Well i've finally reached the end of WEb 2.0 and what a huge learning curve it has been. I've discovered so many features out there on the world wide web that have been hiding right in front of me for so long. I have so much more confidence and a massive bank of resources and ideas for my teaching practice and surviving life in the modern world in general now.
I've really enjoyed this course and although at times it has been time consuming it has more than made up for that in terms of the rewards given back in new knowledge and skills.
I feel I still need to do some more research on the use of Wiki's and blogging although I feel I may have stumbled along these in the past and not known what they were called or how to engage with them.
It's been fantastic watching the learning of my collegues and those on line through their ongoing blogging. It adds a human dimension to this big infinite technological space.
I like the digital Bloom's Taxonomy as a way of leading us to ensuring our students are engaging in a variety of IT skills necessary for them in this modern world. With so many resources available and free to students, no child is dissadvantaged and so many options are open up to both the students and us as educators.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Module 9 - Networks on the web, professional and social
So Module 9 is nothing new for me but it's always good to go back and revise what you've already done before.
It was useful looking through the scootle user guide and i'll have to do some more research on setting up good learning paths that are easy for Kinder students to follow. This may be difficult as present there were not a great deal of easy-to-follow-no-teacher-assistance-needed activities for little people, mostly aimed at middle to upper primary students.
Facebook needed absolutely no research what so ever as i'm a self confessed addict - not interested in twitter as it seems to be a massive time user and I've not got time in abundance.
It was useful looking through the scootle user guide and i'll have to do some more research on setting up good learning paths that are easy for Kinder students to follow. This may be difficult as present there were not a great deal of easy-to-follow-no-teacher-assistance-needed activities for little people, mostly aimed at middle to upper primary students.
Facebook needed absolutely no research what so ever as i'm a self confessed addict - not interested in twitter as it seems to be a massive time user and I've not got time in abundance.

Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Module 8 - Managing your flow of information on the Internet
This module looked at Google reader and RSS feeds - a format for delivering regularly changing web content ie news sites, chat sites, blogs, etc.
I found this very useful as a time saving resource for myself in terms not needing to hunt down information but having it sent to me at regular updates.
This could be useful in the classroom for older students to get information on current affairs or topic specific information for research and course information.
It's great that I now know what the RSS icon means as I've seen regularly on webpages but I realise that subscribing to too many pages could lead to an information overload and not so much of a time saver after all.
Module 7 - Building online communities
This module involved the introduction and set up of delicious a social bookmarking sight. I am already familiar with this site having had used it for the past six months, a tip passed on to me at a numeracy network meeting.
I find this site extremely useful as it means that sights I have bookmarked are available from any computer not just the one I bookmarked it on. Working in a school were there are numerous computers I frequently have access to and use, this is very helpful and a great time saving device.
It's fantastic to be able to share bookmarks with colleagues so that all the time and effort we put into behind the scenes preparation can be easily benefited by many others.
It was great to have a sneak at other Web 2.0 participants blogs and see how others are enjoying the experience. I posted several encouraging remarks to my peers which I hope are pleasantly received.

Module 6 - Creating and Communicating online

In this module we were introduced to the website bubbl.us which showed us a mind mapping tool which was extremely user friendly and a useful tool for classroom use. I especially like the fact that, like google docs, the document can be a collaborative activity shared among participants, a useful feature for the modern day classroom.
I experimented with this tool using
my current class theme as seen to
the right. I realise how useful it can
be in the primary and higher grades -
too many words for little Kinders.
Glogster - What a fun and creative outlet for learning. The possibilities for student use is endless and a perfect arena for those artistic students and the ones who just don't conform to traditional classroom learning. What a fantastic alternative to the poster project and good ol' fashioned book report. Endless possibilities for the classroom and the home school connection to foster an enthusiasm for learning.
GlogsterEDU would be a useful tool for whole class use too.
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