Flexible Learning at Victoria University Becomes Web2.0…
The Flexible Learning Unit, in the Staff College, are currently looking in the uses of blogs in education. As a way getting communities of practice together, ways that blogs can be used by students in TAFE and Higher Education.
As usual nothing is particularly easy, or straight forward so we are trying out several different Blogging Applications. This one is made through Edublog, which I’ve been using for a while.
The project is actually being managed by Antony Marsh, who is one of the guys who deals with online learning in the Flexible Learning Unit. If you want to be involved in any projects that are coming up to do with blogs drop him a line – he’s in the eguide.
This blog, or a blog like it will be a place where FLU can float ideas on elearning, technological advances, upcoming projects, and just general information and discussion.
The team will contribute to the Blog – hopefully the wider VU community will contribute.
David Cummings
(Head of FLU)
3 Comments
David – great to see open forums like this emerging, to further enhance the work taking place in the area of learning.
Gordon Thompson
(Web Editor, Marketing & Communications; Web Taskforce; Convenor, Web Futures Group)
I’m about to trial using blogs with my phd student and a couple of researchers around the place, trying to see if this is a good way to bounce ideas around. To me blogs seem superior to email for this kind of discussion as a blog is a kind of ‘place’ you got to for a specific reason. It is somewhat safer from the annoying distractions occur when you try to use email as a communications tool.
Let’s not restrict the discussion to Blogs – the ‘Social Software’ tools/virtual spaces we have available also include
Wikis – e.g. Wikispaces / PBWiki / Wetpaint
Social bookmarking / tagging – e.g. Delicious
Social Sharing – e.g. Flickr
Social Bookmarking – e.g. Delicious
Podcasts
Vodcasts – e.g. YouTube
MySpace
Second Life
For more info, see Anne Bartlett-Bragg’s illuminating Wiki at:
http://lt2006.wetpaint.com/page/Social+Software+Overview
But – perhaps the real question is not ‘which tools’ but one of appropriate use. Many of the social networking tools I have seen are just solutions in search of problems. Yes, they are shiny and seductive and oh-so-cool … but until we start thinking more about our course design processes and their underlying educational philosophies, the danger may be that these collaborative strategies will be forced into our courses merely because they are there. And that would be a shame, because their potential to transform the learning landscape is huge.