Week 3. Wikis, Blogger and Weebly

In the beginning the great god Dot Matrix created Web 1.0 and it was good.  However, it was static and controlled by unknown owners of websites.  Dot Matrix worked with MS-DOS, a demigod with an acronym indecipherable by mortals, to maintain a passive internet full of one way communication.

After the great dotcom crash, where loosing money was easy-PC, Web 2.0 rose from the ashes and brought forth Wikipedia, YouTube, blogging and other platforms that allowed two-way, dynamic sharing of information and ideas.  Collaboration was the new buzzword.

Weebly.
I've used Weebly before to make my own websites and for a science assessment piece.  If you would like to see this amazing HD type assessment piece then click on the photo below.  The website utilised Bloom's Taxonomy.  I have hidden the CREATE tab from public view as I may like to develop the idea in the future.

The affordances of Weebly to educators are:

• the basic site allows for many themed templates
• insertion of video, photos, forums and files
• ability to hide certain pages while still maintaining the content
• the website can only be edited by password holders meaning that teachers can be confident that content will not be altered (either deliberately or accidentally) 
• password holder can see how many unique visitors are viewing the content

I would certainly used Weebly in the future for the above reasons.

 (Ahmed, 2012)

Wikis.

Wikis are considered a web 2.0 tool that allows various people co-construct and edit information on a website.  The term 'wiki' come from the Hawaiian language meaning quick.  I have used wikis several times for university, mainly as a log of meetings and to show the input of groups members for group presentations.  I am yet to be convinced that the majority of wikis are not from the stone age.  I find them clunky and lacking in intuitive technology.  

The wiki below was created purely for this course.  I asked some friends to contribute to it and someone has put One Direction as my favourite band.  Perhaps allowing anyone the chance to edit the material is one major downside of wikis.

The affordances of wikis for educators are:

• asynchronous communication
• multiple users
• don't have to wait for other user's responses before editing content
• possible to see previous drafts (paper trail)

(Clinebell, Thomas, & Sedbrook, 2012).

Blogs.

Blogs are used for people to maintain an online diary, or web-log, containing opinions, musings, links to other sites.  While we were travelling in 2011, we used a blog so that our family in Australia could keep up with our activities.  Visitors to our blog were able to leave comments and we in turn could write back to these people.  Below is a link to our travel blog of Chile in South America.  Click on the photo to read about our adventures.

The affordances of blogs to educators are:

• the adopt a connectivist approach to learning
• content can only be edited by password holders
• students can enter comments which can be hidden till the end or published immediately
• posts can be created ahead of time to come online automatically at a certain time/date
• information is automatically stored chronologically and displayed in a file
• Blogger is owned by Google and therefore linked to powerful resources
• numerous layouts and themed templates to use depending on students' interests or subject being studied
• videos can be embedded allowing for flip lectures

Garcia, Brown, & Elbeltagi, 2013).

The SAMR model.

	Wiki	Weebly	Blog
Substitutuon	Replaces synchronous conversations with asynchronous ones.	Replaces notice board, blackboard, TV monitor.	Replaces paper diary, journal, portfolio.
Augmentation	All students can edit work in progress immediately.	Includes links to other media and data.	Comments can be added from anyone.  These can be made public, deleted or remain private.
Modification	Can compare evolution of ideas by reviewing drafts.	Teacher is able to provide all necessary information to save students aimlessly searching the web	Students are able to link other blogs to their own.  Can add content from various sources
Redefinition	The final product is published for the Creative Commons as a collaborative piece	Students adopt a framework, such as De Bono’s Thinking Hats or Bloom’s Taxonomy to create their own website on a topic.	The blogger responds to the comments and provides feedback on the commenter’s blogsite.

References:

Ahmed Atta, A. (2012). Web 2.0: A Movement within the Learning Community. Information Management & Business Review, 4(12), 625-631.

Clinebell, S., Thomas, D., & Sedbrook, T. (2012). Helping Student Teams Work Collaboratively through Using Wikis. Journal Of The Academy Of Business Education, 1316-40.

Garcia, E., Brown, M., & Elbeltagi, I. (2013). Learning Within a Connectivist Educational Collective Blog Model: A Case Study of UK Higher Education. Electronic Journal Of E-Learning, 11(3), 253-262.

Michelle's Birthday

Today is Michelle's birthday.  She's 19 and loves mangoes.  I wrote her a poem about mangoes for her birthday.

Mango.
Michelle, Oh Michelle
She likes to tango.
But wonders quite forlornly
Where'd the men go?

A virtual mango for Michelle.

De Bono’s Thinking Hats and mobile phones.

