WEEK 3: Digital Technologies 1



Hello everyone, this week in Manage E-Learning we reviewed various topics; however to mix things up a bit and to collaborate with the examples within the class, I am going to have my Voki explain to you what is going to be discussed in this weeks blog...

 

 

A Voki, is simply one example of the way technology could be used

to grab the students attention in relation to a particular

topic and or subject.

 

Firstly, there is a common question being asked that I would like to attend to which is:

What is E-Learning?

• E-learning comprises all forms of electronically supported learning and teaching.
• It is considered to be the implication of integrating electronic skills into pedagogy.
• Also, E-Learning is not only about digital devices such as mobile phones, iPads etc., it includes the digital programs used to enhance learning within the classroom





I hope this answered certain queries...

Web 1.0:     (aka, the internet websites 10 years ago)

Web 1.0 was considered to be an early stage of the World Wide Web (today is simplified by the identity of 'the internet') , which had been centred around a top-down approach in regards to researching a topic. Berners-Lee considered Web 1.0 to be the "read-only web," which signified that

users could only view webpages instead of being able to contribute to the content of the page.

      ~Webpages were more simplistic in prior years:

            ~ The design was easily comprehensible

            ~ There was limited access as to what was within the site

            ~ They contain information that might be useful,

                but there is no reason for a visitor to return to the site later

 

 

In 2005, new technology was introduced and the era of Web 2.0 began....

Web 2.0:      (Aka, todays technology)

Web 2.0 is known as the second generation in the development of the World Wide Web, conceived as a combination of concepts, trends and technologies that focus on user collaboration, sharing of user-generated content and social networking (quoted from Dictionary.com). Web 2.0 became known to the public when forums were introduced and various interactive websites were created, for example; blogs, wiki's, YouTube, Facebook etc.

            ~ If the Web 2.0 hadn't been introduced, sites would still be restricted to the original

               information that was displayed on the page, without any social interaction or

               collaboration.

            ~ Providing an opportunity for interaction around the web, provides the viewers with a better

               understanding of the topic that they are researching.

 

To try and illustrate the differences between the web today, in comparison to 10 years ago, I have researched photographs and certain website pages. These will be shown in the two figures below...

•  The first photo illustrates what the Internet Movie Data Base website looked like 10 years ago in the era of Web 1.0

 



 

•  This second photograph is a snap shot of what the Internet Movie Data Base looks like today, with the new abilities of Web 2.0

 

Can you notice the difference?

Blogs:

A blog is a website where an individual or group of people are able to record opinions, information, questions, etc. on a day to day basis depending on their preferences. Blogs can consist of multiple authors, comments added by other students and/or peers; however there is usually only one single author who 'posts,' meaning although other students are able to comment on each status, only one person is able to start them.

Why use blogs within a classroom?

Stop and think for a second about when you were back in school.... Who read your work? As identified by Seven Anderson, only teachers used to read the work of students. Occasionally there would be a slight discussion between friends in relation to the assignment, but that is all. Using the blogs in the classroom will allow teachers to:

1. Post resources, lessons and homework assignments somewhere where the students are able to locate it easily

2. Keep parents up to date on what is happening within the class

3. Reflect on their own teaching practices and share their ideas with other educators

 

However, not only is the use of blogs within the classroom good for the teachers, it also benefits the students as it allows them to:

1. Share schoolwork with their peers, parents and others around the community

2. Collaborate on assignments and projects

3. Receive feedback from others about their work

4. Engage with other students in a social manner and gain self-confidence   

 

Although there are various benefits to using a blog within the classroom, a teacher is always advised to consider the PMI's of every task (Positive, Minus and Interesting). Once considering these three aspects, then an educator can decide whether to use a blog or not.

 

 

Wiki:

Like a blog, the wiki is a Web site that has been developed in the era of Web 2.0 which has been developed collaboratively by a community of people; however the difference is that instead of only allowing one person to post a status on the page, a wiki allows various people to post on that page for themselves. Meredith Farkas stated that,

"Wikis allow multiple people to easily contribute to the same document and track the modification to that document. The Wiki software is very useful for quick updating (which is so important when you are dealing with subject guides) as well as the ability to easily search the wiki and to create browse-able categories which means that there is an improvement in the findability rate." (August 20, 2006)

 A summation of the advantages that have been implied within the text are:
1.  collaborative editing
2.  ability to quickly and easily update content
3.  ability to easily find content through searching and browsing

The link below is the web address to my personal wiki that I have created after this class. At this point in time my wiki is not all that exciting nor is it very informative as I haven't been able to add a lot of information that relates to the course; however I wanted to create one and provide an example of the sites that I am referring to.

http://brees-e-learning.wikispaces.com/ 

This image is a wordle effect on the topic of wikis. A wordle is only one strategy using technology abilities to keep the students engaged within the classroom activities.

 

Last but not least, another form of technology that could be used within the classroom is a weebly.

Weebly:

A Weebly is defined as an online, free, widget-based Web site creator, which allows students and or teachers to create their own websites about any given topic. This program may be useful as it is created by the people (for example; a teacher) and can dictate the appropriate information for a particular subject instead of having to search through numerous pages in order to find the correct information. Similar to a wiki, there is so much that can be done within the page that would benefit the learning styles in the classroom.

 

Before this class, I had never heard of the program Weebly. If I had heard it on the street, I would have thought the person was talking about the little childrens show "The Weebles" which my baby brother watched when he was 3 years old. So I have created my very first Weebly and have had a look at all of the things that can be achieved. I apologize in advance as I have not yet inserted lots of data into my weebly; however I have played around with the program enough to be able to understand what the site can do.

 





http://bree-manage-e-learning.weebly.com/

 

Just before I finish up, yes I know you are all probably asleep by now, but I just wished to raise an important advisement that needs to be considered and that is the factors of is it Safe, Legal and Ethical. Although a teacher cannot watch a 24/7, as that would probably appear quite creepy, a teacher does need to be aware of the dangers of plagiarism and copyright in these sites which is in fact illegal.

To touch on that note, I shall play you all a video....

 

Thanks for reading my blog, hope you enjoyed it :)
Breanna