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:

http://www.abcya.com/kindergarten_computers.htm

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/

Creating a Wiki

Week 3 - Engagement Activity 3

 

Reflection on Creating a Wiki

A wiki is a website where information, experience, knowledge, thoughts and perspectives can be shared. Readers can contribute to a wiki through editing, adding, deleting and/or organising content. The wiki is a collaborative online tool that provides a means of communication among people with common interests and goals. It is not recommended as a reliable source for the purpose of academic writing since information contained within wikis is not always accurate, and generally constitutes a work in progress. Nevertheless, as an online collaborative tool, the wiki provides an effective platform for communication and discussion among students, and can be utilised in numerous ways to enhance learning outcomes in the educational context. 

Within the early childhood years of schooling, wikis provide a wonderful tool for children to work collaboratively toward the gathering of knowledge and creation of valuable resources. This activity provides both a learning experience throughout the creation phase and a reference source to support subsequent learning experiences. Examples include: 

Pre-Prep or Prep Letters & Sounds Wiki: 

Children as young as pre-prep can be asked to search Google for pictures of items, objects, animals and so on, whose names begin with specific letters of the alphabet. Pages could be provided for each letter of the alphabet, where images can be pasted. This could be reviewed periodically in group time, or simply accessed as the children are interested during free play. Children could also work on this project from home with family members, creating a sense of community in the creation of this resource.  

Pre-Prep ‘This Goes With That’ Game & other ideas: 

Children can be encouraged to find missing images to make pairs of items usually found together, such as ‘cup and saucer’, or ‘toothbrush and toothpaste’ etc. One item of the pair could be embedded in a two-column table and children search the internet for its ‘mate’, which is then pasted in the next column. Children could add further ‘pairs’ as they think of them. Again, parents can assist with this activity. Similarly, a game of opposites could be played. Another suggestion could be to create a page of different emotions, where children find pictures of faces expressing happy, sad, frightened etc, and add these to the correct ‘emotipage’ (my word/concept!) Similar activities promoting understanding of the five senses could be scaffolded, whereby children find images of things they can see, hear, touch, taste and smell and paste in the correct ‘sensoripage’ (again, my invention!)  

Years 1-3 Tricky Words Wikis (Tricky Wikis): 

Students practise sounding out tricky words. For example, an image of a tyrannosaurus rex might be embedded in a year 3 wiki, and students have a go at spelling such words without the use of a dictionary. Perhaps once per week, these words can be reviewed and mnemonics or other spelling strategies developed to help students remember the correct spelling. Students could also add interesting facts on a separate page about the ‘thing’ the word represents, in this case, the tyrannosaurus rex. 

Years 1 – 3 Collaborative Projects:  

Students can gather information to contribute to class projects. For example, if learning about insects, students could take turns researching and adding names, descriptions, habitats and pictures of insects.

 

STRENGTHS	WEAKNESSES
Can be used collaboratively. Can be accessed from anywhere with an internet connection. Variety and volume of content. Participants working within Vygotsky’s ZPD, likely to learn more than if working in isolation, with access to more information than they might have sourced individually. Students learn correct etiquette/ social skills/ consideration for others, which they can extend to other contexts. Students learn critical thinking skills as they consider the accuracy of information presented and seek to organise content into non-duplicated form. Provides opportunity for social interaction and ‘fun’ in the learning process, as individuals work together toward a common goal. Provides encouragement for students to work on a project, knowing they are not the only one working and responsible for the outcome (which can sometimes be daunting).	Information contributed is not always accurate, which can lead to learning of incorrect material. Not all students have access to internet (& wiki) from home. Some students may rush in and over-contribute information, so other students feel they have little to contribute. Some students may assume the role of chief organisers and offend other students by editing or deleting their contributions. If more than one person is simultaneously updating the wiki, only one person’s work will be applied.
OPPORTUNITIES	THREATS
For students to learn significantly more than if researching and preparing projects alone (ZPD). For additional activities (at school and home) during early years that consolidate learning of basic concepts, which lay a strong foundation for future learning. To introduce young children to ICTs, so that they gain familiarity with these from an early age, and are well prepared for C21st life.	Students self-esteem may suffer if their contributions are continually deleted. Disregard for etiquette could result in offensive material being included in wiki. Useful and relevant information may be deleted. Although this can be retrieved, unless someone knows it is missing it may never be reinstated.