I feel very strongly about the invasion of mobile phones and hand held devices in our everyday life.  When presented with the question: Should mobile phones be used in the classroom? I answer with an immediate “no”.   The reason De Bono’s Six Thinking Hats framework works so well is that the politics and ego is removed from thinking making people think more creatively and constructively (De Bono, 1995).  By taking the time to approach the question via the Six Thinking Hats I was able to be more objective and consider different points of view.

I generally find wikis to be “clumsy” and lacking in intuitive technology.  There were multiple tabs on the side which were similar in name and could easily be confused.  We were warned to save our input to a word document and to be aware that multiple users logged on at the same time can cause issues.  Participants were asked to keep their responses to 40 words which was ignored adding to the clumsy look of the wiki.

However, I do see the merit in this activity.  Wikis are seen as student centred technology where students can learn collaboratively (Lee, 2012). I wonder though whether people may be influenced by  previous answers.  I found myself reading the other entries several times before putting in my own entries.  This was not to copy but to make sure that I was doing it right.  I wonder though if there is the danger that students may be influenced by incorrect responses on the wiki.  I believe that to make this more productive for a classroom, students should not be able to see what others have written until they have inputted their own response first.

By externalising our knowledge we are helping others construct their knowledge while confirming our own knowledge base (Moskaliuk, Kimmerle, & Cress, 2012).  Vygotsky and Piaget professed that learning happens both individually and socially.  A constructivist approach is one where people try to make sense of new experiences based on their prior knowledge (Snowman, et al, 2009).  People would also be connecting with others in an asynchronous fashion (Siemens, 2005).  This wiki activity was a mixture of constructivism and connectivism. For some, a wiki may have been a new experience but prior knowledge of computers, websites and word processing would allow them to construct knowledge on how to navigate a wiki.      

I prefer verbal synchronous communication for joint construction and would only use a wiki if the students were being assessed on their ability to use technology.  However, if I was to use a wiki in my classroom I would ensure that a clear framework was in place to guide students in their thinking so they were not left wondering where to begin.

References.

De Bono, E. (1995). Teach yourself to think, (pp 44-52) London: Viking.

Lee, L. (2012). "A Learning Journey for All": American Elementary Teachers' Use of Classroom Wikis. Journal Of Interactive Online Learning, 11(3), 90-102.

Moskaliuk, J., Kimmerle, J., & Cress, U. (2012). Collaborative Knowledge Building with Wikis: The Impact of Redundancy and Polarity. Computers & Education, 58(4), 1049-1057.

Siemens, G. (2005). Connectivism. Retrieved from www.elearnspace.org/Articles/connectivism.htm

Snowman, J., Dobozy, E., Scevak, J., Bryer, F., & Bartlett, B. (2009). Psychology applied to teaching.  Milton, Qld.: John Wiley & Sons Australia.

Edutopia

Anecdotal evidence says that many children, teachers and parents are stressed due to NAPLAN and that NAPLAN practice books are big sellers.  The Edutopia video says that a child under stress cannot learn as the brain goes into protection mode and only takes in information that it vital for survival.

I found it interesting that the video talks about bad stress, distress, but did not talk about good stress, eustress.  The lack of stress in our lives leads to boredom and a lack of motivation.   Children require the right amount of stress to be challenged.

I liked the idea of novelty being the key to engagement but like all things in life, we have to find a balance.  For something to be novel means there has to be moments of "normal" for the novel to be contrasted against.  I did like the idea of HERE/ME/NOW - so long as there is balance.  There has to be some onus on students to realise that there is one teacher for 25+ students and it can't always be about me.  

Teachers need to incorporate movement into their classrooms and give students opportunities to digest what has been taught/learnt.  Students also need time for their brains to rest before moving onto the next topic.

Students who find ICTs novel would be engaged by the use of ICTs in the classtoom.  However, those students who are constantly in front of screens at home may not find ICTs novel and might benefit more from human interaction and tactile learning experiences.

Hello,

This is my second blog.  In 2011 we created a blog as a family (harpersinchile.blogspot.com.au) while we were living in Chile, South America for the year.  It was interesting to see how many people from different parts of the world would take the time to read our blog.

I think that technology has its place in the classroom and I see the need for children to be computer literate.  I do beleive that technology should be used with purpose and a clear intent and not just becasue it is technology.  I worry that we are turning into anti-social creatures who prefer the company of an iPad than people.  We've all seen the groups of friends at the cafe more interested in running their thumbs over a glass screen than talking to the person beside them.

With so many Blackberry orphans and children babysat by the TV in the world, school may be the last place that children can engage in meaningful dialogue with peers and adults.

However, with an open mind I am prepared to follow the white rabbit.