Module 9

Scootle is a great resource and one I was already a bit familiar with. I had already searched for some resources for French and there are plenty of excellent ones there that look very suitable for using with my students. What I hadn't gotten around to doing before was creating a learning path for these resources. So, in completing this module I have now started to do that and I am excited about using them with my students this year and next year. What I also hadn't realised before was the part of Scootle that allows you to read comments of other teachers and share learning paths. This is the part of Scootle that seems to me to be most characteristic of Web2.0. It reminded me a bit of delicious in the way that you can view the learning paths of other teachers just as you could share the bookmarks of other delicious users. I'm pleased I have found out about this aspect of Scootle as I think it will be really helpful and save time.

In terms of social networking I am not really much involved in that at the moment. I am not on facebook, my space, twitter etc and at the moment have no desire to do so. These are not things I would consider using in the classroom but I could see their place as a way to collaborate with colleagues. I did find the list of Social Network Sites for Educators interesting. I was not aware so many of these sites existed for such a wide range of interests, from learning Spanish to using technology in the classroom. I can see how it would be beneficial to belong to one or some of these online groups and it would really connect you to a world-wide web of educators.The problem for me would be finding the time at the moment to really contribute to these sites but it is good to know they exist!

I did not think that much of Second Life and again, for the moment, it is not something I would use in the classroom. I have found many more useful tools through this Web2.0 course that I think are far more beneficial to the students and their learning. I did not find the Second Life website easy to navigate or to really understand how to engage in it. I was trying to enter some of the Paris spaces but could never seem to get anywhere. I am probably also a bit put off by media reports I have read in the past about how Second Life can be unsafe in terms of the people you can encounter in this virtual world. So for now, it is not a tool I will be investigating any further.

Overall, even though I am not that much engaged in social networking on the web, I do think it is an important part of Web2.0 and I will definately be using the social networking aspects of delicious and Scootle regularly.

Module 8

I am glad that through this module I have finally found out what an RSS feed is and how to use one. I had heard about them a bit over the last month or so and began to notice the link on some websites but, until now, never really knew their purpose. I can now see many benwfits in using RSS feeds and I have subscribed to a couple through google reader.

I can see how they are great for teachers as a way of saving time in searching for updates on websites regularly used. All the new information is now brought straight to you! I set up an RSS feed to the Edublogger, which is a site I discovered when trying to embed my Voki from Module 7 into my blog. It explained all the technical stuff in a fairly easy way to understand and I had noticed last week it had an RSS link. I have also set up a link with Grammar Girl - Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing. Grammar is an interest I have as a language teacher but it also makes me think that it would be great to encourage students to set up their own RSS feeds. It would allow students, especially seniors and / or younger independant learners, to take on responsibility for keeping up-to-date with the latest information and current events for whatever subjects they were studying - grammar and better writing being one example. It takes the learning straight to the student, again they can access learning anytime, anywhere. This seems to me to be another one of the great advantages of Web2.0. Until next time....

Module 7

I think this module came at a good time in terms of exploring and thinking more about the usefulness of online communities. I feel I have learnt quite a lot about Web 2.0 now but I have sort of been caught up in my own experience of it. So it has been good to read some other blogs of people doing the course and to see what they have found useful or how they might have already tried to use some of this technology. Being part of a wiki really does give you an insight into what being part of an online community can offer, in terms of being able to ask a question, get feedback on an issue etc.

I enjoyed the delicious bookmarking site and find it very useful both for organising my own bookmarks and discovering new ones. For me, the best thing about it is being able to add people to your network and check out their sites. I have already found a number of really interesting websites for French that I was not aware of before. It really is worldwide sharing and learning as I was looking at the bookmarks of users (other language teachers) from Spain and the UK. I also found out about a great application called voki (voki.com) which allows you to create speaking avatars. My kids (my own children) love it and I'm sure the students at school would love it too - even to use personally not necessarily as part of school. I have tried to embed one in my blog but so far have not succeeded. I will keep trying.

So, all in all, I really think being able to share information and resources online is perhaps one of the best things about Web2.0. It really opens you up to the ideas of so many others and allows you to share what you have found with others. I think this is what effective teaching and learning is all about.