Final Post

Assessment 2

This certainly has been a huge learning journey for me. The technologies available to use in classrooms today are extraordinary to say the least. These technologies as Prensky, 2001 identifies, encourage learners of various learning styles and abilities to engage and learn with visual, audial, written and hands on applications suitable for all essential learning areas engaging them in technologies they are already proficient in using. These technologies can be integrated into all curriculum cores and continually adapted to cover subject context and knowledge by using; global connections, collaborative learning opportunities and stimulating applications. Using multimedia in the classrooms allows students to gain skills invaluable to their lifelong learning and effective participation in the digital world in which they live. Through the use of digital pedagogy students learn to access, manage, integrate and evaluate information, develop new understandings of prior knowledge and communicate with others. Interactive digital devices increases students’ knowledge and deepen knowledge through inquiry and interaction with peers locally and globally. It is great to know there is web based assistance for teachers. The learning Place, for instance, the Queensland Government learning space which assists teachers in creating lessons which provide teachers and students with a variety of choices to suit their learning purpose. This learning space is full of Learning Objects and resources enabling students to create, collaborate, communicate and provide innovative ideas for community building. TPACK is also a valuable teaching tool giving teachers a framework for technology integration informing us of learning design choices appropriate to content and selecting effective technologies to facilitate learning using comprehensive pedagogical design, (APENDIX 1). I can see that the implementation of technology in the classroom adopts the constructivist learning theory, Vygotsky 1962, with collaboration and social interaction digital technology encourages and scaffolding learning by collecting, justifying, elaborating and knowledge building. The Connectivism learning theory, Siemens 2005, is seen at work while students gather, expand and determine creditable and reliable external information to further their own knowledge and understanding of unit content. Further learning design choices can be made with the use of Blooms Taxonomy which helps us identify the level of thinking students will engage in leading them towards higher-order thinking and deeper comprehension of unit content.

One of the first learning tasks of the E-Learning module was the mobile phones wiki. This was designed around De Bono’s Six Thinking Hats and scaffolded learning by examining a range of perspectives on the use of mobile phones in the classroom, (APENDIX 2). This exercise involved social constructivism allowing us to work collaboratively to analyse other students’ knowledge and opinions, evaluate this information and make our own opinion. The wiki space allowed us to make a more informed opinion than the one we would have with the sole use our own knowledge.

Out of the first selection of tools I preferred the Digital Video, mainly because it incorporates the other two tools, images and audio. The digital video is already used for a range of learning applications in schools. It is commonly used as a communication tool, for observation and analysis and a reflection tool for students and teachers. I enjoyed experimenting with the Movie Maker software and can understand this tool having an endless list of ways to use in a classroom, (APENDIX 3).

In the second selection of technologies I felt the wiki space was a great way to engage students in an online environment which promotes their communication and creativity. I chose this over the blog site because of the use of more than one person editing and the collaboration skills it can help students gain. Through contributing to a wiki students gain skills in teamwork promoting a learning community that engages students in constructing knowledge and understanding, (APENDIX 4). Overall wikis are easy to learn and use and the wiki software keeps track of every edit made and it's a simple process to revert back to a previous version of an article.

The third selection of tools, I must say, was all very new to me. I did like the zooming content and structure of the Prezi software to be the most appealing and user friendly though. Prezi is the new power point. It is not linear like power point and allows the user to illustrate relationships of ideas and concepts to one another. This web-based software allowed me to create a canvas where I could incorporate text, images, videos and allowing me to choose a map to which my audience could follow my information and explore the relationship between the ideas by zooming in and out of it as they see fit, (APENDIX 5).

My final selection from the fourth set of digital tools was not easy to make. It was a huge range of tools but I ended up choosing the Museum Box digital tool. I liked the Museum Box straight away because it reminded me of the time capsules students at school have created at on stage. Museum Box is a tool for collecting, organizing, and sharing digital artifacts such as images, sounds, videos, links, and files around a common theme or topic. The "box" looks like a divided crate, containing eight six-sided "cubes" in each of three "layers." Each cube can be a different aspect of the main topic. The concept is based upon the work of Thomas Clarkson, an 18th century British objector. I found this tool user-friendly with its drag and drop and visual cues to guide you through the process.

