Week #3: Reflection 2

Group 1 Tools

Online Spaces

This week in ICTs for Learning Design I was introduced to online spaces.  Although I knew what a blog, website and wiki were, I actually wasn’t aware of Web 1.0, Web 2.0 and how those spaces related to the “types” of web. Basically Web 1.0 was the first iteration of the “world wide web” where only those with skills in programming were able to create pages and then modify them. Web 2.0 is most common in current times and is much more open to the everyday person. With a reasonable level of computer literacy anyone can create, modify and add to the web through websites, blogs, wikis and even “apps”. I had to google Web 3.0, and that really blew my mind! Have a read here: http://computer.howstuffworks.com/web-30.htm. It takes the term “just google it” to an entire new level!!

Blogs (like this one), websites and wikis are all types of Web 2.0 that can be used in the classroom. 

I created a website as a way to explore how Web 2.0 can be used to transform my pedagogy.

I started by navigating to the Weebly homepage and created account, and then a site.  The interface for designing the webpage was very intuitive and appealed to my desire to have things planned and ordered. Weebly even provides a “Site Planner” that steps the creator through the stages of planning, designing and building their website.  I found this service very useful.  A myriad of functions can be incorporated into a website.  I can build in a blog, or add a contact form, poll or survey.  I can also attach documents or embed YouTube videos and images.  In fact, with the ability to enter any custom embed code, just about any of the other tools discussed this week can be embedded into the website.  By using a static webpage, I can insert information that does not need to change, or will not need to change regularly.  Insertion of a blog then allows for easy and quick supply of information on a regular basis without having to remove the previous contents.  I am, however, unable to facilitate the input, collaboration and feedback from third parties (students), beyond the use of polls or surveys.  As a standalone tool created by the teacher, I believe a website will be largely teacher focussed, and its main service will be for the presentation and supply of information and guidance. However, with some thought and scaffolding, it can be used to promote many learning outcomes from rote learning through to higher level thinking skills.  The SAMR below post demonstrates how websites can be employed in different ways to achieve this range of learning outcomes.

SAMR and Websites

S

Teacher creates a class site to provide a central location for class notes, worked examples and maths problems to be solved during class or as homework.

A

Teacher creates a class site to provide a central location for class notes, worked examples and maths problems to be solved during class or as homework, but also provides links to you tube videos, recordings of their own worked examples done during class time, and other websites that have more information not covered in class time.

M

Students individually create their own website where the content is the information that would otherwise be provided as a result of homework or class problem sets.  Not only does this make worked examples of problems and assignments available to other students for them to learn from, the creating student also has a neat record of their work that they can use as a study resource come exam time.

R

Students create the class website as they progress through the unit of work.  It is designed and built by them as a group, and is populated with their own notes from class and other information provided in the traditional classroom, and they also add their own worked examples links to other sources of information they discover and have found helped them learn a concept.  At the end of the unit of work they will have created their own study resource.  This could even be done in collaboration by another class in the same school (or even another school!), so that any differences in information or explanation style by teachers can be shared across groups to widen the range of learning theories and pedagogies used and allow students to individually benefit from pedagogy that best suits their learning style.

My Website

When creating my website I spent some time thinking about what I wanted to achieve from a classroom of maths and science students (I didn’t limit it to one so that I could let my thinking on the topic explore both teaching areas). I wanted to provide information, promote collaboration and encourage self-driven learning. This took a bit of learning and old fashioned brainstorming. 

I created a website that is a “home base” for the class.  I have a space where I can provide the “theory” through my class notes and links to other sources of information on the web; this is using a website at substitution/modification level.  I then have used the “I Do, You Do, We Do” model, with a heading for each.  “I Do” is again substitution or modification, as it is just a space for me to provide worked examples or examples of the “ideal” for assignments.  The “We Do” page is where augmentation and redefinition comes in as I have embedded a wiki that can be used to facilitate group activities. I think that by embedding the wiki I can overcome some of the limitations of a teacher designed and operated website. The “You Do” page is intended to scaffold the tasks to be undertaken at an individual level, but will probably use the wiki as the space for facilitating this.  I need to spend more time working with the functionality before I have this all sorted.  One thing I have learned in this exercise is that using ICTs at the Modify and Redefinition level of SAMR takes a lot of planning and time on the teacher’s part.

Take a look at my website by following the link below:
http://scienceandmathsforgrownups.weebly.com

I've also created some accounts and passwords so that you can check out my wikispace:

Login                                                   Password
mathsandscienceforgrownups1           clupha
mathsandscienceforgrownups2           chinem
mathsandscienceforgrownups3           souuai
mathsandscienceforgrownups4           siocou

- Isabel -

References:

How Web 3.0 Will Work Accessed 21/03/15. Retrieved from:

http://computer.howstuffworks.com/web-30.htm

Weebly Accessed 19/03/15. Retrieved from:

http://www.weebly.com/ 

Wikispaces Accessed 20/03/15. Retrieved from:

http://www.wikispaces.com/

Using the SAMR Model of Technology Integration Accessed 21/03/15. Retrieved from:

http://glpd.greenlightlearningtools.com/blog/2014/04/24/using-samr-model-technology-integration/