I have created a tutorial on how to create your own wikis prior to undertaking a collaborative project, or as my 2nd assignment a web experiment. This PowerPoint presentation is a good demonstration to students to give them the ability to understand how to add discussion/results and editing in creating their own wikis or participating in a collaborative project. The link to PowerPoint Tutorial is below.
Refer to: http://app.lms.unimelb.edu.au/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab=courses&url=/bin/common/course.pl?course_id=_44096_1
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Is an LMS the best tool for learning and teaching?
Would teachers create more innovative online environments if they had more flexible and modular tools they could integrate and shape into environments suitable to the particular needs and interests of their students? Would this be too inconsistent and confusing for students? It would certainly test teachers' skills (both technical and pedagogical) and would also increase their workload.
It is fair to say that the largest LMSs, such as Blackboard, could be described as Web 1.0 dinosaurs, even when their more recent releases do integrate some of the collaborative Web 2.0 technologies (such as wikis or blogs).
It seems to be the way the large LMSs are evolving, however the pace of Web 2.0 innovations is such that large LMSs may always stay a few years behind (Barbaux, 2005).
(Norman, 2005)
References
Blackall, L. (2005) Small Pieces in elearning, Available: http://teachandlearnonline.blogspot.com/2005/05/small-pieces-in-elearning.html
Dalsgaard, C. (2006) Social software: E-learning beyond learning management systems Available: http://www.eurodl.org/materials/contrib/2006/Christian_Dalsgaard.htm
Norman, D. (2005) Small pieces Available: http://edcommunity.apple.com/adc/tools/wp-content/smallpieces.png
Wilson, D. (2007) Is LMS a corporate competency, Learning reflections Available: http://elearnity.blogspot.com/atom.xml
Barbaux, M. (2006) Is an LMS the best tool for learning and teaching? Available:
http://blogs.usyd.edu.au/ecommunication/2006/08/is_an_lms_the_best_tool_for_le.html
It is fair to say that the largest LMSs, such as Blackboard, could be described as Web 1.0 dinosaurs, even when their more recent releases do integrate some of the collaborative Web 2.0 technologies (such as wikis or blogs).
It seems to be the way the large LMSs are evolving, however the pace of Web 2.0 innovations is such that large LMSs may always stay a few years behind (Barbaux, 2005).
(Norman, 2005)
References
Blackall, L. (2005) Small Pieces in elearning, Available: http://teachandlearnonline.blogspot.com/2005/05/small-pieces-in-elearning.html
Dalsgaard, C. (2006) Social software: E-learning beyond learning management systems Available: http://www.eurodl.org/materials/contrib/2006/Christian_Dalsgaard.htm
Norman, D. (2005) Small pieces Available: http://edcommunity.apple.com/adc/tools/wp-content/smallpieces.png
Wilson, D. (2007) Is LMS a corporate competency, Learning reflections Available: http://elearnity.blogspot.com/atom.xml
Barbaux, M. (2006) Is an LMS the best tool for learning and teaching? Available:
http://blogs.usyd.edu.au/ecommunication/2006/08/is_an_lms_the_best_tool_for_le.html
Saturday, September 8, 2007
My Podcast on Podomatic
I have attempted to podcast my first trial on podomatic. I tried using a trial software named Propaganda first inwhich, the file was too large to upload.
http://raghda.podomatic.com/
http://raghda.podomatic.com/
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Video Podcast: CNN News for Students
The CNN Student News is a daily, ten-minute, commercial-free broadcast of the day's news gearedfor middle and high school students. You can watch online.
CNN Student News is also a podcast. You can get the video episodes delivered to computers automatically each day in iTunes.
Every edition of CNN Student News has a transcript, quick guide, and ten questions posted here which makes it a great resource for teachers to integrate podcasting into the curriculum.
Read more about CNN Student News podcasts in this article by Craig Nansen.
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Podcasting in Education
Podcasting is a combination of the words IPod and broadcasting. A way for people to be able to selectively subscribe to audio or video content over the internet. This content can then be automatically added to a mobile device or mp3 player.
Podcasts in education
I see a few main arguments to support the use of podcasts in education:
1. The ubiquity of iPods and other MP3 players provides a ready base of users of this tool.
2. Support for students with low literacy skills or other learning difficulties
3. Catering to students with a range of learning styles
4. Providing material to vision impaired students
5. Allowing for self-paced learning
6. Empowering students to create and distribute their own music, poetry, etc.
After attending the education show Conference on 14/08/2007 (http://www.educationshow.com.au/) a seminar presentation was presented by Apple Australia on how to make your own podcast.
