As technology continues to evolve so does the education system. Web 2.0 is still a fairly new technology and one that schools are starting to incorporate more into their classrooms. Web 2.0 is changing the way teachers teach and students learn and there is potential for so much more.
The fact that we now have a 'Blooms Digitally' shows the changes that we are beginning to see in classrooms around the world and whilst these drastic changes may seem scary to some they need to be embraced and built upon.
Ensuring that students are competent with computing skills is no longer enough. As teachers we must ensure that students are developing with a holistic view of technology. Incorporating Web 2.0 will allow students to gain a greater understanding of content and collaborate with one another. By adapting the taxonomy it has made it easier for teachers to plan new resources, programs etc taking into account new developments such as Web 2.0.
As with life, changes can be scary and mean more work at the outset. For instance with Creating moving to the top of the taxonomy chart many teachers will have to adjust their thinking and teaching strategies to ensure that students are no longer just 'receiving' information but engaging with it and those around them (as I spoke about earlier, this is where Web 2.0 applications such as Wikis, Nings, MicroBlogging are so important). For me the iLearn concept seems to focus on this idea of collaboration and becoming actively involved in the content being delivered (two systems that have worked well for me in both my technology classes and religious education classes). Whilst the classroom is certainly changing, I feel that Web 2.0 is helping ensure that students are able to learn in new and exciting ways whilst providing a model to ensure that all students have an equal chance of successfully being educated.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Module 10
How can Web 2.0 assist in improving learning outcomes for all students?
I feel that Web 2.0 provides all students with an environment in which to enhance their learning ability. It seems that most students learn effectively when they are able to engage with the material as well as interact with others. Due to this, the capacity for Web 2.0 to enhance the learning of all students regardless of academic level increases dramatically. For e.g. using a Ning or Wiki allows students to become active in the learning process as they cancontinually check and update work and help each other. This allows the strongest students to build on their ideas and those that struggle the most to see a wider variety for the work and receive help from different people. It also promotes students to become involved no matter what class they happen to be in. At the moment I am using a microblogging site (Presently.ly) which contains both yr 11 IndTech MM classes. Whilst I only teach one of these classes it allows all of the students to help one another and engage with the content (this is the same with the use of a Wiki or Ning). Ultimately I feel as teachers we should be building strong communities who have a sound educational base and Web 2.0 makes this task a lot easier to accomplish.
I feel that Web 2.0 provides all students with an environment in which to enhance their learning ability. It seems that most students learn effectively when they are able to engage with the material as well as interact with others. Due to this, the capacity for Web 2.0 to enhance the learning of all students regardless of academic level increases dramatically. For e.g. using a Ning or Wiki allows students to become active in the learning process as they cancontinually check and update work and help each other. This allows the strongest students to build on their ideas and those that struggle the most to see a wider variety for the work and receive help from different people. It also promotes students to become involved no matter what class they happen to be in. At the moment I am using a microblogging site (Presently.ly) which contains both yr 11 IndTech MM classes. Whilst I only teach one of these classes it allows all of the students to help one another and engage with the content (this is the same with the use of a Wiki or Ning). Ultimately I feel as teachers we should be building strong communities who have a sound educational base and Web 2.0 makes this task a lot easier to accomplish.
Module 9
Whilst there are a multitude of ideas presented in Module 9 I am going to focus on the emergence of 'online worlds' such as second life.
In 2008 I attended a conference at ACU Strathfield where a German University professor presented the idea of using online worlds in an educational setting and showed some amazing videos of how his university was using Second Life to teach its students. I feel that online worlds have a great potential for certain subjects however, there are a number of issues firstly such as cost, Internet speeds and security that schools need to take into account. Moving away from these issues for a moment though, what was shown at this conference amazed me. This university ran its entire Engineering class in Second Life. The university had purchased an island where they built a virtual replica of their university and lectures were presented online using the Professors avatar whilst students 'attended' classes with their avatars (they may have been at home, school or anywhere with the net). They completed all of there assessments in Second Life as well, creating dockyards and the mechanics needed to allow effective unloading of shipping containers as an example shown.
Now whilst this is a high end example I am excited by the possibilities this allows for teachers in the classroom. Unfortunately when my school looked at getting Second Life the cost was simply to much however, in the future this will hopefully become less of a problem. Being able to teach virtually and have students accomplish work in a virtual world is something that I look forward to implementing in the future.
In 2008 I attended a conference at ACU Strathfield where a German University professor presented the idea of using online worlds in an educational setting and showed some amazing videos of how his university was using Second Life to teach its students. I feel that online worlds have a great potential for certain subjects however, there are a number of issues firstly such as cost, Internet speeds and security that schools need to take into account. Moving away from these issues for a moment though, what was shown at this conference amazed me. This university ran its entire Engineering class in Second Life. The university had purchased an island where they built a virtual replica of their university and lectures were presented online using the Professors avatar whilst students 'attended' classes with their avatars (they may have been at home, school or anywhere with the net). They completed all of there assessments in Second Life as well, creating dockyards and the mechanics needed to allow effective unloading of shipping containers as an example shown.
