Final reflection post

I found the course to be a valuable introduction to a number of online teaching resources that are available. I think that to properly integrate what I have learnt into my interations with students will take some time. The sheer quantity of information and teaching resources means that I will need to become comfortable with one new resource at a time or I may loose track of what I need to be imparting to the students that I help. The best thing about the course is that I know more about what is posssible, to become confident and proficient will take practice.

Module 10

The Wikis instructional video got me thinking. I am involved with Duke of Ed at Hennessy College and this Wikis would be a great organisational tool for the kids to use. The beauty of Wikis is that they are a way of conducting a meeting that is accesible for all of the people concerned any time they want. In a busy school day it is rarely  possible to get a group of 30 or so students together at the one time to disscuss events that affect them all.  A Wiki can be used to give each and every student a say that in matters that concern them all. It also keeps members of a group informed about developments and plans. I will discuss the use of Wikis for our next  journey with the Duke of Ed coordinator.

Module 9

Scootle has a seemingly endless amount of material available that would be useful in helping students that require learning support. This is a valuable tool that I will definitely use. I signed up for twitter and have added a couple of organisations to follow. I may sign up for face book, just to keep an eye on what my own kids are up to.
I have signed for facebook since I orginally wrote this post and it has been a useful tool so that I can see what my children are posting for the world to see. Having a working knowledge of this social network gives me an ability to both police and advise my own children in it's use. Burying my head in the sand and hoping it will all go away is not a profitable solution to social networking problems. Our children will always gain more from informed advice rather than arbitrary rules formulated by uninformed people who 'don't understand'.
T have also found and used resources from Scootle with many of the students that I support, it has proved to be a valuable resource.

Module 8

I added "abc science news" to my feeds in google reader, this may provide some interesting reading matter. This looks like a good way to stay up to date with changing websites. I subscribe to a number of pocasts already and find it handy not having to check on the availability of new material.
Since I originally wrote this post I have been receiving regular updates from abc science and podcasts from UNE. The updates from abc science go largely unread, when I have the time to look at their website I do, otherwise it is a bit of a annoyance. On the other hand the podcast subscription is fantastic and saves me checking the UNE website everyday so that I don't miss important lectures.

Module 7

I can see that being able to access my bookmarks on any computer would be usefule. Anything that can reduce the time that I spend wading through useless websites is welcome. I have a number of sites that I have found very useful but am often unable to remember their address when not on my own computer. I think that receiving links from collegues could be very useful but there is a downside. I think that you could soon be in the position where you are flooded by links so that picking through them would become as time consuming as a standard search. I currently get more links to sites of possible interest than I have time to look at. For this reason I am unsure how much use I will get out of the delicious network.

Module 6

field 073, a photo by rob.cullen45 on Flickr.

I had some fun with this unit. I have recently returned from a residential at the University of New England where we went on a field trip. I forgot to take a camera but thanks to this technology I have a full record of the trip. One of the students set up an album on flickr so that we could all enjoy his handywork. His photography skills are much greater than mine so I npow have a superior record of the trip!
In a classroom setting it would be important to highlight the importance of intelectual ownership and copywrite when they are making use of this platform.

Module 5

I considered the three sections of module 5 to be widely varying in their usefulness in a classroom setting. The first section on 'bubbl.us' I found to be difficult to use and of little value. Mind maps have a place in the classroom, and as a useful study aid, but they are only useful if the material can be quickly transferred into the mapping format. Fiddling with settings on bubble shapes etc. does not help the process of extracting information from a students mind and setting it down in a format that is easily accessed. A whiteboard and a marker is a much better way to produce a mind map if one is needed.
The Glog system of forming online posters seemed to be a much better use of technology to me. Here the power of the internet is being used to produce something that can increase the learning of many students at once who can all have ownership of an online resource.
Presi strikes me as a great way to give students a powerpoint to go with a podcast. The whole lecture experience can be enjoyed more than once without the need for a sceduled face to face meeting. This gives the student the choice of when and where to absorb the teaching material. We are all different and have times when we are more or less receptive to new concepts. Evening learners can probably get more from an online lecture experience than the same material presented live in the morning!

Module four

I have had a lot to do with podcasts and vodcasts with distance education. The most useful things about these forms of media is their portabillity and their ease of access for students. Most students either own or have access to ipods or thier equivalent these days. They are also usually familiar with the requirements for downloading and moving files onto these portable devices. This enables them to study while on the move. I use my ipod to replay podcasts from university while I am excersising or mowing the lawn (we have four acres that is mowed). This is a godsend for time poor people or for students like me who need to listen to lectures a number of times for the concepts to sink in. U tube is another tool that I use frequently to watch demonstations of difficult concepts that are best understood using visual stimulus.
On the whole extreamly useful technology.

Module three

Google forms looks like a great way to obtain data that is already organised without laborious entry into a spreadsheet. I will have to send a answer form to my kids that is linked to a spreadsheet in google docs to see how well it all works. The ease with which data can be obtained  from a sample  space that suits your requirements makes google forms a great tool. A class may be sampled as easily as the whole school making for accurate and easy statistical analysis.