Before encouraging children to become immersed in the world of cyberspace, it is important to consider safety, legal and ethical issues within the online environment. Left uncensored, the internet can present students with unsafe, undesirable material, such as pornographic, sexually explicit, offensive, hateful and violent content, and can also encourage them to perform dangerous and illegal practices (Central Queensland University, n.d.).  Therefore, school internet access should be censored to avoid such risks. Also, students should be aware that not everyone they meet online is who they say they are, therefore ‘stranger danger’ applies in the online context as it does in the real world. It is also important that students understand the potential repercussions of cyber-bullying, and that these practices are strongly discouraged. Legal issues to consider include plagiarism and copyright, thus accurate referencing for material, images and links needs to be provided. Finally, since there is a basic assumption that all wiki participants are contributing with the right intentions, students need to be aware of the etiquette that supports this notion.

During my participation in the Week 2 mobile phones wiki, I found our group to be extremely supportive and considerate of each other. While there was quite a lot of duplication of ideas, there was also a lot of encouragement and people didn’t seem to be deleting others’ responses simply due to their repetitive nature. I feel this was very appropriate under the circumstances, as not one of us would like to have spent time contributing our ideas only to find they had disappeared altogether at a later date, and our ‘voice’ removed from the topic (especially as it was part of an assessment task!). Also, the more times an idea was expressed, it gave the sense that this was an important and popular opinion/idea, and therefore worth being noted as indicative of collective consciousness on the matter. If duplications are to be removed from class wikis, some careful thought would have to be given as to the most appropriate way for this to occur, so as not to negatively affect self-esteem. Perhaps young children’s similar responses could just be grouped together, so that each continues to feel valued as a participant in the collaborative exercise, and their individual voices are still heard through class wikis.

The possibilities for working collaboratively and enriching learning outcomes through this unique way of working together in a collaborative manner, which appears to combine social constructivist and connectivist learning theories, are endless. 

The following link provides fifty examples of ways to use wikis in a collaborative and interactive classroom:

http://www.smartteaching.org/blog/2008/08/50-ways-to-use-wikis-for-a-more-collaborative-and-interactive-classroom/.

References:

Central Queensland University (n.d.). Working legally, safely and ethically online: the issues Retrieved November 5, 2012,  from 
http://moodle.cqu.edu.au/mod/page/view.php?id=60623

Creating a Blog

Week 3 - Engagement Activity 1

 

Reflection on Creating a Blog

With the advent of Web 2.0 tools, even relatively non-technologically savvy individuals have been provided with some very effective on-line channels through which they can share ideas, express opinions, work collaboratively with and seek the understandings of others in relation to common interests. One such tool, or on-line space, is the ‘weblog’, commonly referred to as a ‘blog’. 

A blog is ‘a Web site, usually maintained by an individual, with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video’ (Central Queensland University, n.d.). While originally designed for the purpose of creating listings of websites of interest, blogs have evolved to encompass so much more and are increasingly utilised within educational settings to enable learners to ‘archive and publish student work, learn with far-flung collaborators, and ‘manage’ the knowledge that members of the school community create’ (Downes, 2004). Blogs are more than online journals in the sense that they offer a platform for people, other than the author, to comment on published content and, through the use of hypertext, link to other sites that support or provide further information on topical issues.  

So, how can blogs be used effectively within education, more specifically within early childhood education?