Making podcasts
This is a pretty simple process and follows a number of basic steps.
1. Record the audio for your podcastYou can use a purpose built audio recorder, or a computer, or in fact, any recording device to do this.
2. Edit and produce the podcast if needed/desiredThere’s a large range of software available for this purpose. I use the open source Audacity and have also used Adobe’s Audition.
3. Upload podcast file to a webserverIf you have worked with websites before this is simply a matter of copying your audio file into the location of your website. If not, get someone else to help you with this.
4. Create an RSS feed for the podcastThis is the key step for allowing someone else to subscribe to your podcast. If you don’t want to do this you can simply leave your audio files available as a download on your website. But the creation of an RSS feed is pretty easy as long as you include some standard parts – an example is included in the appendix of this document.
Refer to:
http://www.podcastingnews.com/articles/How-to-Podcast.html
Also during the Conference, The Beazer Publishing Company has made a free service to free downloads of VCE revision podcards (http://www.podcards.com.au/) which includes most subject notes.
Links:
http://www.csiro.au/products/CSIROpod.html
http://www.abc.net.au/services/podcasting/
Podcasts in education
I see a few main arguments to support the use of podcasts in education:
1. The ubiquity of iPods and other MP3 players provides a ready base of users of this tool.
2. Support for students with low literacy skills or other learning difficulties
3. Catering to students with a range of learning styles
4. Providing material to vision impaired students
5. Allowing for self-paced learning
6. Empowering students to create and distribute their own music, poetry, etc.
After attending the education show Conference on 14/08/2007 (http://www.educationshow.com.au/) a seminar presentation was presented by Apple Australia on how to make your own podcast.
Making podcasts
This is a pretty simple process and follows a number of basic steps.
1. Record the audio for your podcastYou can use a purpose built audio recorder, or a computer, or in fact, any recording device to do this.
2. Edit and produce the podcast if needed/desiredThere’s a large range of software available for this purpose. I use the open source Audacity and have also used Adobe’s Audition.
3. Upload podcast file to a webserverIf you have worked with websites before this is simply a matter of copying your audio file into the location of your website. If not, get someone else to help you with this.
4. Create an RSS feed for the podcastThis is the key step for allowing someone else to subscribe to your podcast. If you don’t want to do this you can simply leave your audio files available as a download on your website. But the creation of an RSS feed is pretty easy as long as you include some standard parts – an example is included in the appendix of this document.
Refer to:
http://www.podcastingnews.com/articles/How-to-Podcast.html
Also during the Conference, The Beazer Publishing Company has made a free service to free downloads of VCE revision podcards (http://www.podcards.com.au/) which includes most subject notes.
Links:
http://www.csiro.au/products/CSIROpod.html
http://www.abc.net.au/services/podcasting/
Thursday, August 9, 2007
Online discussion Versus The Blog
Is there anything that online discussion does better than blogs can do in teaching and learning?
Blogs are personal, learner focused tools that are designed for learner directed and orchestrated activity. A blogger has the ability to determine subject matter, customize design, organize content, edit current and past work, and delete unwelcome comments from the blog space at will. Blogs can simultaneously be focused on the educational application, while still retaining the self-directed, internal focus of the owner. For example, the blog enhances social presence by exposing the learner’s affective response through the self disclosure evident in the earlier, perhaps unrelated postings, the links and the graphics they chose to exhibit on their blogs (Anderson & Cameron, 2006).
I find the blog a good tool for management and promoting ideas, it can also give each person their ‘personal space’ but I don’t find it an engaging tool to teach with (as a communication tool).
It is good as a journal, as discussing an idea or promoting services/products but not for learning or teaching with as I find it abit slow based . I think the virtual class/Java script, Skype, Msn or even discussion forum is a better way to learn online as it is a faster stimulant.
Personally doing projects in teamwork, I have used social software as Msn and Skype to communicate and share ideas. The blog doesn’t stimulate as much discussion and the posts seem like a guest book for comments rather than a brainstorm of ideas branching from one topic and further establishing.
Ferdig and Trammell (2004) discuss the public nature of educational blogging and argue that, “blogging opens up assignments beyond the teacher-student relationship, allowing the world to grade students and provide encouragement or feedback on their writings.” The infinite potential for comment on their work can be at once intimidating and encouraging for learners and will have implications for how learners want to be perceived by this larger audience. Widening of the audience obviously affects the potential for developing identity but could also result in exchanges that may negatively impact learner confidence as their words are released to anyone on the open Net.