The multimodal environments the classrooms have embraced for our technology savvy students are a sign of better learning and engagement among our 21st century audiences. Teachers have no choice but to acquire the appropriate skills and technical expertise to keep up and maintain learning environments where students are effectively taught skills and knowledge needed for their technical digital futures, (APENDIX 6). It is important to remember that while opening up an exciting and vast learning environment with the use of digital technologies is fun and engaging, it can also be dangerous. For this reason modelling correct copy write and Internet safety procedures is not only the responsible thing to do it is also an essential part of a teachers code of conduct and student safety, (APENDIX A & B).

Apendix

1.    1   http://shelljoylearning.blogspot.com > TPACK and the Digital Learning Design.

2.    2   http://shelljoylearning.blogspot.com > Reflection on mobile phone wiki

3.     3   http://shelljoylearning.blogspot.com > Group 1 Tools - Digital video

4.    4   http://shelljoylearning.blogspot.com > Group 2 Tools - Wikis

5.    5   http://shelljoylearning.blogspot.com > Group 3 Tools - Prezi
          6   http://shelljoylearning.blogspot.com >The nature of today's learners                  

A.  http://www.smartcopy.edu.au/scw/go/pid/944
B.  www.netalert.com.au/




Reference List

Central Queensland University. (2011). Moodle site.

De Bono, Edward (1985). Six Thinking Hats

Marc Prensky, On the Horizon (MCB University Press, Vol. 9 No. 5, October 2001)

Vygotsky, Lev Semenovich. 1962.Thought and language

Group 4 Tools

Animations and Simulations.

This group of tools are Web-based interactive resources. They should be used in conjunction with a larger learning context. They have an advantage over print based material when complex interaction and abstract concepts are being focused upon. They can offer virtual experiences for learning objects and concepts are too expensive or unavailable for use. Being Web-based allows students access to them in and out of the classroom. 

Online Learning Objects are resources designed with animation and simulation. Education Queensland has a growing number of Learning Objects at their Learning Place Web site. Technology Source Archives explains in more detail what Learning Objects are and how teachers are using them. 

Follow this link to learn more. http://technologysource.org/article/preparing_teachers_to_use_learning_objects/

Here are some examples of Learning Objects. You can tell by some of the titles why a simulation would be the best avenue for students for learning.

·         Crime Scene Investigation – http://smartmoves.questacon.edu.au/activities/qcsi.html

Crime Scene Investigation is a multi-player game developed by Questacon for secondary students. It creates awareness of innovation, technology and entrepreneurship amongst older students. Students can play by all visiting the same web page at the same time and play against each other.

·         Dissect a Frog – http://dissect.froguts.com/

Froguts is a subscriptive software that allows students to dissect a number of creatures without actually dealing with real dead animals. Teachers can decide to subscribe for class presentations or class interactive lessons.

·         ExploreLearning – http://www.explorelearning.com/index.cfm

The ExploreLearning web offers the world's largest library of interactive online simulations for math and science education in grades 3-12. The simulations are called Gizmos. Gizmos are fun, easy to use, and help students develop a deep understanding of challenging concepts of maths and science through inquiry and exploration.

·         Gapminder –  Gapminder is an interactive graphing tool that can be customised for a range of purposes. This is a video on how Gapminder can support thinking and reasoning.

 

·         Adobe Flash –  https://www.adobe.com/cfusion/tdrc/index.cfm?product=flash

Adobe Flash is a comprehensive tool that allows developers to build simulations and animations as well as interactive learning environments. Generally it is only for the more competent user. But Flash is also used in schools to create interactive animations. Kristine Kopelke has created a large number of very simple tutorials for school students to adults at her Flash Classroom site. Follow the link to learn more. http://www.flashclassroom.com/cms/flashclassroom/index.php

Google Earth

This is a fantastic resource for teachers. It fascinates students immediately when they can Google their own backyard. Students can explore other countries, specific streets and locations near and far. Visit this site to explore the range of classroom applications available with this resource. http://sitescontent.google.com/google-earth-for-educators/

