Feed for content matching tag 'experience_sharing'

What tools should teachers use for creating materials?

marshal — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 12:23:45 GMT

This is a very open sort of question - but it's one that probably needs considering. Let's assume that there will be some digital assets produced by teachers - along the lines of the sort of stuff in the Times Ed swappy thing - will we be suggesting teachers get down with SCORM for maximum swappability (possibly a good idea also in case their own school changes it's VLE or they want to take stuff to their next school) but possibly restricted creativity, or should they stick to the proprietary tools provided with each VLE? OR, is there something missing from the toolbox that we need to provide?

Marshal

VLEs and 2010 Are we getting it right?

mikeslvcf — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 15:03:30 GMT

I have just had a student in my room in our InitialTeacherEducation establishment asking me about a VLE she has been asked to do some work for in a Primary consortium.

I was dismayed to see that the VLE organisation and structure had been designed from the point of view of the teachers. I can understand the need for the teachers being able to find things but the structure was very traditional in approach (something teachers would grasp at once but children would have little appreciation of). If Primary schools are to have these tools we must be careful about our pedagogy. How these tools bring the learner into contact with resources and activities is of vital importance if we are to harness creativity rather that squeeze it out of the children. (Robinson,2006 TED). As the Primary Strategy seemed to be an attempt to bring back the good part about working in a themed way across disciplines (OK - through topics) it may make sence to structure a VLE in that way rather than using the old Hierarchy of Maths English,Science then Humanities,and the Arts. We want children to find things quickly and intuitively or they will quickly lose interest. If they dont want to use the VLE because they dont understand the "way that grown ups think" they will not get used and we will be left with an expensive experiment. Becta has an excellent document on VLE design and its function we would do well to revisit it.

From the 'Digital Divide' to 'Digital Inequality'

Maximise — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 15:58:59 GMT

I refer to the now somwhat dated paper entitled From the 'Digital Divide' to 'Digital Inequality' published in 2001 by Paul DiMaggio and Eszter Hargittai - a paper that all educators should read, inwardly digest and grow thereby:

www.maximise-ict.co.uk/WP15_DiMaggioHargittai.pdf

As we consider Home Access to be resolving some of the issues related to 'the Digital Divide' writers have recognised that this is not just a matter of the 'haves' and the 'have-nots'. Perhaps we have dismissed this issue too simply in terms of 'the mentality of youth' versus 'the older generation'.

DiMaggio and Hargittai thought much more deeply than this and asked deeper questions about culture and social support. Perhaps, in my quest to explore how VLEs can impact on Teaching & Learning, it is time to understand more of the Digital Inequalities that remain hidden to most teachers and parents. It is not so much about having access but how we all use it.

Any links to modern case studies relating to the overcoming of Digital Inequalities would be appreciated.

Ray T

What benefits can learning platforms bring?

Andyt — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 11:16:25 GMT

Much discussion on learning platforms has focussed on technical issues or procurement that, whilst very important, can sometimes leave people more confused and disengaged from the process. In February a group a schools who have been using learning platforms for a little while came together to share the benefits for learning, teaching & management that they are getting from theis use of technology. A report of the outcomes from this event is available in the documents area.

The outcomes and benefits have not been verified or analysed in any great detail but it would be very useful to hear what community members have to say about the headlines. Questions that you may wish to consider could include:

Do you recognise some of theoutcomes and benefits?

Are you interested in knowing more?

Do the essential steps to success make sense?

If you attended the event you may wish to add to the conversation.

E-safety & filtering

lenand — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 10:03:39 GMT

We are piloting a VLE for vulnerable children, who may be excluded from school. The VLE is hosted externally and currently only available by the Internet. The children may come from any LA in the region and are expected to communicate to the VLE and other internet sites via home based broadband.

Is there any software that can be loaded onto a PC that can lock down a PC and route all internet traffic through LA filtering services (I know browsers can be configured to use proxies, but as far as I can see it could be overridden by a wise child)?
Is it possible to prevent the use of proxy by-pass sites?
I stumbled on http://www.filterguide.com/. Does anybody have good experience with any of these products?
We are also trialling the Securus e-safety monitor. It reports after the transgression. Could anybody who used this extensively give us the benefit of their experience?

We aren't looking on software as the total solution - it's just part of wider education in safe use if the Internet.

NetMedia's MyDesktop

Spadge — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 12:55:10 GMT

Hello everyone, this is my first ever posted thread so please be gentle with me!

My school has been offered NetMedia's MyDesktop from our LEA. So a group of us have been brought together to pilot the programme and see what we think of it. We are not yet at the stage of using it with our students, but hopefully by next week we will (on just one class each).

I was wondering if there was anyone out there who is currently using MyDesktop who could tell me your opinions, it's successes, it's short comings, and also if there is anyone out there who is having a huge amount of success with their VLE, which ever one it might be, could you tell me about that too. We really want to make an informed decision and don't just want to settle for one, when it might not be the best, or most user-friendly.

We have also looked at Frog and LP+, so if anyone has any valuable info on those, it would be very gratefully recieved!

I would much appreciate any responses at all, as this is something i feel we need to get right first time, so as not to put people off the idea of VLEs all together.

Thanks

Spadge

Effective use of learning platforms

Andyt — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 09:53:47 GMT

Quick ideas for getting started

Sylvia — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 14:21:17 GMT

If you are already using your learning platform, we would really like to know what persuaded you to take your first step and for what purpose you actually used the platform.

For example, was it using email to send and receive homework, ensuring that you would know that the homework had been received by your students and also that emails provide you with an easy way of checking who has actually completed and returned it?

Or something simpler like just using the shared staff area to read your daily notices?

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Implementation strategies

LibbyH — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 17:27:50 GMT

When it comes to implementing a learning platform, what one thing do you know now, that you wish you had known 12 months ago?