LMS- Learning Management Systems

Hello Everyone,

During week three, I registered to make my own Learning Management System. Unfortunately, due to an excessive backlog I was unable to create my own system. Although, we are all frequent users of LMS systems like Moodle and Blackboard. I will in turn reflect on this tool from my own experience. As a learner using LMS I have mixed feelings about the tool.

I like being able to access information, resources, course guidelines at any time of the night and day. The organization of Moodle is easy to navigate and locating resources is quite easy. It is also great to be able to contribute and discuss concerns with my peers and lecturers in forums. However, I really do think the on-campus lectures compliment this Learning Management System and I would feel totally overwhelmed if I was a FLEX student and only had Moodle as my learning tool. This could come down to my auditory and social learning preferences. I would be interested to know if anyone would prefer to just use the Moodle system.

When I consider my own feelings about the LMS, I’m not sure if I would use it as a major teaching tool in my classroom. This system can be quite daunting for the students and therefore I believe focused scaffolding would be essential when implementing this tool in the primary classroom context. Learning Managements Systems can be incorporated in the classroom context through virtual classrooms or Blackboard systems developed by Queensland Education’s Learning Place. I have conducted a brief SWOT analysis to evaluate the effectiveness of LMS in the classroom.

Strengths
- Organised structure within the system
- Access available 24/7 for teachers, students and parents
- Time efficiency as tasks can be accessed at home
- Online quizzes can be incorporated in system to monitor learning process
- Communication and reminders through announcements
- Collaborative learning through discussion forums
- Encourages independent learning
- Provide students with a range of resources they wouldn’t normally access
- Password protected system

Weaknesses
-Pressure on students to monitor learning and pace themselves
-Minimal personal contact and thus students cannot instantly ask for help and get an answer
-Does not cater for the auditory or social learners
-Overwhelming and could deter some students engagement with topic

Opportunities
-Parent involvement increased and thus multiple perspectives included in classroom
-Extension resources can be included for advanced students to access
-Monitor students’ engagement with task materials and conduct formative quizzes
-Safety of computer screen allows shy, quiet students to voice their opinions
-Exposure to new technologies

Threats
-Computer access at home might pose problems
-Discussion boards could open opportunities for online bullying and thus expectations must be clearly outlined prior to implementation of system
-Independent learning could cause a large gap between members of the class with students being at different task completion levels.

Let me know how you feel about this system and if you think it is restricted to a certain age group.

Cheers Pauline

RSS READER

Hi Followers,

I have recently set up my own RSS reader through my Google account. By setting up this tool I am able to manage my favourite sites and the blogs that I follow through the one easy access location. This has made life a lot easier and saved time as I don’t have to navigate around the web to multiple sites.

RSS stands for "Really Simple Syndication". This definition reflects the tool as it is a simple way to easily access a list of headlines, updated notices, and sometimes content at one location. Therefore websites whose content changes on unpredictable schedules can now be continuously monitored. The notifications through RSS reader are organized according to the latest feeds and are presented in an easy to follow format.

Most websites have RSS feeds and are represented by a little orange icon, once you know the URL of an RSS feed, you can provide that address to an RSS reader program and it will monitor the feed for you.

Some common uses for RSS readers are:
-Notification of the arrival of new products in a store online
-Listing and notifying you of newsletter issues, including email newsletters
-Weather, news and other alerts of changing conditions
-Notification of additions of new items to a database, or new members to a group
-Blog updates

Some Possible uses for the learning manager could include:
· Monitoring of students’ blogs, forums, and wikis
· Keeping to update with the fellow colleagues’ and professional experts’ opinions
· Staying informed about the latest technology and educational tools on the market
· Sharing global news notifications with the class and ensuring globally aware citizens are developed

I believe the key benefit of RSS reader is that it reduces time by managing a large amount of websites. With the speed of today’s society, time is of essence to all of us. I am grateful to have discovered this new tool and believe it will be a great advantage in my future classroom.

