Once again I am blogging about my thoughts on E - Learning specifically Websites and wikkis being used for educational purposes. Firstly Here is the link to my website.
This website that was designed was for a project that was done earlier this year. The idea was this website was going to be used as a call point for teachers, parents and students to have access to information on natural disasters. The site is quite extensive and had been a working progress for a couple of months. I found that the longer I used the site the more I was aware of its features and the easier i was able to manipulate the design of the site to my liking. In an educational setting which is what this website is for I found that it was a port of call for people wanting to find information on the local area and natural disasters in general. I added a blog feature that encouraged people to network with each other on the topic giving others useful information that they have found. there was also a page where there were external links to other websites that users may find useful. Another aspect that was added in was a teachers resource page and a Kids corner page both of these have been great to their respective audience with relevant resources being used. Knowing how to use a website can be key to its success or failure. Being able to interact with your intended audience is needed to get feedback and information to help make the site more useful and interesting.
Wikis used today are like data buffet. They are contributed by their audience and very interactive in many ways. In a classroom setting a wiki could be used throughout the whole school year by a class, thus learners having access to information and knowledge gained throughout the year. As well as being online which means having access where ever internet is avaible, learners are able to inteact with the site and infomation in the site more directly. allowing for self directed learning. Wiki would still need to be mointered though as some people may put misleading infomation on them. Overall websites and wikis would be one of the most common used online tools used in education weather it be a cooking class or a maths subject. the main point I think to come from this is the use of the sites. If you know how to use the site learners are better able to use the site to making learning gains.
Hi Kingsley,
ReplyDeleteI must agree with you when saying that "knowing how to use a website can be key to its success or failure". When I designed my own webquest for a year 3 class, I was extremely mindful of the way learners would respond to and interact with the information being presented. Although most children now days are familiar with technology and use it in their day to day life, what about those learners who do not have a computer, how are they going to respond to this way of learning? Will this type of learning therefore be a positive or negative for learners?