Working on my final project last night was an effort in frustration. I have an idea of where I want the project to go, but I don’t really know which platform is best for it. I started out working on the site Yola, which provides free websites and building tools. Once I began trying to add content, I realized it wasn’t going to work out. The first problem is that it doesn’t come with any free, stock images. This isn’t really an issue once a site has been up and running for a while. I could go out and take my own pictures to use, or spend some time browsing the creative commons sites for something appropriate, but at this point I just want to fill in the spaces to get a feel for design and layout. More importantly, it really didn’t offer any reasonable way to turn the site into a collaborative environment, which is important to the final goals. I spent a few hours setting up a blog on Blogger instead. It’s less polished-looking, but at least I can accept comments on the posts.
I’ve also been considering how I’m going to share my site and get the collaborative aspect rolling in the future. I noticed that on our district Hub, the section for my school’s science department is empty, and nothing exists on the Yammer site for open educational resources. I think these may be good platforms for opening up the conversation with teachers, get them to visit my website, and then collaborate on future steps.
I can understand your frustrations with the building process and sympathize. I found myself frustrated by format, and trying to figure out the best way to bring things together. I think it’s part of the process, and as long as we keep trying it will work out in the end. I hope you get to a point where you’re happy with what you’ve brought together. Keep trying. Keep poking. Keep tweaking.
Hey there Miss Charlotte, science teacher extraordinaire! Good for you for getting out there and trying different platforms. I haven’t tried Yola yet but have experimented with a few others. I understand your pain, my friend. Different platforms are good and bad for different things, it has become painfully apparent. But with struggles comes learning. With learning comes growing. And with growing comes technological maturity and success. Right? Anyways Charlotte you are such a smart and talented teacher and I know you will continue to do great things (using phet is one example of your teacher savvy-ness – thanks for showing us that!).
For sure! I’ve learned so much through my frustrations! I actually like the feeling of being unsure – probably why I like puzzles and problem-solving – and even more than that, the feeling of becoming more sure.
It is always challenging bringing our imagined visions into tangible reality! Part of the process is experimenting, testing, finding out what is possible, and then adapting our vision so that it can become a reality. I think it is important for teachers to start to use the resources provided by their districts, if only to identify the shortcomings and start discussing what would be ideal and what might be possible. Remember, district technology specialists are not teachers and they are not pedagogues. They need help to understand what teachers need, and that is only going to come from teachers.