Regards Pauline

Web logging- Discovering More Potential

Hi Everyone,

I know I have already commented about blogs as a tool in the classroom. However as I get more familiar with this tool, I am discovering more benefits of its use. I have now realized that blogging is not just about journal entries and it can really encourage students to learn together and help one another out. Therefore this tool caters for different ability levels as it gives struggling students the opportunity to ask for help and encourages peer tutoring. For instance, one of our peers Anna was having difficulty with converting documents to picture files and in an attempt to help I offered her my strategy. This discussion can be viewed here. Let me know if you agree with this great benefit of web-logging.
Cheers Pauline

PowerPoint in the classroom

Hi Everyone,

I can remember PowerPoint being a vital tool used in the classroom when I was a little girl and still believe it has a place in our classrooms today. Although I have used PowerPoint before, I found the PowerPoint tutorials offered in week three of Managing E-learning very helpful as I was introduced to some new and easier techniques of using PowerPoint. The first step during the scaffolding process was to create an organizational chart in word to map the plan of the presentation. I had never done this before but in reflection believe it is a very important step and I will encourage my future students to do the same. The next step of the scaffolding tutorial was to design the outline of the presentation in a word document and send it to PowerPoint. Once again I had never done this before and can recognize the benefits of this scaffolding process. By approaching PowerPoint through this scaffolded design approach, one will reduce the risk of overemphasizing gadgets and keep the focus on the target content. I have identified some positives and negatives of the PowerPoint tool.

Positives
1. PowerPoint is fun to watch and fun to make.
2. Used correctly, PowerPoint can accommodate all learners' needs.
3. It has a spell-check function and can be edited
4. It motivates students when used in moderation.
5. It motivates staff.
6. PowerPoint allows you to reflect on your lesson and correct any needed changes.
7. PowerPoint can be accessed and reused at a later date to revise concepts.
8. You can print out what you did in class for students that were absent. Or one could turn the accountability on to students and post presentations on-line.
9. PowerPoint is not hard to learn and there is a help tab available on the tool.

Negatives
1. Content can sometimes take a back seat to gadgets and “tricks”.
2. Computers crash, networks go down, viruses can plague computers and a back-up plan is needed.
3. Overuse can diminish PowerPoint's effectiveness and become boring for students.
4. Classrooms need large monitors or projectors to display presentations.

Overall PowerPoint is a wonderful tool and for learning in both a student and teacher-directed situation, as it can add a new dimension to learning. It allows teachers to explain abstract concepts, while accommodating all learning styles. PowerPoint is also an achievable task for children to produce to demonstrate their understanding of the topic. As future learning managers we must just be aware of PowerPoint Paralysis. Triple "P" can be defined as the over use of gadgets and effects that prolong the PowerPoint experience and as a result distract the learners from the key concept being taught.

Nevertheless there is great potential for PowerPoint in the classroom such as:
- general overviews of the topic avoids note taking
- lively games/ quizzes for students (like million dollar question)
- Interesting visual aids for oral presentations

This list could go on. I recently used PowerPoint to design a Deal or No Deal game for a subtraction lesson with my students. The students were engaged by the different medium and seemed to enjoy the game. This just goes to show by using a PowerPoint correctly one can make a somewhat dry and mundane topic engaging for the students. Let me know what you think about PowerPoint and what examples you have seen in the classroom contexts.

Regards Pauline.

Prezi- The Zooming Presentation Editor

Hi All,

When I first watched the instructional video on Prezi, I thought it would be an amazing tool for the classroom as it was quite different and engaging compared to the normal presentation ideas of PowerPoint or posters. After attempting to make a Prezi, I am not as enthusiastic about the tool. I found the task quite difficult, time consuming and frustrating. These negatives make me hesitant to use this tool in the classroom context.

Nevertheless I have discussed some more positives, negatives and possible usages of this tool with Kelly Blood. You can access this discussion here.
My Prezi is designed around the priorities in my life and can be viewed here.

Cheers Pauline.

