What are Blogs, Wikis, Vokis, RSS feeds and Hyperlinks?

Welcome to WEEK 4. This was the week that probably spun most of us out - especially me. I attempted to "help" myself, by organising my blog at least two weeks prior, however this was the week that we are required to make a professional posting. It has taken me a lot of time to acquire the skills needed to create my blog in the first place, let alone work out what to do with it! I have followed a few fellow classmates blogs, and am astounded at what they have been able to design. Blogs can be used as an online journal, creative writing, report writing, peer and teacher communication and interaction, and homework tasks. They can be viewed by other students, or on the web for the world to see. They can encourage online conversations and interest to be developed. As professional bodies, we can keep abreast with others who have similar interests. Teachers could get the URL address for students and check that work is being undertaken. Blogs also allow for engagement by both students and staff after hour,as it is available for use anytime, anywhere.

The world of new words such as" rss feed, wiki and hyperlink"have been discovered this week. I have found you tube to be great for demonstrating new ideas and incorporating items into my blog. At times, it has taken me quite a few hours to comprehend and then integrate these significant objects into a realistic notion. However one thing I have learnt about myself is that I am determined.This is not an endearing quality of mine, and in the past I I would often give up instead of persevering. I am still in the infant stages of my wiki, but I know what I want to include in it. In the initial stages, it will be a place for importing educational resources, either via the web or text, with the hope that it will be utilised at some stage. I also envision that I would involve students in the wiki. This may entail a question and answer section, a place to post new information that students may have found on the subject being discussed, and a way of students acquiring information about each other in an informal way.

In the classroom I would use a WIKI for pairs, groups and whole classes to work on a topic together.  Students would be motivated to work on a topic, when they feel it belongs to them as described in Mazlows hierarchy (Kunc,1992)  Students are able to design pages, add files, pictures and videos to their WIKI. The other advantage to a WIKI is that students can work on it after school and on weekends. They simply go to their wiki and contribute information, anytime. A WIKI can be viewed by anyone, so the donate aspect of learning engagement theory can be conceptualised.   Reports for outside organisations, information and resource sites that can be donated to the real world can be undertaken on a WIKI(Kearsley and Shneiderman, 1999) Year long projects, whole class pictures including artwork and examples can also be placed on a WIKI. As an end of year overview for parents, the WIKI could be used to demonstrate classroom achievements.

An activity that I have been doing with my own children this week, could be utilised in the classroom. A voki was used as a form of sentence building, structure and sight word involvement. First I asked my son ( in grade 2 ) to write down three sentences using his sight words. I then asked him if he would like to type the sentence in to the voki, or record it. He chose to type it ( which took some time, however he probably learnt a lot at the time also), and then took great pleasure in hearing the cartoon character repeat his sentence. Such a simple concept, but to see how engaged and excited he was, demonstrates the positive use of this object. This concept could also help children who have difficulty writing a sentence. When completed they could listen to the sentence and realise if it sounds correct or not. This use of technology incorporates both sight and sound in pedagogy which would assist a diverse range of learners. A voki could also be used by the learning manager as a " hook" to gain interest and engage students in a topic. The use of animation appeals to many students. Ultimately if students are engaged in the topic,  learning outcomes are more likely to be achieved. Students could use a voki if they are required to do a presentation for the class. It would also help students who are not confident to stand in front of the class, by providing a distraction. I guess the possibilities are endless.