Networks on the web (Module 9)

Activity 1 - Scootle

I'm grateful to the course for taking me back to Scootle as I had not accessed this valuable resource for some time. With access to over 10,000 items of digital curriculum content from The Le@rning Federation there are certainly some gems there. In fact having been prompted to visit the Scootle, I used learning objects in two of my classes this week.

I have a couple of other sites I like for digital content - PhET and Merlot.

PhET provides free online simulations covering a diverse range of topics in physics, chemistry, biology and earth science. The simulations have been designed by the University of Colorado and are generally first rate.

MERLOT is an abbreviation of Multimedia Educational Resource for Learning and Online Teaching. It is

a leading edge, user-centered, collection of peer reviewed  higher education, online learning materials, catalogued by registered members and a set of faculty development support services.

Activity 2  Explore social networking sites

I am fortunate in having been introduced to Second Life by Judy O'Connell some years back. I have also been following the excellent pioneering work of Jo Kay( aka jokay Wollongong (in SL)) . Jo Kay is a freelance geek, designer, and facilitator based in Wollongong, Australia. She can be found on both SL and ReactionGrid and I have found her very accommodating of novices. Whilst I have not been there as yet, I am confident that a free jokadiaGrid account would be a great way to experience a safe introduction to a rich virtual environment. I owe thanks to Judy for pushing me and to JoKay for being so helpful to someone she has never met face to face.

Whilst I have attended a few conferences, museums, universities and professional society landmarks in Second Life, for me its time is yet to come.

Having been a sceptic in relation to Twitter for some time, I now find it a valuable tool for establishing and maintaining contact with a professional network. Personally, I have tended to stay away from Facebook and suspect that that will remain the case.

What is a RSS Feed? (Module 8)

Really Simple Syndication (RSS) is a powerful feature and a tool that helps me manage the information overload that can be a problem with trying to track too many things.

I use Pageflakes as an RSS aggregator and have 3 public pages:
Welcome Page with some news and tools
Edna and EduBlogs with the Blogs that I like to track
Science Feeds with a compilation of feeds that may interest teachers of chemistry and science generally.

My Pageflakes profile was established on 7th November 2007. I thank the Catholic Education Commission for that as I was introduced to the tool at a CEC Web2.0 day. Whilst I might not visit my flakes daily, I still check them every couple of days.

Social bookmarking using Delicious and sharing blogs (Module 7)

I had not read ahead when I was referring to my Delicious account during Module 6. I've been using Delicious for quite a while and it is an essential part of my web armoury. In my Network I currently follow 74 people and have 36 following me.

I use Delicious in a number of different ways:
a) storing links with my particular focus areas being teaching chemistry, pedagogy, Web2.0 and slideware,
b) searching for "pre-screened" links on topics, with favourites of my network often providing rich pickings.

These days I move seamlessly between about 4 computers and Delicious is one of the tools that makes this possible.

Creating and Communicating Online (Module 6)

This Module suggested that we visit mindmapping and Glogster as tools that may assist in the process of creating and communicating online.

I have used Glogster in the classroom offered as an alternative to posters. It worked fine, but I believe that other Web2.0 tools offer richer learning experiences in the secondary school environment. I have also found that Glogster binds up websites when you embed the work. This is based on personal experience with a class Edmodo site and the post, where I embedded the work below only to find editing the post slow. I deleted the embed, finished my writing and then embedded (or at least I intend to) at the end. There is no denying that Glogster offers high potential for a rich creative session; however, I have found student engagement was not as high as with some other collaborative tools.

STUDENT SAMPLE





Mindmapping is a personal passion. My Delicious account needs some housekeeping but my links can be found here and here. The links point to a number of Web2.0 mindmapping tools and some ideas for their effective use in the classroom.

At present I have two preferred mindmapping tools: Mindmeister and Webspiration.

Mindmeister is a fabulous free web-based collaborative mind mapping tool for brainstorming and project management. A feature that I really like is that a whole class can simultaneously work on maps and see changes as they happen. It takes a bit if getting used to and I have experienced a few classroom management frustrations when first introducing classes; however, once up and running I this this as the tool of choice. My one hope is that one day system responsiveness may be upgraded.



The is no denying that Webspiration achieves their goal of combining the power of visual thinking and outlining to enhance thinking, learning and collaboration. Webspiration is an easier product to use. It is designed such that only one person can have editing rights at a time and so serves a different niche to Mindmeister.



To satisfy the course requirements, I worked with a group of students using Bubbl.us.  They enjoyed the experience; however, I will continue to use Mindmeister and Webspiration depending upon the nature of the class application.