Week 3 - Blogs, Wikis and Websites

This week in Managing E-Learning we learnt about Blogs, Wikis and Websites. People in the 21st Century have so many ICT tools at their finger tips and most of them (including myself) wouldn't have a clue as to how you would use them! 

BLOGS

As you can already see, I obviously know how to use a blog. I have been blogging for the past three weeks so I think I have finally got this down pat. This is known as Blogger which is powered by Google. It is extremely easy to use and allows you to personalise your blog and change the layout. The greatest thing about Blogger is that it is FREE! 

I believe that blogs can easily be used as a learning tool within classrooms. They could be used for assignments where the students reflect on their learning experiences throughout a unit. Blogs could also be used as a classroom news letter where the teacher keeps parents updated on what is being learnt each week and when the important dates are approaching. Blogs have many other fantastic uses as long as the students are taught how to use it correctly. We are all well aware that the internet has many risks. Therefore, students need to be educated about online safety, cuber bullying and copyrights. 

BLOGS
STRENGTHS    Ø Blogger is free to all users Ø  Easy to use (does not require much knowledge) Ø  Can be customised as much as you like ØEnables you to embed videos, links and graphics ØAllows you to post anonymously  ØYou can change your blog to private	WEAKNESSES Ø Your blog can be accessed by anyone unless you change your privacy settings.  Ø Only one person can add blog posts and viewers can only comment Ø  Easy to unintentionally post personal information and breach copyrights of videos, information and graphics
OPPORTUNITIES Ø Students can use a blog as a reflective journal for part of an assessment, which can be checked online by the teacher at anytime. Ø Blogs can engage students as it is an interactive and personalised form of technology Ø  Blogs can allow students to continue learning outside of the classroom. Ø Gives students a sense of ownership and pride for their work Ø Targets student's technological interest and abilities	THREATS Ø Risk of students using the blog unsafely by posting personal information ØCopyright issues could arise when using a blog to share research Ø Customising and personalising their blog can lead to distraction Ø Increases opportunities for cyber bullying

WIKI

This week I created my first ever wiki as one of my activities. I found this process fairly straight forward. There were step by step instructions given on how to create the wiki page. This was great as it allowed me to easily upload a video clip and image. Wiki allows you to customise with fonts and images. As mentioned last week in my blog "Six hats are better than one!", wiki is similar to a webpage where it allows you to read, exchange, edit and modify ideas. It is known as a more collaborative sharing space. Unlike a blog, wiki is used more as a discussion based site rather than a reflection. Here is a link to my wiki: http://jennyabel.wikispaces.com/home 

WIKIS
STRENGTHS    Ø Collaborative learning space Ø Engages learners in active learning Ø Can personalise to suit the needs to students  ØCan embed videos, links and images ØCan post anonomously   ØYou can change your blog to private to some group members can access and edit it	WEAKNESSES Ø Can be difficult to understand how to use Ø Only one person can edit the wiki at a time Ø  Wiki can quiet easily become cluttered  ØCan distract students when they are on the internet
OPPORTUNITIES Ø A space for students to present their opinions and views on specific topics Ø Used as an online brainstorming activity  Ø Can be monitored by the teacher  Ø Targets student's technological interest and abilities	THREATS Ø Risk of students using their wiki unsafely by posting personal information ØStudents can become confused with wiki and therefore become disenaged Ø Customising and personalising their wiki can lead to distraction Ø Students could add their own ideas without reading the information first

WEBSITES

Making a website was very new to me. I found my first experience of creating a website a little bit confusing. However, after playing around with the site of a while and figuring out how it all works, it soon made sense to me. I feel a bit insecure because websites are very open and I'm not sure how I feel about everyone being able to view it. I believe that using websites within a classroom can be an effective tools to help students learn and express their individual creativity. The website allowed me to customise to how much or little I like. It also enabled me to upload video clips and images. When using a website within a classroom you could upload different activities and games for students to complete and learn from. Here is a website I have created: http://jennyabel.weebly.com/

WEBSITES
STRENGTHS    Ø  Can embed videos, links and images Ø  Can be customised as much as you like to make your website creative and personal ØCan be edited at anytime by the author ØWebsite such as Weebly offers free templates ØEngaging, interactive and fun	WEAKNESSES Ø Students can easily get distracted as   websites are extremely customisable Ø  Easy to unintentionally post personal information and breach copyrights of videos, information and graphics
OPPORTUNITIES Ø Students can post their work on their websites.  Ø Allows students to be engaged in learning Ø Gives students a sense of ownership and pride for their work ØCan be used as a presenting tool for students to publish their assignments Ø Targets student's technological interest and abilities	THREATS Ø Risk of students using the websites unsafely by posting personal information ØCopyright issues could arise when using a website to share research Ø Customising and personalising their website can lead to distraction

Jenny Abel