Google Maps

Google Maps are similar to Google Earth but a Google Map can be embedded into a Blog or Wiki site. You can also create individualised maps and upload text and photos onto it. To learn more about making your own map follow this link. http://support.google.com/maps/bin/static.py?hl=en&topic=21676&guide=21670&page=guide.cs&from=21676&rd=2

Google Documents for Collaboration

This resource which allows collaboration and global input. With this tool a teacher can see whose working where and doing what. Students can ask questions and get immediate response and documents can be saved with everyone’s input recognised. The following URL will link you to further information on documents for collaboration.

http://www.google.com/educators/p_docs.html

Online Concept Mapping

Online concept mapping tools such as Bubbl.us and Text2Mindmap offers student tools to create and design concept maps online and save and upload them to their online page.

This is an example I created using the Text2Mindmap online tool.

Online Timelines

An online timeline allows you to do far more than just create a timeline of events. You can link video, audio, images and text. You can convert the timeline to a list, to a set of flip charts. You can zoom into a minute by minute timeline or spread over a centuries long timeline. The online tool, Dipity timeline can be used by students to create a specific timeline and can then be embedded into any web page. Follow the link here to create a timeline using the Dipity tool, http://www.dipity.com/

Zooburst

ZooBurst is a digital storytelling tool that is designed to let anyone easily create their own customized 3D pop-up books. This is a wonderful way to practice and teach writing as well and it is incredibly cool as well. All you need is a web cam to turn on the augmented reality features that are really awesome. Your own creations can be embedded.

Here is a YouTube on Zooburst

Museum Box

Museumbox allows you to place six-sided boxes into a display box. You can add different perspectives or artefacts to each face. It could be a video, a text description, a narrative, or an image. MuseumBox poses the question: "If you could put a number of items into a box that describes my life, what would I include?" This reminds me of the Time capsule concept, where students create a time capsule for students I future times to find and learn about them and their lives at that specific time and age.

MuseumBox is free and can be found at http://museumbox.e2bn.org/about/

Reference List.

Central Queensland University. (2011). Moodle site. Retrieved from http://moodle.cqu.edu.au/file.php/17114/Week_5.pdf
http://www.text2mindmap.com/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwE25dx2CaU

Group 3 Tools

Multimedia Resources for Presentation Purposes.

Multimedia is short for multiple media and simply means using technology to bring together words, photographs, sounds, animations and video. It is a very powerful way for students to learn and for teachers to reinforce and redesign core learning. Group 3 tools are used to present learning or information. They are capable of interactivity and multimodal sources. They may be viewed by person on stage, projected, transmitted, or played locally with a media player. Digital online multimedia may be downloaded or streamed. Streaming multimedia may be live or on-demand. Students can take their own photographs, videos, record their own voices and collect information from the internet to produce an educational and or entertaining multimedia presentation.







Power Point.

Power points are presentation tools which support oral presentation. It supports embedded audio so students can record their narration of the power point and listen and re-record their presentation prior to the presentation date. This alleviates nerves associated with oral presentations yet still allows development of spoken skills. Power points can be interactive by making drag and drop activities for students, create concept maps or to brainstorm ideas. Glenna Shaw has some great ideas at the following site to help make your power point powerful. PowerPoint Magic http://www.pptmagic.com/

Prezi. 
Prezi is presentation software that opens up a new world between whiteboards and slides. The zoomable canvas makes it fun to explore ideas and the connections between them. The result: visually captivating presentations that lead your audience down a path of discovery. Prezi allows students not just to present but also to justify, explain, illustrate and give examples of information they have collected so their thinking and reasoning can be followed throughout their learning journey. The following YouTube give further insight into this versatile presentation tool.

This is an amazing tool and it allows students to present their thinking in a topic as well as present information.This is a simple Prezi presentation I have created. To view Introduced? by Michelle Crompton click the link below:

http://prezi.com/u53mp-lddzzy/introduced/




Glogster.

