The following is a summary of my experience as I worked through the E-learning toolkit.
With Learning Management Systems I focused on creating my own Moodle site for grade 9 Space Science. Originally, I was rather unenthusiastic. I could not envision how to use this tool in my own teaching. However, it became clear that as a Course Management System, Moodle could easily be used to enhance the personal classroom experience. Moodle incorporates a variety of features including: Synchronous Communications (Chats), Asynchronous Communications (Discussion Forums), Wikis, and Blogs. The potential for Moodle to enhance learning, student collaboration, and teacher-student connections is astronomical!
Understanding what makes up an effective Webpage helped me to remedy the shortcomings of my own websites. While I thought I understood the power of aesthetics and its effects on learning, certain tips gleaned from the toolkit were quite a surprise; color and coordination can make all the difference! Too many animations and a very busy font style were a couple of my own transgressions, and I remain entrenched in the process of improving the quality of my Google sites. In my opinion, a well-presented website has the ability to support learning, while a poorly designed website makes little contribution to student success, and is therefore a waste of time.
I also learned that most of my WebPages have been built using WYSIWYG and thus far, I have been able to avoid HTML. The drawback to using HTML when creating a website is definitely time; however, even learning the basics of this system can be beneficial when troubleshooting problems as they occur.
Playing with synchronous tools such as “Chat” and “Skype”, while interesting, made me further reflect upon the power of asynchronous tools. An online course such as ETEC 565, is a challenge in overcoming time zones and scheduling conflicts. While it is excellent to be able to speak to students at a specific point in time, many ideas flourish when the opportunity is provided to reflect. Asynchronous communication tools provide the advantage of being able to involve people in different time zones, as well as capturing the history of communication/interactions. More importantly in my experience, asynchronous tools allow for ‘think time’ before and after engaging with others; I have learned to measure my words before I commit. Alternately, instant messaging preys on my innate ability to ‘speak’ without thinking.
While social software venues such as del.icio.us and Facebook, are powerful tools for collaboration, it was important to learn about the Terms of Agreement. Quite frankly, it was frightening to know how one gives up any ‘rights’ of privacy as soon as information is posted on these sites. For example, the moment a picture is posted on-site, personal information is archived and retrievable even when the account has been deleted. It is important to be very aware of the fact that as soon as you post anything on the Internet, you leave a permanent digital footprint!
Weblogs and Wikis are excellent tools for developing Wegner’s Community of Practice. The collaboration of ideas is supported well in both venues. According to Wikipedia, a Blog is “a type of website, usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in reverse-chronological order.” A Wiki is a collaborative website which supports the editing and creation of WebPages. The main difference between the two venues is their presentation of information. Blogs are linear; organizing the date of entries so that users can keep track of ideas chronologically. A Wiki, on the other hand, can be continually modified regardless of timeline, and seems to take on a life of its own! Whether or not students use Blogs or Wikis really depends on the goal of the educator. In my classroom, I would use Blogs to distribute information and view subsequent responses, while keeping the original message intact. To create and enhance collaborative student documents, Wikis are just the thing!
Blogs versus Wikis- A Fictitious Debate
The E-learning Toolkit was my lifeline; my link to technology. As someone who appreciates organization I found the format and presentation of the e-learning toolkit invaluable. It allowed for hands-on, authentic experiences and activities I have not usually found in most courses, and has proved an integral part of my own technological development.