Web 2.0 Course Reflection

Yay! Finally there!
Overall I'd have to say I was keen to do this but not always keen to spend the time on it. Now that I've finished I can see that it was a good process, even if some of the tools eg Twitter, were not necessary or relevant for me.
I have certainly developed my own skills, but to be honest if I don't continually use something I need to learn to do it again anyway. No doubt I will still have questions to ask of a friendly colleague when trying some of these things again.
My teaching has been broadened to incorporate many of these tools, but ultimately if students can't read or write properly we are failing them. There is nothing wrong with 'older' methods of teachings, despite what some may say. Basically, it is about blending all the strategies together to suit the environment. All that we have done in this course, like anything, needs to be used in moderation.
The iLe@rning video was excellent, but like others have said including Kathryn Fraser and Nick Phillipson, it would have been really helpful at the beginning of the course. The idea of engagement is what all committed teachers would want in their classroom and we need to use whatever enables this to happen. Something that I disagreed with from the video was the comment that it breaks down the barrier between socio-economic classes and the like. This is not completely accurate as anything that involves costly equipment will have divisions. There are still families who cannot afford computers especially when they need to be updated at such a fast rate. There is also the problem with the various types of internet access at home - not always effective, especially if a family has several students and parents who all want to use it. I know my internet access is slow and it took nearly 20 minutes to watch the 6 minute ilearning video! While it is decreasing I think the area of e-learning can be a real social justice issue.
The linking of iLearning to Blooms Taxonomy has provided greater understanding for it use. While Blooms is a natural part of what teachers do in the classroom the Web 2 tools have now just provided another method of how to achieve these. There is certainly more opportunity for the creation process with some of the Web 2 tools, but the lower order skills can also be accessed using the same tools eg remembering information and understanding it enough to include it in a wiki.
I would like students to be able to gather information fromm various sources, predominantly books, but be able to express their grasp of it in a variety of methods including these various tools.
Second Life would incorporate some creation, Flikr would be more about gathering information I would think rather than fully meeting one of the stages of Blooms Digital Taxonomy or perhaps some applying, and Mind Mapping would incorporate all levels of Blooms (depending on the depth of use).
I am looking forward to continuing to learn and grow in my teaching and my general use of technology in life. I will continue to try new things, but like everything it always comes down to time!
To all the people who helped me along the way, Ben Ticehurst, Jay Meyer, Paul O'Shea, Miriam Gascoigne, Jessica Ursino - Thank you!!!

Its time to pop a cork and celebrate!! (I hope!)

Comment made on Brett Richardson's blog at the following link:http://richosblogspc.blogspot.com/2010/06/course-reflection.html?showComment=1278146688163_AIe9_BEsxg3IquyDS62a9NHJMq2QmyQ5ZAkZMKZ9zlBd0aMz0j38fkpRiFzxF7czotPg1E9u9y8oDeiHn8jcKfrU2FI9-8AOpbYFEOY3dJLOzOVzqVxRaXTtiH6JW_EaUTNMOQj5LkOuZDiYN1Zi2jSeT66inpjxqHDxF04iVPyTirhzqwpuiDne5Iuwx3FgGn2Rx1O8rt2Vjd4UhhgHMMoUjQf5wQ34fbrAMZ-FkB86Kn1a992JDoDKdxzfUR_zjGxYS35eQ5Vk0sfyvBrZj8O8NOpxiJR5lXUR8dH6DiYQetwhUtMYKXYvxtQ3bjhiY63oLpGoxia5DfZKQqLj3urYKHB2NsDaAgMytLb-LEU-Dhw_rWPWmTaHgWXV1X4xesAvcFdYnGQllN2t6E-Fniusp2lcGxweU9cNjHerZe5lDmv1wuwl6FOyrtOmUF6X9jvUhQ_Ud2mCmFeikvNWc8UJOAkjMEQpyRWsSRGBtmr1PmXk5QZ6EICRo0yWwyJYFqYzPFv1Xh9xQr7SxMCaoO5edjmtQ-_PaYXQMTm0R1WE8RdQS2XGu9f76KPnu6DUD8L93ykgOx072JfBB-khoibkOxehQENuk70qjO-dnnY9zt7Yg63UOP-FUUvoCqWbdLrQIxSL9FguWI1bgnFjLglfLg10tdW8m7_8jX2l0TGARfS0XQGAgbpmwWD5bHKML7cy7rjUvWNDld5Up9rYX3vcdJhT-BI58_39U52KBA2oGqEecvsrbXG9rQFoOcEKi8KoZGZPiWCOQ69aOB3YEpThOBHjgtKLzDCUmIKpj4xJRZeS_iGqg63c33pouLj4UyxNFfGc5rNmFOXWnb42UVzrdr-m9Lms5n-xJJWV2VhPm2v_RFyLMch37oGSaZ3AI8XuAsHmZUL4GYGO3E-QTdTvHzwUJ_J1kISbinL2AYvPrgaoms78jZYckMCHa5dDEoXRb8O24qVYIDivmAPL93FQ-SHjtwpgJ24v0IhWv2S0R6rtSo7yPsObw9d9ChULrMZx80fifme1#c4020216846268537813

