Wiki's

Welcome to the 

Wonderful World of 

Wiki's

Have you ever felt like you are left behind, towing the line or need that extra little pull along? Up until a couple of weeks ago this was exactly what i was thinking and how i was feeling. However, I find myself continually blown away by the progression i have made, in just a couple of short weeks of being enrolled in this course.

 

One of the new and exciting tools i have learnt about, that will contribute to an easier and more effective teaching regime, is a Wiki. A Wiki is a fantastic tool that allows many people to participate in collaborative on line communication. Once the owner has published his or her Wiki it provides opportunity for others to directly add, remove or edit the content. This method of communication allows ideas to be generated and consolidated into a useful portal for learning. I believe that one of the great advantages,is that a Wiki has the ability to eliminate many hours of wasted back and forth emailing time. This would prove to have many advantages both at home and in the school environment.

There are endless possibilities of different ways to incorporate Wiki's into the classroom. Following Kearsley and Shneidermans (1999) Relate-Create-Donate concept, in order to create imaginative and meaningful tasks to be completed on a Wiki, can engage students in their learning and also allow for intrinsic motivation. Wiki's also provide opportunity for students to demonstrate both high student responsibility and higher order thinking within their tasks. 

I have worked in collaboration with my fellow colleagues, Kellie and Nari, to create three Wiki's that will endeavor to strengthen the repertoires of all future learning managers. The main objective of the Wiki i have created is to provide a list of activities and games that can be used as '5 minute fillers' in a classroom environment.  Kellie's Wiki provides the beginnings to an informative list of attention getting strategies, while Nari's Wiki aims to provide a list of transitioning activities. 

1. Five minute fillers (http://technological-competence.wikispaces.com/)
2. Attention getting techniques (http://kellieswiki.wikispaces.com/)

3. Transitioning activities (http://nariswiki.wikispaces.com/)

I believe, that if together, these Wiki's can provide just one or two ideas for just one or two future learning managers it will have proved to be worthy of our time. Have a look and please feel free to add any suggestions, games and activities.  

Until next time,

Kerri.

 

Reference:
Kearsley, G., Shneiderman, B., (1999). Engagement Theory: A framework for technology-based teaching and learning. Retrieved July 18, 2009, from
http://home.sprynet.com/~gkearsley/engage.htm

RSS

Really Simple Syndication

Hello once again,

As each day goes by and i reflect upon the knowledge and new skills that i am learning and developing, i begin to ponder on the opportunities that are opening up to me. The use of ICT's can be introduced into the classroom in order to support and enhance learning in such a wide variety of aspects. Aspects that up until 2 weeks ago i had not ever considered. 

Upon commencement of this course i heard the terms 'RSS feed' and 'RSS aggregator'. I honestly had no idea what either of them meant and assumed it was something that happened at Australia Zoo! I now know that Really Simple Syndication, or 'RSS', is a convenient and efficient way of accessing new content, or a change of content, in your favorite blogs and websites. In laymen's terms, a 'feed' is the content that an author posts onto their website and an 'aggregator' is the program that accesses the feeds you are interested in and automatically organizes them. 

The aggregator that i have chosen for the purpose of this assessment task is Google Reader. Set up of my account was an easy process and Google Reader automatically collated the blogs that i am following. This system removed the tedious task of searching for any new postings that have been made to individual blogs and websites. It allows the author to view all posts from one easy to read location and add new subscriptions as required.

The prospect of incorporating 'blogs' into my future classroom is one that i am excited about and extremely keen to begin. A blog could be used as a weekly reflective tool for each student to post their new knowledge, thoughts and also comments based upon the current unit of work. The learning manager could provide questions that need to be addressed each week, which in turn supplies them with consistent information regarding each students learning journey. Google Reader will provide the learning manager with the enormous benefit of viewing each new post, on each students blog, from one convenient location.

Really Simple Syndication is another step forward in this digital age of 'connectivism'. Siemens (2004) suggests that 'connectivism provides insight into learning skills and tasks needed for learners to flourish in a digital era'. I believe that in order to 'flourish' in this constantly evolving world of technology, tools such as Google Reader are a prerequisite.   

Until next time,

Kerri.

Reference:

Siemens, G. (2004). Connectivism: A Learning Theory for the Digital Age. Retrieved July 19, 2009, from http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/connectivism.html .

One week closer to technological competence.

Piaget and Vygotsky both believe "that learning is an intentional process of 

constructing meaning from experience" (McInerney and McInerney, 2006, p.37).  However, there are also considerable differences between the two, one of which is identified in the work of Wink and Putney (2002), who acknowledge Piaget’s belief that ‘development precedes learning’ and Vygotsky’s belief that ‘learning precedes development’. Whichever of these beliefs is indeed correct i can say with great satisfaction that my 'intentional' 'learning' 'development' through 'experience' into an unknown world, has been both exciting and adventurous.

Up until Tuesday the 7th of July i had absolutely no idea what a blog was. I can now tell you it is a useful tool that i look forward to incorporating into my future classrooms. A blog is an easy and interactive way to communicate ones thoughts, pictures, recipes, designs, ideas, opinions and the list goes on. 

In a classroom environment the opportunities that are open to both learning managers and students are endless. Blogs provide learning managers with the ability to post discussion points on classroom topics and allow students to return their thoughts and comments. Students who display 'introvert' qualities in a classroom setting could possibly benefit from this, as they have the opportunity to voice their opinions in their own personal surroundings.

During any unit of work a blog can be created by each student in order to reflect upon their learning journey. Weekly, or perhaps even daily depending on resource availability, entries can be made that provide an analysis of the learning experiences the students have been presented with. Not only does this provide the learning manager with information that can guide literacy, ICT and also deep understanding components of assessment, it provides a weekly/daily checkpoint to ensure that all students in your class are on task and have a solid knowledge and understanding of the topic.

This only names a few, however the possibilities are endless and we have the opportunity to let our potential and creativity take its place in this new and exciting era.

Until next time,

Kerri. 

Reference:

McInerney,D. & McInerney,V. (2006). Education Psychology: Constructing learning (4th ed.). Frenchs Forest Pearson Education Australia.

Wink, J. & Putney, L. (2002). A Vision of Vygotsky [Electronic version]. Boston MA, United States of America: Allyn and Bacon.

Hello once again,

It is so good to see the amazing creations that everyone has achieved in such a short time. I don't know about you, but i am finding that i am learning new and exciting tools each and every day. It really is something i did not expect from myself!

My head is kind of like the above picture that i created (thanks to wordle), that is a bit scrambled. I am still trying to find the most productive words to sum up my first week, so i thought i would give you a glimpse of the words that stand out in my journey so far. 

I must say a huge thank you to Linda and Jacqui for the websites they provided us with, i never knew they existed. I can honestly say it really could become quite addictive! 

Until next time,

Kerri.

Well here goes...

As i embark on this learning journey i am filled with the most intense fright, yet an abundance of excitement. Nearly 20 years had passed, since my previous studies, when i commenced the Bachelor of Learning Management in 2008. That was a big enough hurdle on its own and yet now there is this....FAHE11001 Managing E-Learning! 

Up until now the extent of my computer knowledge has been using Word, creating assignments, sending emails and uploading photos from my camera. I often watch my 3 children as they confidently explore the phenomenal wonders of the World Wide Web and i think to myself "oh to be born in this amazing technology era". However, my father continues to tell me, 'you are never too old'. I will stick to his motto until i have achieved the technological competence and creativity that is required to provide a platform for my future students as they enter the rapidly changing world of TECHNOLOGY. 

Until next time, 

Kerri.