A Glog is created using a very easy to understand, drag and drop border that is linked, enjoyable, and accessible for students of all ages and learning styles. A Glog is an interactive visual platform in which users create a “poster or web page” containing multimedia elements including: text, audio, video, images, graphics, drawings, and data. This tool allows students to present information in a poster format with multimedia technology. Once projects are complete, the teacher can share students’ work in a variety of educational settings. Glogs can be embedded in a blog, wiki, or web page or shared with others using Glogster EDU’s innovative presentation capabilities. Information on how to create a glog for classroom purposes can be found at this web site. http://edu.glogster.com/

Reference List.

Adam Somlai-Fischer, 2011, http://prezi.com/

Central Queensland University. (2011). Moodle site. Retrieved from http://moodle.cqu.edu.au/file.php/17114/Week_5.pdf

http://edu.glogster.com/

Group 2 Tools

Technologies.

Students today need to be media literate. They also need to competently used and create media with a combination of tools and content. This combination of tools is known as multimedia. Multimedia includes a combination of text, audio, still images, animation, video, or interactivity content forms. It is important that students learn to locate and use multimedia technology to create their own resources. Multimedia is a very important technical resource for the knowledge and application of online learning. Learners need to become competent in the use of image, video and audio media as they are applicable sources of information in the digital age. The core focus of these technologies should be as a whole to develop understanding and competent usage of multimedia rather than individual devices. 

Digital Images.

Digital images can be used in classrooms or online. Images can include your students, students working on something, of other people, the environment around the school or further afield and of students’ creations or academic achievements. Strict guidelines about of the use of student pictures in media presentations and online must be adhered to at all times. Images of students should not be used simply for decoration on a web site. Images can be used to engage students’ thinking, their knowledge and understanding of a topic or concept, to influence feelings, or to support the development of specific skills. Visually Interactive sites online use images for assessment, visual exploration and skill challenges. Using images as visual cues to gather different perceptions and collaborative critical thinking can encourage higher order thinking in classrooms. Having students create their own images for books read or constructed from start by the class can be creative and a good insight into what students are thinking and understanding. In class images can be used for projects such as timelines, reports and procedures. Images can be used as visual cues for special needs students as time cues for lesson change, type of lesson or size of play break. On line images can be used to share with students all over the world class projects from fundraising to environmental issues around the community. The possibilities are only as endless as your imagination.
It is important to resize photos before uploading. If you don't resize your photos you may have to wait for hours for the images to both upload and download. Here are some photos that I resized using the MobaPhoto software. They were taken on a resent trip to the Northern Territory. 

   

This is example of the simple collages you can create using Picnik.




Podcasts. 

Podcasting is the ability to create or listen to audio or video content either live or downloaded for later use. It’s similar to a wireless in that a broadcast consists of a series of individual items you can listen to on your computer. They can be created by the teacher to share with students or created by students themselves to share with each other. The audio recording can be done directly into the computer or can be created on a mobile device and embedded into the soundtrack of another technology later. The following link has all you need to know to get you podcasting. http://podcasting-in-education.wikispaces.com/ Podcasting is another technology students need to be able to use for effective communication in the 21^st century. Your core teaching focus should always be about the students becoming competent and creating their own podcasts for sharing. This can be in the form of peer training, simulated talk shows, directions for tour guides, voice overs for power-point presentations, or unit research with podcasts found on website. An increasing number of podcasts are available for students use from reliable organisations. Her is a list of just a few; 

ABC Podcasts and MP3s Most Radio National programs are available in podcast format ABC EdPod Education issues for educators and parents CSIRO Podcasts NASA Podcasts The Education Podcast Network EPN is an effort to bring together into one place, the wide range of podcast programming that may be helpful to teachers looking for content to teach with and about, and to explore issues of teaching and learning in the 21st century.

Here is a Podcast I have created using the PodOmatic web link from our moodle site.  http://michellejoycrom.podomatic.com

Digital video.