Module 10

Wikis are something I have been using in the classroom this year and they have been quite effective. This is largely because my classes have embraced them and contributed to them. If students were not willing to do the right thing it would be a lot more difficult. It has been good to show the lack of reliability of Wikpedia - now they can see that anybody can write anything and it isn't always true!
I have felt good that I have been able to show the boys how to create a wiki and how to use it, because we often assume that they already know what to do.
As far as nings go I havent really had much of a go at this. I would use them if there was a need and an easy way of accessing or finding about them.
The Web 2.0 tools have been beneficial and they have alerted me to the possibility of online communities - despite that not really being my style.
I haven't really had any experience of nings, but Id be curious to see what is out there!
There are more nings out there than I thought. Here is just one link I found that has a ning related to children's spirituality...

http://www.religiouseducation.net/Resources/Links.html

Module 9

Scootle seems to be pretty useful with the growth in interactive whiteboards. To be honest I don't really use it because it doesn't have lessons in my subject area of Religious Education. There is a market there for those who may be inlcined to create some worthwhile and productive RE lessons for all year levels!

I have viewed Scootle lessons in some other subject areas - Maths is always well-catered for as are some other areas. I would love to be able to use it every now and then, but everytime I look at it there is absolutely nothing for me.

Ah, Facebook! I have always been anti-Facebook and never wanted an account until one day last year when it created one for me when I touched one button. It proved my point that we have little control over it. This can also be demonstrated by facebook automatically changing privacy settings so that if you aren't really savvy you may not know that people can now see you. I vowed to get rid of it after a few months and my students thought it hilarious that I had an account as I was always talking of the evils of Facebook. It has proved to be a source of gossip now - I don't really use it, I just see what other people say and my goodness some people are silly. You have to be so careful! What scares me is that young people don't always recognise the repurcussions of some tings they put on line because they don't see them immediately or physically. I will get rid of it soon. Real friends know how to contact me. facebook just removes face to face or verbal dialogue. I have also been witness to the downfall of some friends' lives because of Facebook. Im not a fan but have an account at present. I would NEVER use it in the classroom or with students. Email is just fine as is our own school SOLE.

Twitter infuriates me! Who cares what you are having for dinner or what you are watching on TV. Maybe there are other ways of using it, but I don't want people to follow me (it would be good if you had to be the centre of attention!) and I don't want to read up on others. I do not want to create an account for this as I have no intention of using it. I'm not a celebrity and I am easily bored by inane conversation / comments. I believe in relational interaction with people - meeting with the heart, expressing yourself with tone and using facial expression to convey how I feel.

