I used my iPhone to complete this part of the E-Toolkit.  I began by going to UBC WebCT through Google.  It was very easy to find and very quick to load.  The problem I had was the constant reducing of the screen size.  The site was not adapted to a mobile format, which made it a little slow in navigation.  The other problem was that the pop-ups did not always appear in view because the screen was too large but that was fixed be reducing the screen size.   I could not find an app for UBC WebCT or WebCT.  The fact that it works with Safari was fine with me despite the constant screen size fixing.  I could use the phone if I had to, probably would have helped when the power is out!!

Moodle definitely has their target audiences covered.  My Moodle page was easily accessible using Safari and it worked quite well.  Although when I did attempt to load a picture it became slow and again the constant reducing of screen size made it increasingly annoying.  I think that it is handy to edit and check in on Forums but to create a site using a mobile device would be even more labour intensive than it already is.  Moodle did have a number of apps (My Moodle, mTouch, mPage, and iMoodle) with some for teachers, for students, and for quizzes.  It looked like MyMoodle was the official app of Moodle because it was free and Moodle is all about sharing and being an open source program.  The problem I had with the free Moodle app, MyMoodle, was that it stated, “Moodle 2.1 or later is REQUIRED to run this app”.  Since my school district uses 1.9 and UBC is using 2.0, I was out of luck.   I think Moodle, with its apps, is a far more accessible and user friendly when it comes to m-Learning.

Upon checking the quick tips with WAI and WCAG2, I found that my Moodle site is not as accessible as they would like.  When I was building the Moodle site, I was aiming it at the students in my class right now.  I was not thinking about future students and their possible unique needs.  The process of putting a small amount of my course was labour intensive, adding all the recommendations for accessibility would be overwhelming.  I think it would be less labour intensive if the Moodle site was tweaked for a particular student but it would still require a great deal of work.

The positive points to my site included the use of video with sound, the use of Forums for communication, consistent pages with headings and links that work correctly.  These were all suggestions that were found when searching WAI and WCA2.  On the down side, my lack of sound or voice communication options was something I never thought of including.  My videos do not have captioning but there is some labeling of the parts included in digestion and enzyme activity.  I have included tables in my modules, which is not recommended.  For quizzes they recommend allowing adequate time for all students to complete, something that is easily added with very little effort.

I think the most challenging aspect would be making a perfectly accessible site.  I think that no matter how “all-inclusive” you try to make your site, there is a chance you missed someone.  What surprised me the most was how hard it is to meet all learners’ needs on a course site.  I know how hard it is in a classroom setting to do this but for some reason I didn’t connect the same difficulty to my site.  I was surprised that I thought having a site would be better for all students when I have just learned it is not.  It brings me back to the S in SECTIONS, students and making sure their needs are met.

There is very little “labour” involved in setting up a Wiki.  The reason I say this is because all you have to do is set up an account and then begin the Wiki.  A number of these web2.0 tools are set up to NOT be labour intensive.  If the tool is easy to use then more people will use them.  It makes people feel like they are more computer literate then they actually are (present company included).

I feel the main benefit of the Wiki is to allow for group work and discussion without being in a group.  It allows students to participate in the activity on their own time and at their own pace.  The ability for all students to add their views and edit the Wiki gives all those in a group a feeling of contribution to the final project.  In that sense, Wikis are excellent for creating an almost classroom environment so discussions can occur.

What I found challenging with the Wikis was how the Wiki appeared.  The Wikis I have used are just not aesthetically pleasing.  The fonts are the same for each participant which gives the appearance of one document but makes it difficult to know where one person’s contribution ends and the next person begins.  What did surprise me was how well they work.  I prefer Google docs, but since they are basically the same format it was easy to use.  You really do feel like you are an active participant in the group work.  Even if you are participating at your own pace, you are an active participant in the learning process.  I am not sure how I could use a Wiki in my science classes but it has definitely started the wheels turning.  I think this might be a good forum to do a project in my Science 10 class next year.

Of the Weblogs that were listed I am most familiar with WordPress, Blogger, and  UBC weblog.  I really enjoy the format of a blog, I find they are user friendly and easy to set up.  Now I have not used a weblog in a classroom setting but I have decided to implement one for next year for my classes.

Weblogs are not labour intensive.  I think that is the main attraction for teachers to use them in their class.  They are easily set up and there is really little need for tech support.  Okay some teachers will need a lot of support but the majority of us are confident in using them.

What I find that works well is how easy it is to edit and add information to the blog.  It is very easy to upload pictures, text, and links.  When my family kept a blog for our cross Canada trip last summer we liked that we could type the text and choose the pictures while driving.  When we got to the hotel we could simply upload everything to our blog.  The amount of time it took us to maintain this blog was minimal, which is a definite advantage.  I like the ability to receive comments and reply (forum).  This is a great idea in a classroom because the students can feel free to ask questions and know they will get a reply. The blog also keeps the students connected when they are away or sick.

I really did not find anything challenging about using a weblog.  I know that some people complain that the newest entry is always at the top and the blog flows “backward”.  From an education setting, I think this is a benefit because the students do not have to scroll through the whole blog to find the newest information.

I chose to search Flickr, Facebook, Twitter, and Delicious to search their Privacy and Terms of Service information.  This information was easily accessible and easy to find.  Even though these are four different types of Social Media, there terms were very similar.  Only Fickr sent me to their parent company, Yahoo, for their information. I found this a little questionable because it was hard to find answers that were pertinent to Flickr.

What surprised me was that all the sites said that the content posted by the user was the users property but the sites state that  “you grant us a non-exclusive, transferable, sub-licensable, royalty-free, worldwide license to use any IP content that you post on or in connection with” the site.  I was also surprised that all the sites stated they would give your information to “trusted third party” groups.  The fact that they use your personal information to direct advertising, or related sites, to your “content” was something that was acknowledged by all Terms Of Service.  Delicious was a site that I only recently found.  I liked that the site collect sand share bookmarks that interest you.

I use Facebook regularly and I know that Facebook can use anything I post, until I delete me account.  I really don’t think my attitude with Facebook and Twitter has changed after reading the Terms.  I am an adult and I am responsible for my comments and actions.  I would not and do not put anything on Facebook that I wouldn’t want anyone to read.  Granted I have the super Privacy settings to maintain my privacy.  Even though you have privacy settings there really is no privacy.  You can control the privacy to a point.

In education I can see many implications.  The most obvious one is the age of the students.  I teach high school and many of my students use Facebook, Twitter, and Flickr.  If we are going to use these tools in education we have to set strict policies of usage.  These are all useful tools but as always it is how they are used that is the problem.  It is not the technology that is the problem it is how the technology is used.  I personally think that a teacher should not share their personal accounts with their students.  I do not see a problem with having a school or course account set up and using it as a way to connect with your students or share important information about your course or class.