Kearney & Shuck, 2006, researched the use of digital video in schools and found that they were commonly used in communication as a tool to communicate messages, thoughts and ideas, in observation to enhance students’ analysis of experiments or performances and as a reflective tool to support students’ reflection of their own learning. Developmental outcomes directly linked to the production and collaboration of a digital video includes higher order thinking, communication and presentation skills and organisational and team-working skills. Like in many of the digital technologies students need to be aware of the legalities specific to parental permission of photo/video usage and create a task pertinent to the curriculum outcomes for that core subject unit. Windows Movie Maker is one of the common tools used to create digital videos in classrooms. Students can be encouraged to make simple productions from early ages and then continue to develop these skills into their later school years with individual or whole class productions. A common share tool for digital video is U-Tube. Video can also be streamed through vodcast to blog and other sites.


Below is a video I created with Movie Maker. Please watch and enjoy.

Reference List.

Central Queensland University. (2011). Moodle site.  http://moodle.cqu.edu.au/file.php/17114/Week_4.pdf

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multimedia
www.det.wa.edu.au/education/cmis/eval/curriculum/ict/podcasts/

Group 1 Tools

Online Spaces – Web 2.0

Web 2.0 or ‘read-write’ web sites are created by individuals or groups to share, publish, network, download and upload user-generated content. This content can be text, video audio, images, interactive animations and interactive forums, just to name a few.

The content of this blog will investigate three of the ‘read-write’ tools; Blogs, Wikis and Websites. Throughout the blog I will reflect on the pedagogical advantages of using these spaces in the classroom and analytically examine the potential of each in a teaching context.

Blogs.

Blogs were originally designed to use as personal journals, however the potential for their use in other mediums of communication, eg, exchange of ideas, discoveries and information in specific fields as well as an alternative to mainstream media publications, has seen this of online medium utilised and embraced for many other reasons. So let’s look specifically at the potential use and effective pedagogical teaching implications for this online tool.

Firstly, what is a blog?

Blogs are public web sites where the creator can post information on specific ideas thoughts of other material such as graphics or videos. Blogs can function as personal online journals or provide information, commentary or news on particular subjects. Blogs usually combine text, images and links to other online spaces of media related the blog content. Source: http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blog.

How can it be used in the classroom?

An important component of a blog is the interactive format where visitors to the online site can leave comments pertaining to the content of the blog. People from all over the world can respond by using the comment box at the bottom of the blog. This can be in the form of a question, to give you further information or just to say how they enjoyed reading and or learning from the blog. This interaction allows students the opportunity to exchange points of view on a global stage. Blogs created for the classroom can be used to place announcements for students or display work and information on current units or assignments to be used and added to collaboratively by students. They can be used as a learning journal by students and commented by for encouragement and guidance by the teacher.  Blogs can offer teachers and students a support tool to promote reflective thinking, a forum to analyses, exchange and extend knowledge and create a learning network which allows communication.

Core Principle of Blogging:

“We all have something interesting to say about our interests!” Alysha Dominic, 2008.

PMI analysis on blogs.

Pluses	Minuses	In Doubt
·         Worldwide Audience. ·         Knowledge Construction. ·         Enhanced reading skills. ·         Enhanced Critical Thinking skills. ·         Enhanced Writing skills. ·         Collaborative Learning. ·         Cooperative Learning.	·         Author only editing. ·         Web Copyright is traceable and different to Print Copyright. ·         Students can feel their work is constantly on display. ·         Student’s laptops and internet problems can interfere with learning.	·         Unknown Persons Interaction. ·         Students’ anonymity. ·         Demonstration of required learning not always specific.

Teaching Pedagogy and Blogging.

The exact potential for blogs in the classroom lies in the fact that they can be used to engage students in research, investigation and discussion, which in turn, encourages collaboration and peer interaction. The important feature of the blog, the comment box, provides opportunity for feedback, which in turn, supports learners in their struggle to make connections with prior knowledge and construction of new knowledge. Therefore blogs are used in pedagogical practice by: Constructing knowledge, reflective learning, enhancing writing skills and encouraging collaborative and cooperative learning. Social-constructivist pedagogy is evident in this form of online space as communications within the blog can be seen as on-line collaborative activities.

Below are some interesting web sites to assist in the implementation of blogging into all educational environments.

