Week 3 Reflections

Blogs, Wikis and Websites

Over the past few weeks I have developed this blog, a wiki and now my very own website via Weebly. Each time I step up to the plate, I surprise myself by how much I learn and how much I enjoy working within each new medium. It was only after I completed my blog last week and read others that I realised many found the wikispace cumbersome. I feel this may be because these students were technically advanced and were already comfortable in blogs and websites and now that I have created my own website (with ease!) I too am learning towards this forum. All three have the capability to demonstrate connectivism in action (the proposition being that knowledge is distributed across a network of connections). All have the ability to take students to a higher order of thinking as defined by Bloom and as required by ACARA.

My website (link here) is something that I look forward to continuing to develop. I have chosen to focus the site on those pedagogies and tools that are really hitting home to me. My first link, featured on my home page, is the Angela Lee Duckworth video discussing GRIT on TED. All photographs are my own, taken of children I have permission to feature. The Weebly appeals to my sense of order, I need to see the “big picture” before getting down to the nitty gritty. And while it’s important to understand how I like to learn, I need to approach each lesson plan with my students in mind, and I think different student and different content will gel with a unique set of learning tools. 

Below is an overview of the three mediums via a SWOT Analysis. I have included some ideas as to how I could utilise each in the classroom under the OPPORTUNITY column and addressed ethical and legal issues under THREATS. It goes without saying that a possible weakness to all three tools is access to the net and a computer is necessary both at school and at home for many of these ideas to be developed. Students would also need initial lessons to ensure they have the skills to navigate the mediums. 

	Strengths	Weaknesses	Opportunities	Threats
BLOGS - Single Author Posting - Comments section drives interaction. - Chronological order of posts - Reflective therefore easy to see Author/Idea development -Supports transformational learning -Encourages HOL thinking skills - Modification   achieved when well designed.	-Utilises technology many students already engaged in. - Interactive -Accessible to many. - Collaborative forum allows introduction of a variety of new ideas. - Parents can view the teaching of their child. -Links and various teaching tools can be viewed on one forum. - Scaffolding of ideas.	- One must look into comments following each post to participate in discussions. - Driven by Author - Some individuals may feel threatened by environment. - Potential for cyber-bullying. - Potential for inappropriate content links	- Students could engage with teachers from afar. - Gives Authors a forum to share their ideas a create a community - An example of using a blog in the classroom: Each student could chose a historical character from the subject period and keep a “diary” as the term progresses. Not only would this display their learning journey, other class members could comment “in character” from their perspective	- Requires constant monitoring by teacher to ensure there is no cyber-bullying or inappropriate content - Open to the public - Reserved students may not want to post their comments in such a public forum. Blogs are often dominated by strong personalities who repeatedly respond to opinions that differ to their own.
WIKIS -Multiple Authors - All have input - Used for collaborative learning -Scaffolding of ideas as students add to group knowledge - Supports transformational learning - Encourages HOL thinking skills - Modification  achieved when well designed.	-Everyone can have input and the lack of an “Owner” means it is less threatening to tentative internet users. - Student Driven - Excellent ideas forum. -Encourages new ideas -Collaborative. - Multi-media input friendly - Seen as a less aggressive format than a Blog.	-Cumbersome to use - limited content control - Open ended - Conclusions need to be driven. - design issues eg. too many editors - layout means the placement of links is not always logical/easy to find.	- The collaborative process can be done as a homework exercise while the conclusions lend themselves to classroom activities. - An example of a Wiki in action. Students could be presented with a historical statement and be asked to respond via de Bonos hats (each group of four given their own Wikispace). The following day their in class activity could be to discuss, come to some conclusion a present an arguement.	- Requires constant monitoring by teacher to ensure there is no cyber-bullying or inappropriate content - Copyright breeches - Data lost due to editing errors by one of the multiple authors.
WEBSITES -Usually one Author - Comments section can be added, as can contact links - Logical layout allows an overview of numerous ideas - Supports connectivism - Excellent scaffolding of ideas via progressive nature of the Weebly. -Encourages HOL thinking skills - Modification and Redefinition achieved when well designed.	- One Author allows clear direction of information. - Also has the capability to build in a comments forum to ensure collaborative thinking. -Layout options and innovative tools such a links to videos, galleries, podcasts, other websites and more. - Easy to navigate. - Parents may be more comfortable with this forum, especially when Website is teacher driven.	- Static nature will deter some. - Only one perspective as far as design and content. - The comments forum may not have the authenticity of a Blog forum that suggests immediacy. Students to not tend to make websites “favourites” on their browsers to the same extent they do social media. - Potential to be seen as dated. - Strength of layout dependent on skills of Author.	- The Weebly is an exciting tool that would allow teachers to create websites specific to any topic/body of learning. Students could also learn to create their own websites. - The teacher could create a Weebly that covers the term's History Content. Each lesson could have its own tab and a variety of learning tools could be used (eg picture galleries, maps, videos, podcasts etc). A lesson within the term could include the creation of a Weebly by each student (whereby they could explore just one component of the terms History content). These in turn could be linked on the "HUB" Weebly (ie the teacher's Weebly). A discussion forum could be added to the HUB Weebly. Another lesson could include historical reenactments, giving students the opportunity to develop content for their Weebly (eg photos).	-Must ensure ownership of content and/or correct referencing. - Accessible to all. - Concerns over images of students on the web (this could be managed via original guidelines)

I would suggest that before engaging in any learning via the web students not only become familiar with the school policies, they also collaborate to design their own “contract” for internet use. One that outlines what is acceptable and unacceptable and suggests repercussions for actions such as aggressive comments and inappropriate content. This will also ensure that prior commencement, students highlight to the teacher vicious comments that may appear innocuous. The students need to have clear guidelines, in their own terminology to ensure they understand the implications of a post. We must ensure the students feel the medium is a safe environment and as teachers we have an obligation to monitor all comment/blog/posting capabilities (preferably in real time).  

The Weebly allows for both Modification and Redefinition as per SAMR. . The students are using collaborative spaces to create new tasks, they are connecting, communicating and creating via new forums. They now have the ability to work together, from their homes and can introduce new technologies and solutions with ease.

In conclusion I would say that Blogs, Wikis and Websites all have merit and open up a world of opportunity to both teacher and student. My preference at this stage is the website (via Weebly, what a great tool!) as I like the idea of creating web pages specific to learners and subject topics, giving students the opportunity to explore at will. I would create a comments page to ensure collaboration. The layout of a website is flexible, easy to navigate and features tools to ensure those who need to read an overview before going into specific categories can easily do so. A comments page can also be created with specific threads – students do not need to search at the end of each blog, nor are they limited by the layout of the wiki.

Now I’m off to teach my boys how to create their own web pages for their homework!