Weebly

Hi All,

I somehow managed to work my way around the Weebly tool to design my own website. You can my view my website by clicking here. Overall I found this task quite easy to complete as the clear tabs and available help icon scaffolded the design process. Personally I believe this technological tool provides two major benefits for the classroom. Weebly can be used to scaffold the learning journey and engage student in a designed WebQuest/ inquiry task or it can simply be an engaging assessment task to escape the overused poster or PowerPoint assessment tasks. I have identified some pros and cons of these two situations.

Using Weebly as an engaging assessment task for students
(E.g. presentation of Australian Parliament and its functions in a creative website.)

Advantages
-Engaging and authentic task for students incorporating web design into other KLAs
-Ownership and responsibility for work as it is published on the wide web
-Easy functions for students to manipulate
-Promotes creativity
-Encourages thorough understanding of target content because students need to explain their understanding to others.
-Gives scope for collaboration with peers depending on the size of the task
-Could be used as an extension task for student as oppose to the ordinary PowerPoint or poster tasks
-Students and caregivers can access websites from home.

Disadvantages
-Students with minimal exposure to technology will need extra support and computer labs made available
-Students might lose focus on content and target editing functions of the website
-School computer labs are high in demand and this might hinder the completion of the task
-Parents might become too heavily involved in the construction process and thus task will not present child’s ability levels
-Unlike the features of a wiki, only the designers can add comments and information to the website.

Using Weebly to design inquiry website for students.
(e.g. WebQuest exploring the causes and effects of global warming)

Advantages
-Engaging and authentic task for students as they access a variety of mediums
-Step by step scaffolding of the task requirements
-Easy functions for students to manipulate
-Promotes exploration of resources students wouldn’t normally access
-Hands-on approach to learning the content
-Gives scope for collaboration with peers depending on the size of the task
-Can incorporate different tasks and extension tasks for students depending on their ability level (e.g. provide extra reading resources for higher ability students)
-Can include online educational games to add variety to the learning journey
-Students and caregivers can access websites from home.

Disadvantages
-Students with minimal exposure to technology will need extra support and computer labs made available
-Students might lose focus on content and become distracted with the game component of the task
-School computer labs are high in demand and this might hinder the completion of the task
-Parents might become too heavily involved in the inquiry and thus task will not present child’s ability levels
-Unlike the features of a wiki, only the designers can add comments and information to the website.

I have further reflected on this Weebly tool as an inquiry website for students and believe that it correlates with the Big 6 Framework designed by Eisenberg and Berkowitz. This is evident as learning manager can utilize this framework during the design of the class website to ensure the 6 key stages are included and thus the learning journey will be adequately scaffolded for students. I had a more in depth discussion with Jasmine Camps about this connection and I also related websites and the Big 6 Framework to the TELSTAR model of inquiry. You can view this discussion here.

Let me know what your thoughts are on this connection.
Regards
Pauline

Wikis and Engagement Theory

Hi everyone,

Well this week I tried to generate my own wiki and it was quite an experience. I was quite overwhelmed at first as there seemed to be so many tabs and editing options. But once I got in and gave it a go, I realized it was a fairly simple process. My wiki is called Embracing Technology in Schools and can be accessed here.

After reading the 50 ways to use a wiki website, I realized that there is so much potential in this technological tool. The website highlights that wikis can help students become more involved in the curriculum. Wikis can be used in the classroom for a number of purposes. For instance;
· Resource Creation (I particularly like the idea of a solving wiki that promotes collaboration on maths problems.)
· Student Participation (Peer feedback and peer editing of spelling, grammar and structure is quite an effective method to promote the use of these literacy skills.)
· Group Project ( Great for group organization and development of ideas)
· Student Interaction (I particularly like the idea of using a wiki to create a class short story.)
· Class Management (I like the idea of the class calendar as it keeps everyone on track and allows students to add anything they find significant to the yearly calendar).
· Community (The international sharing idea is fantastic as it promotes global interaction and gives students realistic learning opportunities.)

I conducted a brief PMI analysis of the wiki tool to evaluate its effectiveness in the classroom. Please don’t hesitate to add if you have any further observations.

