Week 3 Reflection

Online Spaces provide so many beneficial opportunities for students and teachers in their learning environments. So far through my university studies, I have enjoyed creating a couple of websites and blogs but these have not been of high technical standard using a resource such as this one, Blogger. Technology in the classroom has seen some vast changes over time and according to Krotoski (2011),  using what the web has to offer can connect students to the wider world as well as effectively working together. The use of Blogs as an online space provides many effective opportunities in learning for both teachers and students.

My first impressions of using Blogger through my Google account was that it was pretty simple and easy to navigate and following instructions in setting up and writing posts. I struggled to find the different ways of editing the site but after exploring a bit more, found ways to make it more personal and customise the space. It may sound a bit basic but from someone that struggles a little bit technically, it was an achievement. Customising meant adding a bit of a bio, different gadgets to add to its professional appearance, altering the layout and when I found the option to download and applied new themes, that is when you want to write and write! I also found that you could delve into the technical aspects of reading data of viewing blogs and where these views have come from. This got me thinking of what Geography assignments I could create with the purpose of students developing their own blogs, sending this out to selected audiences and using the viewing data to contribute to results. After exploring the opportunities that Blogger could offer a teacher and her students, I went out to explore that of Education Queensland’s online site, Learning Place as shared on Moodle (Moodle Content Week 3).

When first entering the Learning Place website, I was surprised to see how busy the welcome page appeared. 

Image Screenshot from: http://education.qld.gov.au/learningplace/

I clicked on all the links possible and realised this site was not one that I would be able to do much reflecting on for this reflection. I was pleased to see the online safety links that have been embedded throughout the home page. I moved on to navigating through the Edublogs online space. 

It was an easy process to set up an Edublogs account. In terms of technical aspects of education, it offers teachers the chance to set up a class and invite students, which they can look at each other's blogs and receive feedback through comments. Students can also add media to one folder on this site that can later be used to add to their own blogs. The settings in Edublog offer a lot of variety in adding media to a blog, setting up pages and posts. The type of media that can be shared includes YoutTube clips as well as other online resources such as images and audio files, other files can be added to the personal Edublog library including images, audio, and video. There are basic settings for the text, but it is easy to insert media from the web using a URL or just a link, it can also be added from what you have added to your library. 

Image Screenshot from: https://workthisout.edublogs.org/wp-admin/upload.php

Being able to multi-author on Edublogs depends on how it has been set up. If I create a class blog as a teacher, the settings I choose can determine this. The basic setting have good privacy settings but for protecting students, the best measure would be to upgrade to the Pro version. 

Image Screenshot from: https://workthisout.edublogs.org/wp-admin/admin.php?page=classes_settings

Image Screenshot from: https://workthisout.edublogs.org/wp-admin/admin.php?page=classes_settings

Image Screenshot from: https://workthisout.edublogs.org/wp-admin/admin.php?page=classes_settings

Customising an Edublog comes with many options including 415 themes which means an automatic layout with the custom theme but the option to change headings, fonts, colours, images, menus and widgets to compliment your writing. The Edublog site is overall easy to navigate, it automatically saves your work every few minutes and basic knowledge of operating a program such as Microsoft words would get students underway with creating their blogs. The only other thing I would mention is that comments can be monitored and viewing data can be interpreted. The following link will take you directly to the brief Edublog I created: http://workthisout.edublogs.org/2019/03/29/how-does-this-work/

To ensure the safe and ethical protocols using this site, I would incorporate two quick blogs at the start that remind students of their practices when using online spaces such as Edublog. I would need to consider the privacy of students and ensure that the privacy settings of the blogs are set up correctly. With respect to my students and their work, I would introduce a process of checking their blogs with them to make sure they are happy with it to publish it and share it with the class.

There are so many avenues to incorporate blogging into digital teaching pedagogies. As Geography is one of my main teaching areas, I am presented with an array of options to use Edublog. I would develop an assessment task that would require students to create their own blogs and become apart of the Class Blog. Over a certain period of time e.g. six weeks, students will need to conduct practical research tasks each week focusing on a different skill. Each week will have a new blog post. At the end of the six-week task, students will have another two weeks to bring together their practical skills to develop a report and presentation. There will be a variety of options that students can choose for presenting that will allow them to immerse themselves in their higher order thinking skills. This is due to the intellectual work and critical thinking that is required to justify their research results in a real-world context (Collins, 2014). For students to have the opportunity to participate in these learning pedagogies and expand their higher order thinking skills have the chance for increased achievement (Collins, 2014).


References

Collins, R. (2014). Skills for the 21st Century: teaching higher-order thinking. Curriculum and Leadership Journal, 12(14).

Education: the virtual world can help students and teachers. (2011, September). The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2011/sep/04/internet-education-facebook-schools