Week 2

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 Using Wiki Spaces in the Classroom 

Using Wiki Spaces in the classroom is a great way to encourage participation, collaboration and interaction between students. This is achieved by enabling students to add their own thoughts, opinions or story lines to the wiki.  The wiki was used to gather thoughts and opinions about the use of mobile phones in the classroom.  It was effective in gathering a range of opinions on the given topic.  It was decided that small groups would add to one wiki, instead of the whole class adding to the one wiki.  When large numbers are using the one wiki a number of people may be editing at the same time, heightening the risk of work being lost. 
Wiki Spaces can be used in a variety of ways in the classroom such as: 

• A glossary
• Class encyclopedia
• Peer review/editing
• portfolios
• Vocab Lists
• Choose your own adventure story

 Overall Wiki's are a valuable digital resource that can be used in the classroom. 

Word art from http://www.tagxedo.com/app.html

De Bono's 6 Thinking Hats  

De Bono's 6 thinking hats were used to form the basis of the discussion around the topic of mobile phones in the classroom.  Hats are a useful metaphor to use with children, as hats can be easily taken off and put on, showing children that they can change the way the way they are thinking about a topic or situation. (De Bono for Schools, 2014) It also goes with the age old saying "put your thinking caps on". The 6 different coloured hats all represent a different type of thinking as can be seen in the mind map below. 

Connectivism

The use of Wiki's in the classroom is reflective of the Connectivism learning theory.  Over the past 20 years technology has altered the way we communicate, live and how we learn.  The connectivism learning theory is a theory for the digital age, and recognises that learning may reside in non-human appliances such as networks.  It also recognises that in this day and age, it is sometimes more important to know where to find the information, then actually know the information.  The following video demonstrates connectivism in a quirky and fun way. 

 

Working Legally, Safely and Ethically Online

It has been highlighted previously in this blog that schools and classrooms have changed significantly with the inclusion of technology. Students are now interacting with online learning platforms and social media both in class and at home. With this inclusion it is important that all students and staff are aware of the risks of working online, and ensure that students work legally, safely and ethically.  As with any behaviour, when the Learning Managers and other staff model the ethical safe and legal way to interact with online platforms, students are more likely to follow along with those behaviours.  
One large issue for myself as a future Learning Manager is following correct copyright laws.  Before reading this weeks learning materials, I was unaware of the 10% rule, meaning that you are unable to copy more then 10% of a publication for educational use. If I was to breach this rule, it would mean that I was not working legally or ethically online.  This shows the importance of being familiar with all legislation and following policies put in place by governments and Educational organizations, not just legislation and policy you think is important.  

The following video is an excellant resource to teach students about what they should be posting online and provides 5 questions children can ask them selves about their post. 

 

The following poster would be beneficial to have in classrooms around schools, and at home.

Image from: http://robertcatalano.com/think-before-you-post/   

As a future Learning Manager it is important to monitor sites that students may be using during class time.   Working online can risk exposure to materials that are

• pornographic
• offensive
• hateful
• violent
• sexually explicit 
• encourage activities that are dangerous or unlawful

Any websites that students need to access for a given activity must first be looked over by the Learning Manager to ensure that no inappropriate material is seen.

Cyber bullying is another issue when it comes to the use of technology in the classroom. Cyber bullying can be performed over many mediums such as email, text messaging, social media, and other online platforms such as wikis.  The following website offers some fabulous resources to help students understand what cyber bullying is, and when they may be a victim of it. stopcyberbullying.org

References 

Smart Teaching. (2008). Retrieved from http://www.smartteaching.org/blog/2008/08/50-ways-to-use-wikis-for-a-more-collaborative-and-interactive-classroom/ 

Connectivism. (2012) Retrieved from http://www.connectivism.ca/ 

 Catalano, R. (2014). Think Before You Post. Retrieved from http://robertcatalano.com/think-before-you-post/   

Critical and Creative Thinking Tools de Bono for Schools. (n.d.) Retrieved from http://www.debonoforschools.com/asp/six_hats.asp