eLearning at TIGS: Di Epoff’s Blog

Wikis in plain English: this TeacherTube movie systematically shows you what a Wiki is!

A Wiki is a piece of web-based software that allows users to create and edit Web page content using a Web browser.

Wikis were first used in the 1990s by scientists to create dynamic knowledge bases.

Wikis are based on ‘open editing’ which means, anyone can create and edit content and pages.

This makes Wikis democratic and accessible by non-technical users.

Wikis have been described as:

- A composition system

- A mail system

- A repository

- A tool for collaboration

- A discussion medium

- An e-portfolio

Users have both author and editor privileges.

The organisation of a wiki can be edited, as well as content.

Wikis can incorporate movies, sounds, and images.

Want to know more? Check out Macquarie University’s Centre for Flexible Learning website, or the How Stuff Works website.

Keeping students cybersafe!

This wordpress blog explains successful policies and procedures employed by Hawksdale College in Victoria, to ensure that their students work safely in cyberspace. Some great tips for teachers formulating policies.

In 2005, Tim O’Reilly, considered the idea of “The Web As a Platform”, and stated that

“Web 2.0 is the business revolution in the computer industry caused by the move to the Internet as platform, and an attempt to understand the rules for success on that new platform”.

“Like many important concepts, Web 2.0 doesn’t have a hard boundary, but rather, a gravitational core. You can visualize Web 2.0 as a set of principles and practices that tie together a veritable solar system of sites that demonstrate some or all of those principles, at a varying distance from that core.”

You can probably already identify some common Web 2.0 applications, such as Flickr, My Space, YouTube etc, but there are many, many more!

Click on the go2web2.0 screenshot (above) to see some of the enormous range of Web 2.0 applications available on the internet

Click on a range of the hundreds of site thumbnails to explore the diverse ways in which Web 2.0 is used: try the Visible Body site

So, now that you’ve looked at some Web 2.0 applications, just what is Web 2.0?

Andy Budd is an innovative web designer who has produced an interesting slideshow that explains the various dimensions of web 2.0 technology and its implications for the future. Visit his presentation here

The blog: open 24 hours. This site is worth the read for educators!
Click on the above link to go to a great blog entry written by Lucie deLaBruere on the Infinite Thinking Blogsite, in response to a presentation by Ed-tech expert Ed Barrys, who addressed some Vermont educators about the many issues associated with students creating and contributing to educational blog sites.

deLaBruere poses questions for us to answer if we are to develop a sound policy for the use of Web 2.0 tools in our classrooms, and beyond. Some of these include:

• How do we teach kids to cross a busy street?
• How can we support an institution with desires to seek innovation in teaching, learning and research; willingness to innovate & a growing culture of sharing?
• How can schools ensure that they are fulfilling their duty of care to ensure safe environments for their students?
• How do we promote a culture of social responsibility?
• Must we reach beyond Acceptable Use Policies?
• How do schools make and enforce rules when students are not on school ground or acting as part of a school function?

A key link on her site takes you to many related articles, posts and comments on the subject that may help us find the answers we need:

Acceptable Use Policies in School 2.0 Culture

Use Blogger (a free Web 2.0 application) to create your own blog, step-by-step.

You dont have to download anything, but you do need an internet connection and a web browser such as internet Explorer or Firefox.

The best way to learn about something is through ACTION!

So, click on this Blogger tour and make your own Blog in minutes:

Blogger online tour

What is a blog? Well this site is a Blog! Consider a blog to be:

- A personal diary

- A collaborative space

- A political/social soapbox

- A breaking-news outlet

- A collection of links

- Your own private thoughts

- Memos to the world.

Your blog can be whatever you want it to be. Blogs are custom-made, and there are no real rules.

In simple terms, a blog is a web site where you write or comment, on an ongoing basis.

The latest blog entries are stacked on top, so your visitors can read what’s new. Then they comment on it or link to it or email you. Or choose just to read. Visitors can link your Blog to their own to make that process easier.

Blogger was launched in 1999, and since then blogs have reshaped the web, impacted politics, shaken up journalism, and enabled millions of people to have a voice and connect with others.

Click on this Slideshare Presentation: Blogs and Wikis for Beginners. It provides some information that might get you thinking about the issues associated with students using Blogs in the classroom.