Communication Tools and Web 2.0 Resources

Jack Emeleusjack.emeleus@jcu.edu.au

• Websites (HTML)• Wiki websites • Bulletin Boards• Email (including Lists)• Chat• Video Chat• VOIP – Skype etc• SMS • Syndication – Blogs, Pod & Vod Cast• Other tools – mySpace, YouTube, Facebook

Net Communication Tools

Some considerations for choosing or evaluating an ICT for the classroom

Is the ICT worth it?Motivation (Malone)

– Are ICTs still motivational as for Malone in the early 80s?

– The best inventions are often new applications of existing technologies

– Expanding the use of an ICT tool beyond the narrow extrinsically motivated focus of a child

Is the ICT worth it?Theoretical paradigm (SC/CC?)

Literacy aspectsIs a blog what you think it is?

Does RSS mean Really Simple Syndication or Rich Site Summary?

Can I use FTP to cook eggs?

Will a Wiki bring good luck?

Is an iPod a bit like a pea pod? What is a pea pod anyway?

Is the ICT worth it?Frameworks

Productive Pedagogies

EYCG

……

Is the ICT worth it?• Will it make teaching easier?

– A legitimate question that teachers might be embarrassed to ask

– Sharing resources with other teachers– Reducing administration

• Will I need support to implement it?

• Can I get the support if required?

What are the risks?• Nature of iCt is that new channels of

communication are open

• Are the risks going to land you in trouble? (EPPR)

• Are the risks justifiable?

• Confer with a higher authority…

Other Considerations• Cost

• Equity – a whole lecture for this one!

• Potential long term benefits

• Innovations $$ (normally overlooked)

• Your own professional development

If in doubt….always give it a try!

Which CT are we talking about?

The Web………………….……….Web 2.0

Websites (CMS and Static)• For teachers or students• Can be great information sources• If you are using someone else’s there

is usually no cost – but also less motivation (teachers AND students)

• Generally difficult to use as ‘almost live’ communication tools

• Great for keeping a big community up-to-date (eg www.smithfieldshs.com.au )

Websites - Static

Web Server

.html, .jpg, .gif files etc stored

on server

Final rendered file in Browser

window

Request to view website

User

Delivers HTML / images

Costs: Server hosting, Domain Name (base of the URL)

Benefits of static: cheap, simple (in server terms), quick from server

Cons of static: hard to maintain, can’t give multiple admins, need continual FTP access to update and build

Websites - Dynamic (data driven)

Costs: Server hosting incl. database, domain Name (base of the URL)

Benefits of Dynamic: easy to update, separates content and formatting, decentralised management is an option, lots of pre-built packages, no need for Dreamweaver etc

Cons of Dynamic: higher cost, initial set-up can be tricky, ongoing support?

Web Server

.asp/php, .jpg, .gif

files etc stored on server Final rendered

file in Browser window

Request to view website

User

Delivers HTML file

Database Server

Render HTML

Websites (CMS and Static)• Use your own and you’ll need to

– Build – Maintain– Write / edit copy

• How do you give kids pages• How do you maintain consistency,

security, privacy,….

Wiki Websites (the post-it note of the web)

• A completely different paradigm• Content over formatting• Requires some level of trust• Needs daily supervision• Wonderful medium for instant

publications, journals, full class shared projects…

• What would you use it for? http://ed4492.awardspace.com/wiki

Bulletin Boards / Forums• Announcements page on LearnJCU• Strictly controlled by the administrator• BB is One-way communication, Forum is

two way• Excellent for senior schooling and VocEd

situations where forms and messages from the convenor are a regular thing

• Blurred boundary – BB, Blog & Forumhttp://ed4492.awardspace.com/forum

Email• Every child in an EQ or CES school

has an email address. Probably every child in QLD

• Who doesn’t have one?• Uses: asynchronous communication with..

– Parents – individual and class lists– Students – individual and class groups– Staff– Professionals in fields– List Servs (see text) how to find a good onehttp://www.lists.edna.edu.au/

Email• Why use email in a class situation?

– Archive all communications– Low-pressure literacy (not as formal as a

letter, but still use a spell check!)– Submission of written work– Flattens the hierarchy (access to the top)

• Consider: changing nature of student/teacher relationshiphttp://www.firstmonday.org/issues/issue9_1/huffaker/index.html

• Example – draft discourse

Chat• Synchronous communication• Grammatical correctness v expression• Global / Local / In class• Management Issues:

– Security / Safety – Time management (or lack of)

• One-One or Many-Many• Low tech requirements

Video Chat / Video Conferencing

• Synchronous communication• Verbal, but with textual back-up• Global / Local / In class• Virtual classrooms• Hardware requirements

– Mic / Speakers / Camera– Bandwidth on connection

• Other uses – web cams – monitoring projects with time lapse.

VOIP• Why use a free phone…

– Virtual classrooms– In-school communication– Long distance projects become affordable

• VOIP will be the standard telephone system within the next 2 years. Why not get your students familiar with the idea?

SMS• Excellent communication tool with

parents.• Requires some $$ so admin support

would be necessary• Administrative use most appropriate

Commercial example: www.messagemedia.com.au

Syndication Different things, but use both to see the full power!

• Blog – Web Log• RSS – Really Simple SyndicationBlog Sample: http://ed4492.awardspace.com/blog POD Case: http://jjj.net.au

• Interactive or Read Only• Owner moderated• Free & simple to set up• Build on your school site or hosted

Syndication - RSSIncorporating RSS• Build into a website

– http://www.smcc.qld.edu.au – Use an online aggregator like

http://www.newsgator.com – Examples

• Custom feed: http://search.abc.net.au/search/search.cgi?query=cairns&collection=abcnews&form=simple

• http://www.edna.edu.au/edna/go/resources/toolkit/rss_services/pid/1140

• Desktop download - subscribe to homework? http://allrss.com/rssreaders.html

Syndication – Pod Casting• As with blogs/rss, but a pod cast

utilises audio• MP3s as hyperlinks on the web OR• Use a Pod Casting aggregator like

Doppler or Juice• Start your own Pod Cast – great for

media studies, FTV, Radio….• Utilise previously Pod-casted material

Social Networkinghttp://www.aftrsmedia.com/digimedia/?p=66

“Online social networking fulfills the same function as ‘hanging out’ for teenagers and they generally only communicate with people their own age … teachers generally fulfill the role of the only older mentor modern kids are likely to get…Comparisons between schools and jails were mentioned. “

“I appreciate schools duty of care and understand that there are pressure to protect their students but offering the education needed to avoid these problems seems a much smarter approach than the aforementioned head in sand model. “

Social NetworkingNext Week….

Techniques for Animation and Video

Purposes of Animation and Video

Hooking up the media to the NEW media…YouTube? mySpace?

Questions?

• Internet Resources

• Optional Workshop Project