In this module, I learnt about Wikis, the use of Nings and how to use Google sites. Wiki's are good for collaborating information and allowing users to share this information and add to the information. The video on planning a camping trip using a wiki was explained well and can be applied to nearly everything that you plan with a group. You can get people in your group to contribute and alter the document, so that everyone sees the same document. There are three main buttons that you need to know about. They are Edit, Save, Link. These will enable you to share with the rest of your group.
There are various ways you can create and join a wiki. The video lists three main websites that you can join to start a wiki. The websites are www.pbwiki.com, www.wikispaces.com and www.wetpaint.com
I explored 50 ways to tell a story and came across Voicethread. It was interesting to hear students and teachers around the world respond to a slide show about Brazil. There were students and teachers from Tokyo and U.S.A speaking. I had never come across Voicethread before. I can see how it can be used in learning about different countries. It is also good to hear voices from around the world respond to the same slide show. There was an option to add this wiki to my wiki, however, I don't think I will be using this application.
I looked at the use of Ning's and explored the Engish Ning website. It included forums for discussion and sharing with teachers. I thought that was a good resource for English teachers.
My Year 8 students make a digital media presentation on the topic Healthy Eating and Lifestyle using computer programs such as iMovie, iStop Motion and Garage Band, Photoshop, Prezi, Xtra Normal and Go Animate. Students share these in class by presenting their movies to the class via a computer connected to the screen. I would like to see students being able to access each others movies by setting up a wiki page where students can then see what others have done. Students will have to provide a url link to their digital media presentation. This could be done by using You Tube, allowing students to share their movie with the class.
I watched the video on Google sites and thought that I could use this in my class. Students already have a Google account in my school and they can create their own website and insert their digital media presentation on it.
The video that inspired me on Google sites was this one http://youtu.be/tkTGrOcFiz0
There was another video that showed me how to get started. This video was excellent and I think that this Web 2 course should put this video in for all teachers to view http://youtu.be/OwboHfaecbo
I started my own website to experiment and explore. I will be adding content to it. I was concerned that the webpage automatically defaulted to "share with the world". I immediately set out to find how to adjust the settings. I watched another You Tube video on how to adjust settings and also located the "site map" and "manage pages" section. This led me to "sharing and permissions" and I then clicked on share with those with a link. There were other settings such as "share with the world" and "private only".
I am looking forward to adding content and sharing this page with those with a link. I think once I learn how to use this I can then set up a class website for students to use with links and videos.
Students can also set up their own website and include videos and recipes in my food class.
I think it is necessary to check the privacy in sharing websites to the public. It is important that students share only to "those with a link". I investigated privacy issues with Google applications while researching how to do Google sites. I watched a video of a Google executive Eric Schmidt which was filmed in the Netherlands in March 2012. It was very interesting in what he had to say about privacy and having freedom on the internet to discuss and share your ideas. In some countries this is a problem and people have been persecuted for their views.
This module required reflection of the following question:
What role do you see for using Web 2.0 tools in your own life as a learner and a member of online communities?
The role that I see in using Web 2.0 in my life is to stay connected to people, current ideas, events and knowledge of the world as we know it in the 21st Century. Web 2.0 allows a multitude of applications that can be easily accessed via a click of a button if you have the technology of a computer, iPhone, iPad, Android mobile phone, Google mobile phone.
Web 2.0 gives people a voice, to be heard, to publish, to interact, to share, to collaborate with the world. It is however, for me as a life long learner that Web 2.0 is and will continue to evolve and Web 3.0 will be as yet unseen.
Web 2.0 enables anyone, anywhere, anytime to write and to share visual imagery, messages, videos ,virtual 3-D learning around the world. This makes the world a smaller place as you know from the famous song "it's a small world after all".
I do think that there are people that cannot be reached and that are left out of the social network and online communities as these people do not have access to the Internet, do not have skills in language and as a result do not have a voice or presence in Web 2.0. The plight of the poor, hungry, underpriviledged in countries other than those whose populations use the Internet and Web 2.0 tool. Their stories are told by those with a voice and Internet presence by digital media such as podcasts, vodcasts, You Tube videos.
The point I am making is that our interpretation of the lives of people (the poor, elderly, mentally ill, illiterate) that we think we may understand, may not be what they would write on Web 2.0.
Are persons who represent the needs of those who do not have access to the Internet and Web 2.0 truely representing these people? For example, a person making a video of the plight of poverty in India. Do the poor and poorest of poor have a voice, connectedness to the world? Do people understand the true needs of those who are disconnected from the Internet? There are people besides those who are poor, such as the sick, elderly and those with mental problems that cannot access the Internet. Are these people being left out? Are people who think they understand them by writing, blogging and capturing videos on these people giving us the real picture? Is it the voice of the poor or is it the voice of the person who can write using Web 2.0?
Are we only interpreting by our own world view what these people need? Do we truely understand the suffering or conditions of these people? These are philosophical questions that need to be thought about when reading the written work of those speaking out for others.
Computers are not new to me. It is unusual that in my generation that my father was a computer programmer. He had been in IT since 1961 and retired in 1992. My father worked for IBM and as a child I was exposed to main frame computers (when I visited IBM during open days) and computer speadsheets he took home for work. I never understood what his job was all about as a child and teenager. He was a computer programming analyst, later becoming a computer engineer.
I have had computers around my home since the 1980's but was not fortunate enough to have them at school for learning. In the 1980's there was a course when I was training to be a teacher on computers but it was an option and not many people took this subject.
I encountered the Apple Mac for the first time at work in Melbourne when I was teaching there and had to make borders for pages for an assignment for TAFE. There was one Mac at work and that was in the Art Department.
Fast forward to the 1990's and personal computing. I started connecting with others using programs such as chatting online to people overseas about a range of topics. It connected me with the rest of the world. I also could connect using real time instant messenger on the computer to talk to my brother overseas. I learnt how to use the Internet by a friend visiting me teaching me how to do it. I connected using a landline.
In the year 2000, I remember being able to read about the Y2K bug and was waiting for the world to collapse as the 1999 year was about to roll over to the 21st Century.
Instant messenger has now been replaced by Twitter. People can connect instantly using apps on their mobile phones such as WhatsApp and share text, photos and videos in real time.
I am fortunate as I have an interest and ability to stay connected using Web 2.0 tools as I have family and friends around the world. Web 2.0 is meaningful to me. It allows me to stay connected and also learn new programs. These are mainly introduced to me by friends or family.
I have learnt new programs from this Web 2.0 course at work and it has been good to explore and discover these new programs. I will be able to use these programs more as I get more familiar with how to use them.
I would like to be more involved in online communities connecting me with my subject matter such as Food Technology. I have used and found a very good website The British Nutrition Foundation. I have contributed to their resources. It is very good for food teachers. However, I am yet to find the equivalent in Australia. I have been using Web 2.0 resources from the teacher centre since 2004. There are tools for students to use to calculate recipes, to evaluate taste testing using Excel and to watch videos of techniques.
I enjoy using Web 2.0 tools and I can share these with my students. However, I believe that Web 2.0 tools and applications can be used to show understanding of my subject area. The subject that I teach, which is Food Technology and Hospitality has a practical component to it and students need to practice their skills. Web 2.0 can be used for students to present their work and connect with other students in my course by working on projects together.
Web 2.0 will evolve to something else and I will always want to be a part of learning new technologies. I feel fortunate to be able to do this course as I am a contract and casual teacher.
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