I think we can too easily cross the line between social networking sites and education. Lets not ruin what kids like by bringing it in to something they do everyday for school. Lets not make education based around the ficle and inappropriately used networking sites. We need young people to be able to read and write well and this is not enocuraged on these sites. It also stops students growing in confidence and ability to talk to others because they are hidden and can get away with more as well as not have to face up to things or truly tell somebody something positive. Where is the heart??! I know people find it here, but I don't! I am an extrovert - take my energy from being with others.

Module 8

RSS are core for blogs! It essentially helps you follow blogs and various news sites without having to look them up daily or weekly. This way updates are sent to you so that you can keep up to date with things that interest you. If you had to keep checking the blogs you were interested in it would be much more time consuming.

This is beneficial in the classroom if using blogs because it would help me keep track of what the boys are writing and doing as part of their classwork (which is connected to the blogs).

Module 7

Delicious has been shown to me over the past couple of years by colleagues in other schools. It is basically an online tool for collating all of one's favourite websites. At St Pats we are pretty lucky to be able to do this without having to use Delicious. The one benefit of creating lists of sites on this site would be to view other people's lists. It is good for finding resources - just another method of research in a way.

Module 6

Bubbl.us has proved to be a fun tool in the classroom which I've used prior to doing this blog. I have used it with a class who enjoyed what it could do, but at the same time many students across classes have made the comment 'we can do exactly the same thing with paper and pen'.
It is handy for being able to save it and reuse it when needed. It can also be added to easily which makes it more beneficial.

I have nothing to say in a mindmap to comment on bubbl.us so I have added a different mindmap I have done. One problem is that it moves everytime I open a mindmap and I have to readjust it.
Glogster is an online media site - basically creating pamphlets with video clips, links and so on. I have heard varying reviews of this tool. Some love it, some hate it. Those who aren't too keen on it think it restricts their creativity - many students feel this way. It could be good as an alternative to other types of tasks such as pamphlets and word documents. I can take it or leave it. At the moment most of my students are so overloaded with IT tools that I think I would wait a while before introducing it. I think junior students (Yrs 7 - 9) would benefit more and enjoy it more than seniors.

Module 5

I love this stuff!

I love my iTunes and my iPod, and have been using it for years. The best way to learn about it is to play around with it. I actually learnt lots about this tool by talking to some of my students. They enhanced my use of a tool I already found useful. I have used my iTunes to create CDs for Retreats and the like. It is easier to create CDs if you have downloaded CDs you already own as there are limitations on how many times you can copy songs that you have bought from iTunes, eventhough you have paid for them. This can be a little frustrating. Also changing computers because they break or something else means you lose your rights to iTunes - you are only allocated a certain amount. But I love it! Just make sure you buy the gift vouchers and not pay by credit card.

Youtube is also terrific, but after it became more difficult to use it hasn't proved to be so handy. Not being able to save it to Keep Vid is a little annoying, but maybe there are ways around that now that I don't know of yet. Its a good tool to show classes, either to introduce them to something or to give them an experience of something. I showed a Jewish shabbat service to Year 11 the other day. All they could do was giggle - boys! I tried to get them to see it as an 'experience'. It can be like anything else though - students can get bored with it.

Vodcast and podcasts are definitely a new way of doing things. They get people involved, but like everything some people enjoy them more than others. Not all people are creative and gifted. It is another way of doing tasks, but we have to be sure that content and knowledge do not suffer at the expense of IT skills. The best students will always be able to do the right thing.

Podcasts can be handy in the same way iTunes and Youtube are - a resource that can be used from radio stations and the like. They can also be created by us. The dual purpose is exciting.

I have seen some vodcasts created by our Yr 9 students this year and their skills are excellent (the majority of them anyway)! Sometimes, some think that because it is an online medium they do have the same restrictions with use of language and so on.

All of us will learn over time and the use of these skills will become more valuable and more worthwhile. We will hopefully see the educational benefits.

I commented on Miriam Gascoigne's blog; see below.

Miriam