Now whilst this is a high end example I am excited by the possibilities this allows for teachers in the classroom. Unfortunately when my school looked at getting Second Life the cost was simply to much however, in the future this will hopefully become less of a problem. Being able to teach virtually and have students accomplish work in a virtual world is something that I look forward to implementing in the future.
Module 8
I have been a user of RSS feeds for around two years now for almost every site that allows this feature. At first I was quite selective of the sites I would receive my feeds from as it would fill up my inbox and I would find that most of the updates were useless for me. Since then though I have been using the software Awasu (a RSS organiser) which has been fantastic. I am able to customise my RSS feeds and have them organised exactly as I wish.
I find RSS feeds extremely useful for my SOR and Multimedia classes as there are a number of issues in both of these subjects that are continuously changing. For Religion I am able to get continual updates on Ethical issues such as Abortion and IVF from government and religious agencies and I am also able to keep up to date with all of the new and emerging technologies and laws relating to the Multimedia industry. Without an RSS feed I would be wasting hours of time looking for these items. RSS also allows me to stay up to date with all BOS changes that occur with my senior classes and this information is priceless.
I find RSS feeds extremely useful for my SOR and Multimedia classes as there are a number of issues in both of these subjects that are continuously changing. For Religion I am able to get continual updates on Ethical issues such as Abortion and IVF from government and religious agencies and I am also able to keep up to date with all of the new and emerging technologies and laws relating to the Multimedia industry. Without an RSS feed I would be wasting hours of time looking for these items. RSS also allows me to stay up to date with all BOS changes that occur with my senior classes and this information is priceless.
Module 7
I have been an active user of delicious online bookmarks for a number of years and maintain two separate accounts.
Firstly I have a private account which contains all the bookmarks that I use both professionally and personally. The second account though is one which is available to all of my students and contains a multitude of relevant bookmarks covering all of their content. My year 9, 10, 11 and 12 students all regularly check my delicious site to re-affirm content and find tutorials. Students are also able to send me links and if they are helpful they will be added to delicious which gives the students a sense of accomplishment.
Delicious is such a treat to use as its 'tag' system makes it extremely easy to find relevant websites even though I have over 200 sites linked to the account. So far no students have complained about getting 'lost' whilst trying to find certain information. One thing I will have to take into account however, is figuring out an effective way to begin deleting sites which are no longer active or contain information that is now redundant (I fear this may become a big issue in the future).
Firstly I have a private account which contains all the bookmarks that I use both professionally and personally. The second account though is one which is available to all of my students and contains a multitude of relevant bookmarks covering all of their content. My year 9, 10, 11 and 12 students all regularly check my delicious site to re-affirm content and find tutorials. Students are also able to send me links and if they are helpful they will be added to delicious which gives the students a sense of accomplishment.
Delicious is such a treat to use as its 'tag' system makes it extremely easy to find relevant websites even though I have over 200 sites linked to the account. So far no students have complained about getting 'lost' whilst trying to find certain information. One thing I will have to take into account however, is figuring out an effective way to begin deleting sites which are no longer active or contain information that is now redundant (I fear this may become a big issue in the future).
Module 6
I have found this module to be the most helpful thus far as I have never heard of items such as Glogster.
In terms of in class use, I am a big fan of mind maps and brainstorming in general and generally use this technique throughout the course of a unit. Whilst I have never used bubbl before, in Yr 12 Multimedia we create an in class mind map using the schools software to break apart the syllabus and delve into each of the dot points. As the school has its own mind mapping software (inspiration) I generally do not use the Internet versions which saves me from worrying about Internet speeds and so forth however, as bubbl has a variety of features that Inspiration does not I may look to this site in the future to create more advanced mind maps for the students. (On the right I have created a Web 2.0 mind map as a test of Bubbl).
The idea of 'Editorial Cartoons' is a new one for me. Whilst I have used and seen a number of digital storybooks and online cartoon creators, a site such as glogster seems to take this idea and expand upon it. The ability to create video and audio alongside your storybook and use it to add an extra dimension is a tremendous idea and allows a number of possibilities not only for presenting work to students but also for students to create their own work. I am thinking about incorporating this into a junior assessment to see its full potential.
