The Use of Wikis

After last week’s lesson, I have realized that the wiki software could have the potential to support knowledge-building networks, and to be a useful tool in the shared repertoire of communities of practice engaged in collaborative learning. This can be seen in
existing wikis such as Wikipedia where a clear ‘etiquette’ or repertoire of practices has arisen and the wiki has become a functioning tool for a community, with members able to contribute to the knowledge of others.

Perhaps introducing students to an existing wiki as new members could enable them to learn from the practices of an existing community to appreciate the affordances of the wiki as a tool for collaborative practice in written content as well as in the negotiation of technical and design aspects. Equally, studying a wiki as a model of practice may also have opened up more options to these students. The teacher may also be able to play a role by modelling a collaborative process through participating in the students’ wikis as an equal, although more experienced, group member.

Wikis can be used as a tool for creating knowledge collaboratively. In the case study report “Using Wikis in Schools” by Lyndsay Grant, she discovered that there are areas such as the negotiation of online and offline space, performance and negotiation of identity in social software communities, development of multiliteracies and engagement in multimodal design that can be further developed. Wikis offers huge potential to learning both inside and outside the classroom. This kind of social software has the potential to support and structure communities where individuals come together to share, learn, create and collaborate with each other. The diversity of communities that can be formed through wikis and other forms of social software can be a source of creativity and inventiveness. Recognising contributors as individuals with unique experience and as members of a group allows for a personalised learning experience while also experiencing learning as part of a community through collaborating with others in shared activities. I will be very interested in using Wikis when I return to the classrooms in Singapore.

Digital Storytelling

I have found the following definition on Digital Storytelling by Daniel Meadows very clear and concise. He states that Digital Storytelling are “short, personal multimedia tales told from the heart.” The following web link reinforces this definition and you can get very good resources on Digital Storytelling from this website.

Educational uses of Digital Storytelling
http://www.coe.uh.edu/digital-storytelling/

Through this pedagogy of Digital Storytelling, I believe that the teacher needs to surrender a great deal of control during lesson time and this promotes student-centered teaching & learning which is essential in today’s context. In addition, part of what makes writing/storytelling/movie-making with technology so rewarding for students is that they are in the director's chair and hence, the ownership of learning lies in their hands.

Online Assessments

From the readings, there are many advantages & disadvantages about Online Assessments. I find it very compelling to use it because of its ease of automatic marking, ease of creating individualised tests & the immediate feedback given to students. The design of self assessment materials needs to take into account the diversity of the students' learning styles so that opportunities presented ensure maximum paricipation by them. In this way, it will help to identify both their level of understanding and those areas that they might need to concentrate on. Thus, we are helping their academic development and their self-esteem. It is important to know the ways in which the students will want to learn and our need to be flexible in accommodating their preferred learning strategies in the years to come. Below is a convenient online assessment tool recommended by Danam which I found very useful :

Formsite

Has anyone implemented a school-wide online assessment?

Storyboarding Multimedia

From the article “Storyboarding Multimedia” by Adrian Mallon, 1995, it states the importance of storyboarding in multimedia production in providing everyone with “a common point of reference, to verify and validate structural and content elements”. I can’t agree more with this as I’ve tried to storyboard the first part of my second assignment using mind/concept maps with the software Inspiration. This software is user-friendly, fun and puts your creativity into use. There are many schools using the kids version known as Kidspiration to engage the students in creating mind/concept maps for essay writing and reinforcement of Science concept skills. Please access the free 30-day trial of this software via the following link :

http://www.inspiration.com/

Did you find it useful? Are there any other methods in using this software in the teaching of other subjects?

As for the final part of the assignment in which we need to combine three different types of media into the Learning Object, the storyboard will be used to draft out what needs to be written, what types of graphics to be produced, how best to apply the transitions and other computer effects. I am eager to see how this present design tool can contribute to the many stages of the developmental process of my Learning Object.

The first part of my Learning Object.

Click on the link here to access my learning object.

Audioblogging & Podcasting in Education

The word "Podcasting" is derived from a combination of "iPod" & "broadcasting". Online audio programs such as talk shows or hosted music programs in digital format are downloaded for listening at any time. Podcasting also refers to the method of distributing multimedia files such as music videos or audio programs over the Internet through the use of RSS feeds. It is pertinent to note that a podcast can be created with any digital device and not necessarily with an ipod.
As for audioblogging, it is an extension of blogging where bloggers substitute the bulk of the text posts with voice recordings. In this way, audioblogs open up a new dimension to the blogging platform. For more information on Audioblogging & Podcasting in Education, please read the article I've posted. As for practical applications of blogs & podcasting in schools, you can refer to the link below to my school's website :-

Hougang Primary School