E.Portfolio's!

Well I set up Mahara today and wasn't that a drama. There's so many buttons everywhere that all do different things. I tried to get involved in the example videos but just ended up getting myself more lost :(
Engaging younger students in Mahara could be difficult. There isn't really much of a need for Prep students to use Mahara and would probably be more time consuming then anything.

Alternatively, Mahara could be used for high schoolers or late primary school students. By students creating a Mahara account, they could have individual pages for each subject they are involved in and even get started with setting up their resumes for future employers.

High school students would be classified as digital natives and by providing them with an authentic focus (Kearsley & Shneiderman, 1998) of how they can use Mahara for their future employers will engage students and increase student motivation and satisfaction.

PRO'S -

• Engages students with authentic focus
• Future employers can gain access to students e.Portfolio's
• Different views for everything you are involved in

CON'S -

• Difficult to get started on
• Time consuming
• Difficult to explain

USES IN THE CLASSROOM -

• High schoolers can create a view for each different subject
• Schools can use it as an online yearbook
• Use for assignments
• Use to show videos that have been prepared for students

Grace xx

Wiki's!

Wiki's can be a very useful tool for classrooms. By each students using a Wiki, other members of the class can access and comment other students work.
By setting up my Wiki, I was suprised at how easy it was. Being a digital native, using the internet is a pretty regular thing for me and it seems that it keeps getting easier.
Wiki's can incorporate photos, videos and can have many different pages and this can be achieved with the click of a few buttons.

Greg Kearsley and Ben Shniederman's engagement theory states that by emphazing team efforts that involve communication, planning, management and social skills, it increases the motivation of students to learn. Students can engage in collaborative activites and group project by using Wiki's and can access these inside and outside the classroom. Using Wiki's encourages group collaboration and students participating in communicating using these Wiki's.

My Wiki -
http://www.grace1991.wetpaint.com/

PRO'S -

• Everyone can post their thoughts and comments
• Parents can access these Wiki's communicate with teachers
• Wiki's record who has participated in discussions so teachers can monitor if students are collaborating

CON'S -

• Not everyone has the time to sit down create a Wiki and get stuck into it
• The quality of information accessible on Wiki's isn't always accurate eg. Wikipedia

USES IN THE CLASSROOM -

• Parent/Teacher comminication
• Planning class trips
• Videos can be shown to students using Wiki's, students can post useful classroom videos here

Grace xx

Blogs & Aggregators!

Blogging is a useful tool that can be used inside or outside the classroom. Because the internet is constantly available to students and parents,it provides an easily accessible tool for communication.

By teachers setting up a blog about the activites students are engaging in during classtime, parents can see how far their children are coming along and how to continue their development at home. According to Greg Kearsley and Ben Shneiderman, 'the web plays an important role in terms of aquiring information.'


Setting up an RSS Aggregator wasn't as hard as i thought it would be. Turns out by having a blog it would be all set up for me :)


The bonuses of having an RSS Aggregator means that stuff comes to you. There's no need to waste time hunting for information. Using an RSS Aggregator in a classroom provides teachers with the information they need and saves classtime searching for information.

The access of everything becomes so much clearer. If all students had blogs and posted their homework questions on there, it saves both time for themselves and you.

PROS -

• Use inside and outside the classroom
• Constantly accessible
• Visible to everyone

CONS -

• Not all students may have the internet
• Not everyone will feel comfortable having information on the internet

USES IN THE CLASSROOM -

• Students information will come straight to them
• Communication between students and teachers

Grace xx