Positives
-Promotes collaborative learning
-Allows for peer review and feedback
-Authentic tasks for students
-Gives students ownership and responsibility for their work as it is published on the web.
-Introduces students to a global audience
-Parents and caregivers can access it from home

Minus
-Task may hinder less technologically literate students and may be resistant to get involved (Appropriate scaffolding and mixed ability groups would be advisable)
-Inappropriate feedback could break students confidence ( Clear expectations and monitoring of feedback required)
-Time wasted on editing functions which in turn hinders the content collected and produced. (Scaffolding of tasks and time management plan required).

Interesting
-I particularly liked the “History” tab on the wiki because it allows the teacher to review the adjustments and steps taken to create the end product.
-I would never have considered using a wiki as a class management tool and think it is brilliant.

Overall I believe wikis are a great tool for the classroom and reflect Kearsley and Shneiderman’s Engagement Theory. The engagement theory promotes collaborative teamwork on ambitious projects that are meaningful outside of the classroom context. Wikis clearly address the three components within the engagement theory as this tool creates learning activities that occur in a group context, are project based and have an authentic (outside) focus. (Kearsley & Shneiderman, 1999, p.1).

Let me know what you think about the wiki tool.

Cheers Pauline

Bubbl.us- Online Brainstorm

Today I completed my own concept map using the online website Bubbl.us to brainstorm my understanding from topic one of Managing E-Learning. I thoroughly recommend the use of this technology and can visualize its incredible advantages in the classroom. The software is extremely user friendly and adjustments can be made easily throughout the map development process. This brainstorming task can be conducted individually, in small groups or as a whole class activity.

By using this technology students can;
· Create colourful concept maps online
· Share and work with peers when creating concept maps
· Email, print and save their concept map for future reference.
Technology like Bubbl.us provides opportunity for students to summarize, identify patterns and create graphic organizers of key concepts. According to Dimension two, the use of graphic organizers is an effective strategy in organizing declarative knowledge. Overall students will highly benefit from this experience as it encourages reflection on the learning, offers variety in the lesson, provides for visual learners and gives students clear notes to refer back to. The teacher will of course have to monitor the development of these concept maps to ensure no incorrect connections are made. I highly recommend this tool; let me know what you think as I struggled to find any disadvantages.

Web Logging

After reading Marc Prensky (2001) Digital Natives Digital Immigrants article I can openly class myself as a “Digital Immigrant”. I use the internet, texting, mobile phones and digital music players everyday, although I still carry the “accent” of a Digital Immigrant as I prefer print form over the computer screen and struggle to keep up with the technological ‘lingo’ and abbreviations. Having said that, I agree with Prensky and do not want to allow my outdated and pre-digital age experience to limit the education of my “Digital Native” students. Therefore I do not expect my students to ‘power down’ when they enter my future classroom, rather I will ‘power up’ as I intend not only to learn new things but learn new ways to do old things.

My aim to ‘power up’ my skills is evident with my enthusiasm to the new tool of blogging. After setting up my own blog and reviewing some of my peers’ blogs, I believe web logging offers a plethora of opportunities within the classroom. Firstly it motivates students to become actively involved in discussion as they exchange their point of view with their peers and the rest of the world. This in turn creates a sense of responsibility for the students and makes them more conscious and dedicated to creating a thorough response. Blogging also allows students to engage with content in the real world context as they can interact from the comfort of their own home and communicate with the rest of the world not just people in their immediate environment. The comments and interaction between blogs allow students to identify what others think of their responses and give them the opportunity to receive and provide feedback.

There are clearly multiple benefits in using Blogs; however there are also some issues that concern me. I am curious if including blogging restricts some students’ involvement in the classroom as they may have limited access to computers and internet at home due to finance and so forth. I am also interested in what age group will benefit from this technological tool and if it is restricted to older children. Another factor of interest is whether the comments and peer feedback may have a detrimental impact on students’ confidence as some students are sensitive to criticism.
Just a few thoughts for now and I look forward to hearing what you think.