Embedded Activity - Reflection on Blogs, Wikis and Websites

Digital Pedagogies Week 2 - Personal Reflections

In reflection this week, Ive found it funny to think that until recently I had no idea of what a Blog or Wiki was, other than some kind of social media tool. Although very overwhelming at first, I realise the potential and value that blogs, wikis and websites have in assisting teaching and learning. I like the way in which the blogs, wikis and websites can be created and updated by teacher and students. This technology creates a creative outlet for not only the students, but also the teachers themselves.   

Embedded Activity - Reflection on Blogs, Wikis and Websites

 

Blogs: 

What are they? - Essentially a conversation site, a page that is usually dedicated to a particular topic, used by a group.

I really like the idea of using a Blog for my future classrooms and also encouraging students to create their own. The student would benefit from an increase in confidence and the blog provides a voice or outlet for those usually quieter students. Teachers can also create a blog site to present information where additions are expected from students to develop or enhance ideas.

The Blog is adaptable and can be changed or updated regularly by multiple users. Additional sections can be entered allowing for specific conversation about certain topics. For example in a Blog for a Geography class where the focus is a specific country, invitations to contribute to students who may have first hand knowledge of the region could add greatly to the overall information presented in the blog. Apart from the course material, I found a useful site from the University of Michigan that assisted my learning journey on Blogs.

In both my History and Geography classes, I will use blogs to not only present information, but to provide a platform for interactive discussion. The blog would also serve as a reference point for students to see areas they need to cover with progression of new class topics or points in history being referenced through a time line. I could also use the class blog to provide links to selected videos or images to support their learning.      

The use of a class blog and its benefits can be explained via the SAMR model through both the enhancement and transformation levels. There is a redefinition and modification of traditional learning materials from handing out photocopies of text to students to provide information to an interactive platform where information can be kept up to date. The use of the blog can virtually substitute the way information is presented because it can remove the need for direct face to face teaching in some instances. A video link to a prerecorded lecture could be added where the student can watch and re watch if needed in order to understand material.

Wikis:  

What are they? - A wikispace is a web page where students can write and discuss ideas they have as well as collaboratively build a page, adding links, pictures or other pieces of digital information to assist in each others learning.

I think it is a valuable tool for the teacher as the discussion can be kept on track. As it can be authored by the students, the teacher can monitor the wiki to ensure that all students are participating and shows the level of their understanding of the topic. Students or teachers can be invited to the page with access to comment and the settings of the wiki can be made for public or private view. The student can edit other peoples comments and can serve as teaching aid where students can be taught by their peers.

I will find wikispaces useful as a teacher to help reinforce certain points to the class. A place where I could raise particular parts of a topic, such as if learning about Ancient Egypt, the learning could be scaffolded to provide specific focus points for students. Eg, the benefit the Nile River had upon the Civilisation. Different perspectives on the topic (de bono's hats) could present different aspects to the question, benefits such as river provided water for crop growth to negatives, river provided a naval highway for their enemies to send ships and men to attack. 

The substitution level of the SAMR Model is defined in the wiki as it provides the digital alternative to student collaboration via the blackboard or written discussion on posters or sheets of paper. The concept of enhancement can be demonstrated as the wiki is far more accessible to students than traditional methods and can be continually added to, edited or updated.     
 
   

Websites: 

What are they? - Basically it is a page or group of pages that are accessible via the Internet. A website provides information or the link to anything the Internet has to offer.  

Generally a website is static and in most cases the website is simply just visited and observed by the user. The use of websites for education is valuable and allows students the avenues to further explore areas of interest to any level they desire. Students and teachers can also use websites that allow contributions to the overall information, such as flickr, slideshare and youtube. These sites provide valuable information for History and Geography students, as flikr has a wide range of historical photos, particularly for local history projects. I believe I would use this tool as well as You tube for documentaries or other visual enhancements to support the students in learning what they need to know.

While I probably would not give students free access to the Internet during a class, for fear of a range of unsuitable websites being accessed. I would like to create web pages of my own in which students from each subject could visit. I would be able to do this through programs such as weebly and tailor the page to suit what is required by the syllabus. I am able to add to the page using drag and drop functions adding anything such as videos, text, pictures or lecture recordings. The website can be used to show students what they are learning each class and what is needed to be learnt, with past exams or assignments added to show expected standards.      

The website provides a substitute to traditional teaching resources such as the text book and provides easy access to a vast range of material. The webpage has revolutionised and enhanced the way in which students learn and teachers teach. I will definitely use websites in order to convey information to students. I will be able to use various sites to provide examples and pictures, particularly in Geography and History classes to assist in understanding and retention.