Pre-prep & Prep Journals:  

Children can use a blog as a space to compile a joint photographic journal of their play and learning activities. For example, if they bake cupcakes in class, a couple of children could be assigned the role of ‘photographers’ (everyone gets turns throughout various events). Afterwards, their teacher could facilitate their experience of downloading photos from their digital cameras, uploading chosen photos to their class blog, and typing their names beside their photos. To enhance the class blog, and provide information to parents and carers regarding the children’s school activities, the teacher could ask children to comment on the activity and type selected responses into the blog, using the children’s own words. This would serve as a wonderful memory in years to come, and introduce children to the digital world from a very young age. In addition, assuming the recipe for the cupcakes was obtained online, the children could help to create a link to the recipe site. This way, they could access this recipe at home and ‘show’ Mum and Dad how to make the cupcakes. The children could contribute initially to the creation of the blog, by suggesting names for their online space, and discussing the sorts of things they could document. Art works and various play projects, such as block constructions & socio-dramatic play could also be photographed and included in the class blog. Children could then explain, on video, what they created, built or enacted, and the photographs and videos could be uploaded to the blog. This would provide children with the sense that their ‘work’ is being valued by all. As an additional benefit, a page could be designed to provide for communication between home and school to pass on important information to parents.

Years 1-3:

Since learners are becoming, or are already, familiar with their sounds, and are learning to read at various levels throughout years 1-3, individual blogs could provide an exciting avenue for them to try out and hone these emerging skills. Younger children could be asked to perform mini-projects, from finding images that begin with given letters/sounds/ blends and such, to researching mini-beasts or other science topics and providing their research findings in their blog space along with links to related sites of interest. They could be encouraged to practice creative writing, and share their writing with friends and family. As a part of this process, they could provide positive and constructive feedback to friends and offer suggestions for the progression of each others’ stories if they experience ‘writer’s block’. Students could also document class activities that take place over a period of time, to review processes from beginning to end, such as growing plants under different conditions. Learners could upload templates of various scaffolding tools to enable them to plan and map projects and processes. 

While younger children will require greater teacher involvement and facilitation in the use of blogs, it is vitally important that twenty-first century children are exposed to the digital world and its multiple aspects and functions as early as possible.  From pre-prep to year 3, the commonly recognised early childhood schooling years, all children will undoubtedly benefit if their classroom teacher is knowledgeable about and effectively models the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs). Through modelling these skills, and facilitating student involvement through appropriate scaffolding techniques, students will learn valuable skills required for functioning effectively within various twenty-first century real world contexts (from cooking to studying and in-depth research and analyses). Teachers who are interested in preparing children to become lifelong learners will use appropriate and proven-effective pedagogical skills to teach essential content knowledge and skills for keeping up with advances in knowledge within a technologically rich environment. Blogs are an excellent way to introduce students to the communication aspect of technology and equip them with the skills to reach out beyond their immediate context to obtain the necessary contacts and information for their knowledge to evolve and maintain currency as the future unfolds.

BLOGS as a Teaching Tool within the Early Childhood Context 

PLUS	MINUS	INTERESTING
Children exposed to and become familiar with  digital technology, a reality of the C21st, at an early age Children have opportunity to try out digital technology in safe, monitored environment Can be used as a diagnostic and assessment tool within all age groups and year levels f EC Adds excitement to learning, as students interact within the digital world to share and gain knowledge – not just limited to teacher’s knowledge of subjects Students can share ideas and encourage each other Can be particularly appropriate for some additional needs students, providing non-threatening learning interface Provides excellent line of communication between school and home Provides platform for recognition of student work  and achievements – students feel valued that their work is appreciated – provides for encouraging comments/ feedback	Limited understanding in earlier years, therefore, limited participation Not all children interested in digital technology, therefore taking away from their time learning in other valuable areas Comment facility could be used to criticise students - could receive negative feedback that disengages them from future participation (cyberbullying)	To see how quickly young children are able to adapt to technology To see how many children are interested in this concept To see how content knowledge can be embedded within ICTs To see how the use of TPACK (including blogs) supports the development of valuable learning experiences To see how students encourage one another and if this extends to communications in the real world.

