Course Reflection

A couple of points here - I am sure the authors realise it, but I was struck by the comment about what iLearn skills need to be taught 'prior to students using Web 2.0 tools'.  Surely the teaching of such skills must be recursive, and embedded in the facilitation of the activities, not taught in isolation 'prior to' their use.

Secondly, I thought that the definition and elaboration of concepts around 'e' learning was very valuable - being more about engaging, evolving and examining emerging practices.

I think that the Bloom's Digital Taxonomy Map is incredibly valuable - we should all have this stuck up next to our desks or where ever we do our planning/dreaming about how to create learning experiences for our students.  Interestingly, I think that something like mind mapping could be classified at just about any level of the taxonomy, depending on the specific nature of the mind map, ie you could ask students to construct a particular form of classification and to justify it through example and analysis.

Module 10

I'm going to respond to the question; 

• How can Web 2.0 assist in improving learning outcomes for all students?

I think there are a few key things here - in no particular order, they relate to; experimentation, confidence building, practice, feedback, creativity, fun, communication, engagement, curiosity, timeliness.....

Many writers & researchers have already acknowledged that no matter what tools for learning we use, relationships will always be integral to positive learning outcomes for students (of all ages, myself included) by creating an environment where individuals are known and valued, for themselves and for their learning.  If we keep working on this, and hopefully getting it right most of the time, there is much potential for Web 2.0 tools to improve learning outcomes for students.

The tools that we have engaged with as part of this course offer many platforms for students to experiment in creative ways with their knowledge and skill, and thus develop different understandings about their learning.  This kind of practice, if couched firmly in a learning environment that ensures purposeful and timely feedback, can be hugely beneficial.

Obviously the opportunities for creativity and fun in sharing ideas and experiences via Web 2.0 tools is also great, and can be an effective way of engaging students.  We do need to be very careful I believe not to over do things however - there is a fine line between using ICT for learning well, and either over-using it or setting up activities that students just consider naff.  

The other aspect of enhancing student learning outcomes for our students in particular I believe, is that they have a strong natural curiosity for information about the world, but some seem to have fairly limited background experience.  The resources and experiences of the Web can be harnessed to appeal to this curiosity, but requires careful choice and guidance by educators in tailoring, monitoring and debriefing on learning.

Finally, I believe that research shows that adolescents have different sleep needs and periods of alertness during the day and night.  The ability to access online tools and learning experiences 'anytime' and 'anywhere' clearly lends itself to capitalising on the inclination of some students to learn in their own time and place.

Module 9

I have previously had a look at each of these tools, but have not made much use of them, primarily for reasons of time availability and inclination.  On reflection, I can see that they each have much to offer educators, in different ways.

Scootle is obviously a very valuable planning tool for organising and sharing resources, and the established learning paths and sites provided are an excellent platform for anyone to leap from.  Particularly in a learning environment such as ours , such a resource is a great way of ensuring quality and supporting each other to manage our workloads - everyone knows how time consuming it can be to trawl through the internet trying to find 'the perfect' site or resource.

I can theoretically see the appeal of Second Life, particularly given the gaming experiences of some of our students.  Not knowing much (make that anything at all!) about what is actually involved in creating and managing such environments, I would have to say that I won't be rushing to use this as a tool, as it seems to be very complicated!

Hearing about Matt Ryan's positive experiences of using Twitter has reinvigorated my desire to explore this option.  I've also recently spoken with a colleague who is planning to use a Twitter-style form of feedback at an upcoming professional development day - I'll be interested to hear how that goes, as the immediacy of group feedback is obviously very powerful, as evidenced in the use of Twitter on tv shows these days.

Module 8

RSS feeds terrify me - I will admit it.  As someone who has a compulsion to look at everything that comes my way, without adequate structure or discipline for doing so, I have avoided this tool despite having known about it and being able to see its benefits for some time.

It was good to review this tool as part of the Web 2.0 course - for educators it is of course important to maintain currency with some areas of development and research etc.  Personally I have been reliant on certain regular emails such as the BOS updates and a few professional newsletters to keep me informed, by way of trying to save my time and sanity.  However I will give Google reader a try now that I am studying again, using a limited number of pertinent research websites :)

Module 7

I have read and commented on the blogs of a few course compatriots - Julia Clements, and from SCCVC, Suzie Saadeh, Matthew Ryan and Jenny Keys.

This module effectively reinforces the value and potential of online communities through tools such as blogging and social bookmarking.

I have previously used Delicious when involved in a major project at my previous school.  It was a great way for the team working on the project to share resources and ideas at our own time and place, in the one space!

Module 6

My learning experiences and reflections regarding this module......the world of copyright and intellectual property is complicated and fraught!  The videos that were included in the module provided a helpful learning experience as they are a good way of presenting examples regarding these areas, and of explaining what people are doing about them.

It is certainly hard to imagine how anyone can really maintain control of their intellectual property in this day and age of data and ideas flying around the world so freely.  That is certainly not to say however that I do not think it a right and worthwhile thing to do to attempt to set some boundaries in order to enable creators to be duly credited with their work.  It seems then that Creative Commons presents just such a needed compromise and recognition of the realities of our world, and of the added complications caused by 'intermediaries'.

Module 5

I spent a lot of time on this Module because I had not had any previous experience with Glogster and Prezi, other than having seen and admired a few Prezis over the past few months.

I can see that in English there is a lot of scope for using the Glogster tool.  For representations of various kinds relating to a whole host of things (texts, concepts, experiences) it would be a very useful thing.  I think that in particular, having students reflect on and evaluate their own and others' creations would be highly valuable.  We've all seen those questionable Powerpoint presentations, where the background and effects etc bear little relevance to the content.  I think the risk of this occurring in Glogster could be equal, if not greater.  Therefore this provides a good opportunity for students to hone their visual literacy skills and be involved in  making and critiquing thoughtful choices about how ideas are presented in such a medium.

The video tutorials for Prezi were very helpful, especially the one specifically on using Prezi as a teaching tool.  Its dynamic interface, particularly the ability to zoom in and out on items, certainly does make it a very appealing application, and a useful one for learning.  There is not a lot of call for much didactic input in the English course I am currently teaching, but of course I can see how it could be useful for that, or for some teacher directed analysis of a text for example.  For me at the moment I see a lot of value in this in my role as a leader of learning at my school, hence I created a Prezi which I will use next term as a riveting piece of revision on one of my favourite topics - N Warnings!  It doesn't have much in the way of bells and whistles, however it is appropriate for the time and place of its intended use - a short staff briefing to remind staff of the principles and practices.

Click here to see my prezi on N Warnings!