Will Richardson (2004) asks the question, “Could blogging be the needle that sews together what is now a lot of learning in isolation with no real connection among the disciplines?” and suggests that blogging has the potential to teach learners “how” to learn. Stephen Downes(2004) argues that “despite obvious appearances, blogging isn’t really about writing at all; that’s just the end point of the process, the outcome that occurs more or less naturally if everything else has been done right. Blogging is about, first, reading. But more important, it is about reading what is of interest to you: your culture, your community, your ideas” (Downes, 2004).
Do you think you would atempt to use blogging as a teaching tool or would you use another tool more adapted to your learning style?
Reference
Anderson, T. & Cameron, D. (2006) Comparing Weblogs to Threaded Discussion Tools in Online Educational Contexts. The Journal. http://app.lms.unimelb.edu.au/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab=courses&url=/bin/common/course.pl?course_id=_44096_1
Ferdig, R. & Trammell, K.D. (2004) Content delivery in the blogosphere. The Journal. http://www.thejournal.com/articles/16626
Downes, S. (2004) Educational Blogging. EDUCAUSE Review. http://www.educause.edu/pub/er/erm04/erm0450.asp
Richardson, W. (2004) Reading and blogging. Weblogg-Ed.
from http://www.weblogg-ed.com/2004/03/31.
Blogs are personal, learner focused tools that are designed for learner directed and orchestrated activity. A blogger has the ability to determine subject matter, customize design, organize content, edit current and past work, and delete unwelcome comments from the blog space at will. Blogs can simultaneously be focused on the educational application, while still retaining the self-directed, internal focus of the owner. For example, the blog enhances social presence by exposing the learner’s affective response through the self disclosure evident in the earlier, perhaps unrelated postings, the links and the graphics they chose to exhibit on their blogs (Anderson & Cameron, 2006).
I find the blog a good tool for management and promoting ideas, it can also give each person their ‘personal space’ but I don’t find it an engaging tool to teach with (as a communication tool).
It is good as a journal, as discussing an idea or promoting services/products but not for learning or teaching with as I find it abit slow based . I think the virtual class/Java script, Skype, Msn or even discussion forum is a better way to learn online as it is a faster stimulant.
Personally doing projects in teamwork, I have used social software as Msn and Skype to communicate and share ideas. The blog doesn’t stimulate as much discussion and the posts seem like a guest book for comments rather than a brainstorm of ideas branching from one topic and further establishing.
Ferdig and Trammell (2004) discuss the public nature of educational blogging and argue that, “blogging opens up assignments beyond the teacher-student relationship, allowing the world to grade students and provide encouragement or feedback on their writings.” The infinite potential for comment on their work can be at once intimidating and encouraging for learners and will have implications for how learners want to be perceived by this larger audience. Widening of the audience obviously affects the potential for developing identity but could also result in exchanges that may negatively impact learner confidence as their words are released to anyone on the open Net.
Will Richardson (2004) asks the question, “Could blogging be the needle that sews together what is now a lot of learning in isolation with no real connection among the disciplines?” and suggests that blogging has the potential to teach learners “how” to learn. Stephen Downes(2004) argues that “despite obvious appearances, blogging isn’t really about writing at all; that’s just the end point of the process, the outcome that occurs more or less naturally if everything else has been done right. Blogging is about, first, reading. But more important, it is about reading what is of interest to you: your culture, your community, your ideas” (Downes, 2004).
Do you think you would atempt to use blogging as a teaching tool or would you use another tool more adapted to your learning style?
Reference
Anderson, T. & Cameron, D. (2006) Comparing Weblogs to Threaded Discussion Tools in Online Educational Contexts. The Journal. http://app.lms.unimelb.edu.au/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab=courses&url=/bin/common/course.pl?course_id=_44096_1
Ferdig, R. & Trammell, K.D. (2004) Content delivery in the blogosphere. The Journal. http://www.thejournal.com/articles/16626
Downes, S. (2004) Educational Blogging. EDUCAUSE Review. http://www.educause.edu/pub/er/erm04/erm0450.asp
Richardson, W. (2004) Reading and blogging. Weblogg-Ed.
from http://www.weblogg-ed.com/2004/03/31.
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