Teaching Every Student. http://teachingeverystudent.blogspot.com/

Making the curriculum accessible to all learners by providing opportunities for struggling learners to demonstrate what they know using principles of universal design, from Karen Janowski.

Free Resources from the Net for EVERY Learner. http://paulhami.edublogs.org/

Educational and Assistive Technology to support Universal Access and Universal Design for Learning from Paul Hamilton.

Teaching Learners with Multiple Special Needs. http://teachinglearnerswithmultipleneeds.blogspot.com/

Resources and ideas for teachers of learners with severe, profound, intensive, significant, complex or multiple special needs from Kate Ahern.

Reference list.

http://www.spectronicsinoz.com/blog/web-links/assistive-technology-blogs/

http://leadingout.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/classroom-blogging-handbookcopyright.pdf/

Central Queensland University. (2011). Moodle site. Retrieved from http://moodle.cqu.edu.au/file.php/17114/Week_3.pdf

Wikis.

What is a wiki?

Unlike a blog where only the creator can edit, a wiki is an online space where users and visitors can edit, amend, add, and delete information with in-built editing tools. It is a web site that lets anyone become a participant. It is an ongoing collaboration of sharing and creating a production of many. A famous wiki example is Wiki-pedia, the online encyclopedia which has millions of contributors and editors.

Where are they used?

Wikis are used by people in everyday life for collaborating on projects or sharing things online, eg, family information and photos, technical information for products from sellers and buyers, travel information, clubs and organisations and collaborative projects.

In Education.

Wikis are being used by teachers to follow up professional development programs, communication with parents and ongoing creations and collaboration of students. Students find wikis fun and very interactive. They are ideal for encouraging contribution, teamwork, collaboration and communication. They following web site has a huge collection of classroom ideas when it comes to wikis.

http://www.smartteaching.org  50 Ways to Use Wikis for a More Collaborative and Interactive Classroom.

In the article, “Within the Wiki: Best Practices for Educators”, Barbara Schroeder places the main educational value of wikis as a tool for fostering group collaboration. Schroeder also includes best practice suggestions when using a wiki in the classroom. They are as follows:

·         Creating a culture of trust

·         Educating students about and holding them accountable to wiki conventions

·         Creating a common goal for participation

·         Using the wiki for authentic activities

·         Providing guides for using the wiki

·         Communicating clear deadlines

·         Defining roles for collaboration

·         Clearly stating course expectations

·         Modeling collaborative activities

·         Remaining patient with students when they struggle with the technology

The most important thing in a wiki is trust!

Trust the people, trust the process, enable trust-building. Everyone controls and checks the content.

Wiki relies on the assumption that most readers have good intentions.

Digital Pedagogy?

Wikis are a remarkably valuable tool for getting students more involved in curriculum. The teacher must first consider the context of the learning to be achieved by the students in the wiki and scaffold it accordingly. The learning needs to be scaffolded as the wiki site is not an automotive support for learning but rather a tool to encourage different collaboration of perspectives and organisation of content to extend and refine knowledge.

SWOT analysis on wikis.

Strengths ·         Sharing of information, ideas, knowledge. ·         Great collaboration tool. ·         Easy to create an account and wiki site. ·         Promotes creativity. ·         Students get a sense of responsibility. ·         Online space for brainstorming.	Weaknesses ·         Difficult to authenticate the source and the qualifications of writers. ·         Can be time consuming for the teacher to set up.
Opportunities ·         Everybody can contribute. ·         Visitor interaction. ·         Global networking. ·         Includes multimedia tools. ·         Future classes expand the same wiki, creating a data base of information.	Threats ·         Any reader can edit it as they see fit. ·         Plagiarism and copyright issues, visitors can steal what you’ve created.

Below is a link that will help with ideas on how wikis can be used in the classroom and how to engage students in the collaboration process that wikis foster.

http://educationalwikis.wikispaces.com/Examples+of+educational+wikis

Useful ways to scaffold learning on wikis can be found at the following site.

http://www.globaleducation.edna.edu.au/globaled/go/pid/1825

Link to my wiki site!      

http://ourclass-spaceforsharing.wikispaces.com/

Reference list.