Module 5
Digital Storytelling is a terrific device that is being incorporated more and more by teachers and KLA's. For Yr 11 and 12 Multimedia digital storytelling plays a major role in a number of our classes. I find that not only do podcasts and vodcasts capture the students attention the whole design process behind creating these devices is essential for the students in all of their assesments and is a vital skill to compelete their major works. By creating these devices in year 11 the students are acquiring these vital skills whilst enjoying themselves at the same time. I also find that creating podcasts on certain topics and making them freely available helps students go over work in a new way if they have had trouble understanding this content earlier.
YouTube is also a device that we use constantly in Multimedia whether it be for tutorials, information on content or learning uploading skills. Whilst YouTube is a terrific device there are a number of pitfalls that must be avoided. When using YouTube as a resource it is imperative that students stay on task as whole lessons can be lost if students are allowed to surf for whatever videos they like. It is also important to look at the social and ethically issues involved with sites like YouTube. The ability for anybody to upload can lead to issues of bullying and incorrect information. Copyright also comes into play here as students must be careful if incorporating videos into their work.
As a class we also use YouTube to upload our own vodcasts dealing with particular issues that have been presented by students (mainly focusing on questions dealing with particular software).
YouTube is also a device that we use constantly in Multimedia whether it be for tutorials, information on content or learning uploading skills. Whilst YouTube is a terrific device there are a number of pitfalls that must be avoided. When using YouTube as a resource it is imperative that students stay on task as whole lessons can be lost if students are allowed to surf for whatever videos they like. It is also important to look at the social and ethically issues involved with sites like YouTube. The ability for anybody to upload can lead to issues of bullying and incorrect information. Copyright also comes into play here as students must be careful if incorporating videos into their work.
As a class we also use YouTube to upload our own vodcasts dealing with particular issues that have been presented by students (mainly focusing on questions dealing with particular software).
Module 4
I have found sites such as flickr have not been widely adopted by the students in my classes. For myself I do no use this site in terms of allowing students to upload photos or for the social nature of it. I have found that flickr is however, a tremendous resource when showing students the difference between using images that have copy protection, those that they can edit whichever way they like and everything in between. As copyright continues to be such a major issue for all teachers I find that especially in a technology based subject where students are constantly taking images from the Internet, learning this information is invaluable especially heading towards major works in yr 12. Looking at flickrs copyright section (Attribution, NonCommercial, No Derivative Works, Share Alike, these are creative commons licences) shows just how much variety there is and how easy it is for students to become confused and make serious mistakes when using other peoples work.
Module 3
My first experience with programs similar to Google Docs was with a beta version of Adobes 'Buzzword'. Whilst Buzzword was still in development I remember using the program and thinking of the possibilities both for myself and my students. For my junior IST classes Google Docs is used quite a bit especially when students are working on spreadsheets. The collaborative nature of Google docs when used effectively allows students to evenly contribute work and help each other out in 'real time'. It also allows them to mark and monitor one anothers work throughout. Unfortunately as with all group style activities it is important to ensure that not just one student is doing the brunt of the work and I would also like to see greater development from Google in the use of collaborative databases as this is a unit in the IST course.
For myself I have recently begun using Adobe's Buzzword with a former colleague who has moved to another school to create resources together that we both use in our respective classes. Being able to 'tap' into this knowledge base is invaluable as it allows us to continue to create high quality resources for our students and Buzzword allows us to use more advanced features not found in Google docs.
For myself I have recently begun using Adobe's Buzzword with a former colleague who has moved to another school to create resources together that we both use in our respective classes. Being able to 'tap' into this knowledge base is invaluable as it allows us to continue to create high quality resources for our students and Buzzword allows us to use more advanced features not found in Google docs.
Module 2
The drastic increase in the use of blogs on the Internet can be attributed to their ease of use and the benefits that they give to users and readers alike. By working through the second module it is obvious that blogs can allow teachers and students to complete a wide range of activities throughout most KLA's. After looking through this module I have been thinking how blogs could be incorporated into my senior Studies of Religion class. For this students could be set tasks to create a weekly blog post covering the syllabus points that have been touched on during the lessons for that week and as it is in a blog format other students can easily access this work and either add extra detail or ask for clarifications or connections of the content. For Multimedia we use blogs in a more practical manner as students look to incorporate them into their own created websites to allow their users to access the advantages. Perhaps extending upon this I could look to create a blog which would allow students to communicate with one another (no matter whether at school or home) to provide practical assistance for the variety of software that they use.
Module 1
My name is Michael and I am a Technology and Religious Education teacher at Freeman Catholic College. Today I have begun the Web 2.0 course that is being offered by the CEO. Having just completed Module 1 and already having experience with iGoogle I feel this tool is a great way to be introduced to the world of Web 2.0. The link showing the 25 online tools is a good guide to see the many options available to teachers and students. The ability to create your own workspace using iGoogle makes it a breeze to ensure that all the information you want every time you log in is available instantly.
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