nex·us
A means of connection; a link or tie

(www.thefreedictionary.com)

The notion of connection is intrinsic to every aspect of humanity. So vital, in fact, that our very lives depend upon it as every breath, every thought and every action is preceded by millions of synapses connecting, transmitting and communicating important information.

This network of thought-and-action-determining connections don't stop inside the confines of skin and bone. In a mysterious way they link up to a greater network where, in some instances, our thought-processes are absorbed into the minds of others, while, in other instances, we take on the thoughts of others and somehow allow it to shape our own internal matrix.

This is the wonder of communication and learning.

With the advent of the internet, we've been provided with what could almost be described as a visual representation of the "human internet" - that macro-network where the ebb and flow of thought and action in society at large shapes the individual's downloads and uploads, learnings and expressions.

From an educator's perspective, that, of course, changes everything. Learners no longer have to rely on teachers to be their only source of "information downloads" , but can now access a world which offers thoughts, ideas and perspectives far beyond their own or even that of their teachers.
The role of the teacher is then to provide learners with opportunities to partake in this macro-network - to guide their "uploads and downloads" in ways that would best benefit their futures.

This blog investigates websites, applications and internet functions that can serve as powerful "connection-points", or tools for transfomative learning in the classroom.

Saturday, August 28, 2010

On weevils and weebly

image courtesy of Flickr, 2010 (C)
What you see above is a weevil. Or, someone's strange interpretation of one at least. Weevils are beetles.
What you see below is Weebly. It has absolutely nothing to do with weevils.


Hopefully, that link will have taken you a ridiculously easy-to-use web page designing/hosting website (incidentally called Weebly). This is a very practical and hands-on online application which can be utilised for as many purposes as you can think of. This versatile tool is especially handy from an educators point of view, since it will open up a number of possibilities for those smart enough to incorporate this into their curricula.

I created my own skeleton website through Weebly, and decided to use this as an opportunity to make an outline of the Big Six information and technology literacy model which I will use as an approach to this course's assessment tasks. Click here to view my website.

The list of advantages to Weebly would certainly not be a static one, but here's at least three convincing reasons why every teacher (who has the resources available) should utilise it:

  • A class webpage will keep students, parents, other teachers (and perhaps even curious children in China) informed of the learning journey that your class is undergoing. An uninterrupted flow of communication can be set up through a website like this, which will increase the learning manager's accountability to all stakeholders. A great example of this process in action could be found at www.juliethompson.com . On this teacher's page (not likely to have been designed through Weebly, but you get the idea), the following statement can be read:
    "Welcome to Mrs. Thompson's Technology Lab. Research has shown that learning at home is a critical key to student success in school. The student links in this site are provided for instructional purposes. It is my desire to help parents develop incentives and expertise by raising parent awareness of the curriculum and teaching/learning strategies."

  • It's so easy. Not even a dinosaur teacher is allowed to be excused from this e-tool, because it's likely that a year 3 or 4 student nearby would be able to help him/her set it up. And if you're really bad at making things look good, and you're one of those people who seem to have an affinity towards a pink, brown and lime colour combination, then the following two websites by Robyn Williams will very easily guide you towards visual emancipation:
Bad design features: www.ratz.com/featuresbad
Good design features:www.ratz.com/featuresgood

  • Weebly opens up the door to unlimited use of web-quests. On a side-note:
"A web-quest is an inquiry-based online learning activity. During this activity students work in groups, dividing assignments among each other, so that everyone participates in a group-assigned role. The objective of the activity is to promote 'transformative' learning outcomes, accomplished through the reading, analysis, and synthesis of Web-based information" (Wikipedia, 2010).

No longer do teachers need to pay subscription fees to web-quest servers which provide only half-relevant, feeble looking web-quests, but instead they can easily create class-specific websites that engage their learners, and make the use of ICT integral to learning.

One of the possible set-backs of this weblication (web application), is the fact that it would consume significant amounts of time and creativity if it is to be implemented with optimal success. Learning managers need to be careful of creating websites that are simply like "fill the blank" worksheets, and should therefore consider the challenge of creating websites which evoke complex reasoning skills, collaboration and life long learning.



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3 comments:

  1. SelinaAugust 28, 2010 at 11:27 PM

    I found that the lilnks to th good and bad design features website was very useful. Thank you. You have also presented a convincing arguement on why teachers should use websites to support learning.

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  2. HannahAugust 29, 2010 at 4:45 AM

    Creating a website is very time consuming and as teachers, there's not always heaps of time to be spending on things which are unnecessary. But you have shown the significance of creating and using these websites in the classroom to be effective. Teachers want to know that what they are using is worth their time and effort. The weevil was pretty cool aswell!

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  3. JACQUESAugust 29, 2010 at 7:21 PM

    Thanks Selina and Hannah. Now the challenge is for us to think of ways we can begin to incorporate this effectively.

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