Schroeder, B. Within the Wiki: best practices for educators. http://kamccollum.wordpress.com/2008/09/17/educational-uses-of-wikis/

http://wiki.org

Central Queensland University. (2011). Moodle site. Retrieved from http://moodle.cqu.edu.au/file.php/17114/Week_3.pdf

Websites.

What are websites?

A Web site is a related collection of World Wide Web pages that includes a beginning page called a home page. An individual tells you how to get to their Web site by giving you the address of their home page. From the home page, you can get to all the other pages on their site. The difference between a website and a wiki is that the author is the only one that decides on the content and structure of the site. This means that nobody else is able to edit or add to the created website. Websites used and created in an educational context can be used to improve communication, increase collaboration, and promote active learning among students. The main difference and thing to remember in creating a website is that you're not creating the website for you. You're creating the site for your visitors, so it should contain the content worthy of reading/siting, and be organised in a way that makes sense and is easy to navigate around. 

Teachers need to be thorough in their evaluation of web sites because they will be passing on web site information to vulnerable young minds.  The following table identifies nine criteria to help educators distinguish between the informative, accurate, and well-designed educational web site and the uninformative, inaccurate, and poorly designed educational web site. 

NINE CRITERIA FOR EVALUATING EDUCATIONAL WEB SITES

1.       AUDIENCE ·         Clearly states the academic level of target audience. ·         Contains content and activities that match the academic level of the web site’s target audience. ·         Recognizes that students learn in different ways.

2.       CREDIBILITY ·         Author has appropriate credentials to author the content of the web site. ·         Author’s name, email/contact info, or address/phone number is provided. ·         The educational credentials or expertise of the author is stated on web site. ·         The web master/web designer is credible and provides contact information. ·         Author responds to queries about the web site’s content.

3.       ACCURACY ·         Web site should state the educational background of the author. ·         Web site should distinguish between the author of the content and the designer of the web site because lack of accurate information can be masked by the ‘print’ of an expert web designer or web master. ·         The web site’s information clearly matches the web site’s intended purpose. ·         Web site is free from grammatical and typographical errors.

4.       OBJECTIVITY ·         Content is free from commercial, political, gender, or racial bias. ·         The web site’s stated curricular goals, objectives, and motives should match its content. ·         If the content is based upon personal opinion, the author should make it known to the reader. ·         The content contains a neutral or positive tone. ·         Affiliations with other educational organizations/companies are stated. ·         Check the web site address or URL/domain to locate the organizational source of the web site.

5.       COVERAGE ·         The scope of information is stated. ·         Evaluated links complement the web site’s content. ·         The information is cited properly to allow access to a larger information base.

6.       CURRENCY ·         Web site clearly indicates the publishing date as well as when the content was last updated.

7.       AESTHETIC OR VISUAL APPEAL ·         The use of graphics and colors enhance the web site’s information. ·         There is a balance of text and graphics corresponding to the ability of the audience.

8.       NAVIGATION ·         Home page contains direct links to all other parts of the web site. ·         Useful content is no more than 3 clicks away from home page. ·         All links are kept current and active and the links take user to valid and appropriate content. ·         Each page or section on the web site is clearly labeled.

9.       ACCESSIBILITY ·         Any special software requirements to view web site’s content is stated clearly. ·         Web site has text-only option to accommodate visually impaired users. ·         Web site loading time is minimal/web designer informs the user of length of download time. ·         Access to content should be free ­ user should not have to pay a fee or provide personal information (name, e-mail address) to gain access to educational content.

Link to my website!  http://charactersforkids.weebly.com/

Below are links that you will find useful in planning website based lessons.

Websites for Educational Purposes. http://learningplace.com.au/deliver/content.asp?pid=38761

100 Helpful Websites for New Teachers http://www.teachingdegree.org/2009/06/21/100-helpful-websites-for-new-teachers/

Reference list.

Central Queensland University. (2011). Moodle site. Retrieved from http://moodle.cqu.edu.au/file.php/17114/Week_3.pdf

M, Aune, 2000. Web Site Evaluation. http://www.english.wayne.edu/~aune/web siteevaluation.html