TASKS

Friday, 16 November 2012

Creating a Website

Week 3 - Engagement Activity 5


 

Reflection on Creating a Website



Websites are another aspect of online information and communication technology gaining increasing popularity within the educational context. Most schools use websites, which cannot be edited other than by an authorised person, to provide contact details, location maps, mission statements and school values, photographs of facilities, details of subjects and extra-curricular activities, enrolment procedures, staff profiles, employment vacancies and application forms, newsletters, and general information about various aspects of day-to-day school life. In addition, websites are sometimes created by individual classes as a means of communication between school and home. Class websites generally provide an overview of class activities, samples of completed work, details of upcoming events, and information specific to the management of that particular class (e.g. items to bring for a fundraising event; a reminder that an assignment is due). As a source of information, websites are great. But how can they be used to support student learning in the early childhood years?

Apart from being used to document class activities, provide work samples and communicate general information about upcoming events, websites can be used to provide valuable links to other educational sites for student use. Teachers can create links to other websites that provide educational games and learning experiences to support the development, consolidation and further understanding of knowledge related to the various facets of the curriculum. Students could be allocated ‘Tech Time’ to allow them to become familiar with operating technological tools, find their way through the various configurations of different websites, and complete games and activities that support learning goals and enhance learning outcomes.  Since multiple users can access the website at any one time, only limited by the number of computers or iPads/tablets available, students could participate in ‘Tech Time’ in groups. The teacher would be available to guide students if they experienced any difficulties beyond their level of understanding, however students could first be given the opportunity to support one another in navigating sites successfully. In this way, they will reinforce their own technological understanding and build confidence through helping one another. 

The following link provides an example of a link that could be created to support maths learning: http://au.ixl.com/



Links embedded in class websites to interactive books or songs with written lyrics could be provided for young children. They would become familiar with using a mouse, turning electronic pages, and clicking to make selections. As the words are read aloud and consecutively highlighted, and as children hover over words and they are re-read, they would develop the understanding that written text represents spoken language, and eventually begin to recognise words and read. In addition, links to interactive games that speak and provide feedback to children’s answers would provide them with additional experience in the digital world and support valuable content knowledge in a fun and exciting way. This supports the notion of Technological, Pedagogical and Content Knowledge (TPACK).

This link provides an example of both interactive storybooks and games suitable for early childhood interaction with technology, which is one of many that could be embedded in the class website:





SWOT Analysis of Interactive Class Websites 
in Early Childhood Contexts

STRENGTHS
NEGATIVES

Introduce and familiarise children with use of digital technology from a young age.

Provide fun and stimulating activities to further content knowledge.

Provides an extra ‘teacher’ within the classroom.

Can be used to provide individualised  level of instruction, especially important for students with additional needs.

Builds confidence as children consolidate recently learned concepts.

Students receive immediate feedback.

Provides encouragement to keep trying, and removes incorrect answers to provide a 'clean slate'.

Could be used as an incentive – extra ‘Tech Time’ for rewarding good behaviour.

Students can assist each other to become more technologically savvy, and in doing so reinforce their own skills and build confidence.

No risk of children becoming bored with games or stories, as links can be regularly changed to incorporate new websites.

Excellent communication tool between school and home, especially to exhibit work or art samples, and even provide homework activites - no excuses!


Could potentially be used as a 'babysitter' by lazy teachers, or for troubled students.

Students may demand to ‘play’ on computer rather than complete set work in an alternate mode – therefore creating behavioural issues.

Children who are particularly fond of digital technology may not participate in outdoor activities or exercise enough.

Not all students are interested in technology; some may even have an aversion to it.


Students may become disengaged and idle if technology is not of great interest to them, and teacher's attention is elsewhere.


OPPORTUNITIES
THREATS

Could provide teacher with extra time to work with small groups of students in need of extra attention, while other students practise learned concepts through technology, without need for teacher attention.

Teacher could source websites especially suited to various students – perhaps have separate pages with links for groups of students  demonstrating different levels of functioning
(e.g. koala’s page, emus page ...).



If students persistently try games or activities that are too difficult for them (because their mates are playing those games), they could become discouraged, feel hopeless and develop a poor attitude toward learning.

Some children may become irritable and fatigued from too much screen time, leading to behavioural issues and poor attitude toward other activities.

I particularly enjoyed learning how to create a website during Activity 4, and I am looking forward to adding more features to mine. I would love to create a website that incorporates all of the above types of activities, and more, to support the acquisition and development of both technological and content knowledge within children in the early developmental years. 


Please follow the link below to access my newly created website: 

Wally Web-Watchers E-Learning World

http://fionasmanagingelearningwebsite.weebly.com/






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