. Retrieved 10^th April 2011 from http://mchel.com/Papers/OL_19_3_2004.pdf.

Downes, S. (2004). Educational Blogging. Retrieved 10th April 2011 from http://www.educause.edu/EDUCAUSE+Review/EDUCAUSEReviewMagazineVolume39/EducationalBlogging/157920

 

Ferdig and Trammell (2004) Content Delivery in the `Blogosphere' Transforming  education through Technology Retrieved 10th April from http://thejournal.com/articles/2004/02/01/content-delivery-in-the-blogosphere.aspx

Johnson, L., Smith, R., Willis, H., Levine, A., and Haywood, K., (2011). The 2011 Horizon Report. Austin, Texas: The New Media Consortium. Retrieved 10th April 2011 from http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/HR2011.pdf

Tangient LLC.,  (2005).  ABC IT wiki Retrieved 10th April 2011 from http://abcict.wikispaces.com/home