Embedded task
Technology is something that once I get over the
intimidation factor it’s a whole new
experience. I have used blogs for other
subjects, but for text only. This class
has jolted me out of my comfort zone. I have looked at some of the other
student’s blogs and they have done some amazing work. It’s shown me what I can
achieve, so I’m finding that I spend a lot more time customising and
re-customising my blog, trying to use more of the features.
experience. I have used blogs for other
subjects, but for text only. This class
has jolted me out of my comfort zone. I have looked at some of the other
student’s blogs and they have done some amazing work. It’s shown me what I can
achieve, so I’m finding that I spend a lot more time customising and
re-customising my blog, trying to use more of the features.
I have started to experiment with wikis but not weeblies, but now
I’ve tried blogspot, I will have more of an idea how I want my next blog to
look. I won't be so afraid of it either.
Blogspot does not offer any tutorials, so even though all
the features are there, unless I google it, I have no idea how to use them, it's all trial and error for me. Looking at other websites gives you some idea of what blogging can look like. I am
not sure of some of the terminology so don’t know what they can do. I am a little scared to try them, in case something crashes and I may not be able to fix it. I don’t
find blogspot interface terribly user friendly or maybe I should reword that?
It is not ‘this mature person friendly’.
I was unsure about pages and posts but I watched the
tutorial video from the course contents and realised that all my reflections
are posted to my blog. There is no need for separate pages, although I am thinking maybe a home page.
I was able to upload some tables that I had saved in word. I
was able to cut and post my text but that creates an issue with the formatting. As long as you are aware of this issue authors can always
go back and fix up later. I did try to
use google docs but couldn’t work it out, so for now I have left it out, but
will try again. Correction I managed to complete a table in google docs this morning and have now embedded that in my posts. I have also managed to embed a youTube clip. I feel very empowered. I am still struggling with linking a URL as the url address disappears everytime I save it. I seem to be having problems with content that I add and save and when I return to the site it has disappeared. I am not sure what I am doing incorrectly. I make a point of saving all my work offline as I couldn’t think of anything worse. I am already in a state of flux, just trying to write reflections, embed clips, customise my blog without losing all my hours of work.
My privacy settings are set to public so other people can
leave comments on my site. You can
adjust the settings to private and only allow blog authors to use the site. My
blog has one author however there is the ability to add more, so blogging would
be fine for individuals or groups and authors are able to edit the blog also.
This would be a wonderful collaborative tool in schools. My
areas are accounting and business. A perfect project would be to set up the
blog advertising a function. The school is having their annual fete and the
business class has been offered the opportunity to run the restaurant and earn
some money for their class.
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| Today in school.wordpress.com |
- Firstly the class would need to discuss how they saw the event evolving
- Discuss what is involved in running a restaurant
- Consider the audience
- Decide on groups
- Consider budget
- Discuss legal and ethical factors
Augmentation
- Look at some websites to gain an understanding of what we need to consider
- Prepare a list of what needs to be done
- Allocate tasks
- Set up calendar for notifications
Modification
- Prepare a spreadsheet of the costs
- Setup a blog/wiki where each group inputs their progress
- Each group adds authors
Redefinition
- Advertise on social media sites
- Prepare flyers
- Groups share their data on blogging site
- Use date & graphics from collaborative site to prepare a report after the event which can be sent to parents & school
- Put a report on the school website
- prepare feedback for the class
Quite separate to the above I
am still stuggling with using tabs and sidebars, but I’m still working on that.
Post settings
Post settings
I added more text to my post yesterday, but when I went
back today, the text had disappeared. All my work is saved offline as I couldn’t think of anything worse. I am already in a state of flux,
just trying to write reflections, embed clips and customise my blog without losing
all that work.
Reflections wk 3
I find articulating
my thoughts or blogging quite difficult. It is not a natural process. I can sit
down with people and have a chat, but when I sit down at my computer, my
mind goes blank. I come from the traditional school, where a teacher taught and a
student learnt. Explicit instruction was the order of the day, so I have to try
coming from the perspective of an adolescent. Gen Z, a new phenomenon are more emotional,
social and tech savvy, than the previous Gen Y. Most things they do in life relate
to technology. If we are going to get the most out of these children we have to think from
their perspective. For them blogging is not necessarily about school work, it
is more the norm.
Blogging as with
most online sites, have different levels of security. But Gen Z are not interested
in their privacy settings, they are more attuned to what is going on in the
world. From a teaching perspective helping the students to understand the dangers
and pitfalls of digital technology whilst maintaining a healthy respect for it,
is very important. This would be a good project having students look at various privacy settings for
different applications and understand what they mean in terms of traffic to the site and how secure the site is.
Gen Z are used to the
fast pace of technology, so why not tap into it. If students are already using
these mediums, it makes sense to utilise them for interactive learning.
Explicit teaching is needed for the student prior to them interacting with Information
Communication Technology (ICT). Blogging offers the richness of social networking,
interactive resources, different styles of formatting,
collaborative work, social networking and visual and auditory features. However students need to be aware that there are copyright laws and certain restrictions regarding using some third party content. Just like privacy issues this is another area that could be looked into in depth.
We just assume that all students are tech savvy however I imagine there would be students who are not as adept as others for whatever reasons. The students who are tech savvy
could act as mentors for other students, which allows for further collaboration,
interaction and a sense of well being for all students involved. It is all very well being tech savvy but they also
need to how to type properly. This could relate to the SAMR model of augmentation, it could be having the tool and gaining some functional improvement. Similarly typing up an article without using
spell check, could be higher order thinking.
Blogs are a great
place for students to start writing creatively and offers enhanced learning.
According to Judy
Willis on the Science of Learning, students face a certain level of stress when
information keeps coming at them, and they switch off. Whereas with interactive learning, students
are given direction and then they can work at their own pace, involved in the work they are doing, sharing with their
mates and learning.
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| http://www.pearson.com.au/community/in-conversation/judy-willis-science-of-learning/ |
I have also explored Wikispaces but not to the same extent as blogspot. When I first arrived at Wikispaces I found the open space inviting, whereas I did not feel that with blogspot. I felt like I had just been dumped there, and I had to find my own way around. There was the usual formatting options and different templates, but I found it more difficult to customise.
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