The following link provides information about ways to support critical thinking through the use of a blog (or wiki):

http://weblearn.weebly.com/critical-thinking-ideas.html

References:

Central Queensland University (n.d.). Digital Tool 1: Blogs for Learning. Retrieved November 12, 2012,  from 
http://moodle.cqu.edu.au/pluginfile.php/255893/mod_page/content/8/blogs.html

Downes, S. (2004). Educational Blogging. Retrieved November 12, 2012, from http://www.educause.edu/ero/article/educational-blogging

Communicating Generates Ideas

Week 2 - Additional Post

 

Blogging, Wiki-ing and Commenting Generates Ideas

The value of reading and commenting on the blogs of other students is beginning to dawn on me, and I would like to encourage others to read and respond to, or 'comment' on, fellow-bloggers' posts. In this way, I believe we can contribute to the furthering of our own, and hopefully each others', generation of ideas, as members of this particular learning community. 

As I read through other students' posts, I find myself interested in the various learning outcomes students feel they have achieved, and which aspects of the first assessment task they feel were of most value to them in their MeL learning journies so far. I have not managed to read everyone's posts due to my current commitments (3 courses and a family; not to mention Christmas looming and end of year exhaustion - the latter of which I am very committed to ...ha,ha!), but of those I have perused and concurred with, I have found myself wanting to take the time to add a comment. (Or, totally disregarding the above, is this more a case of 'procrastination', I wonder?)

So far, I have commented on Symone Bell's and Sarah Cooke's posts regarding assessment 1.1 and, in doing so, I have come up with ideas for my future teaching practices that, had I not participated in the  learning materials and requirements of this course and followed through with reading and commenting on these posts, I might not otherwise have considered.

One idea I managed to produce, is to engage students in a game of musical chairs, utilising de Bono's Thinking Hats. Let's call it ... 'Musical Hats' - I'm sure I will come up with a more descriptive and exciting title somewhere down the track - please feel free to offer more creative suggestions if you would like to!

Musical Hats:

Students are given a topic or, even better, come up with their own topic on which there can be several perspectives. As they play the game of musical chairs - in the old fashioned way, except perhaps generating music from their iPhone or other digital tool - the chair they occupy when the music stops will have a coloured hat on it. If donning a hat that others have previously worn is considered a hygeine issue (and it is, really), perhaps laminated cards representing the various couloured hats can be placed on each chair. Students then give a perspective on the topic question according to the colour hat they found on their chair.

Further, when taking TPACK into consideration:

1. Perhaps students could use a mobile phone to record the perspectives given during the Musical Hats game.
2. These perspectives could then be recorded in a wiki (as we did) to determine which perspectives are most common among the group. 
3. Following the game, when students have had a chance to consider the different perspectives presented, a post-game poll via mobile phone (if the technology is available), or post-game vote could be taken to determine the most popular perspectives held after the game.
4. The results of the poll or vote could be entered into an excel spreadsheet to generate a graph.
5. The most popular perspectives on the wiki (during the game) could then be compared with the most popular perspectives on the poll/vote graph (after the game). As there is likely to be some variation between the two sets of results, due to students changing their perspectives throughout the process, this would demonstrate to students the importance of being open-minded and considering all aspects of an issue, before simply assuming one perspective.   

This type of scaffolding encourages students to consider a range of perspectives, which can play a valuable role in either confirming or informing the actual opinion they themselves choose to hold. These types of activities/scaffolding can significantly impact student learning, in terms of critical and creative thinking, while embedded as much as possible in technology.   

As I commented to Symone, regarding our wiki exercise ... 'While essentially I believed I was against the idea [mobile phones in classrooms], when it came to considering the 'positive' yellow hat perspective, I almost talked myself into completely changing my mind and believing what I said! It was like having a multifaceted debate with myself ... with everyone else also on every 'side' of the debate!'

In some ways, it sounds more like a nightmare, doesn't it?! But of course, we know the difference!