Blogs for learning

Web 1.0 and Web 2.0

My understanding of Web 1.0, is that a Web 1.0 site cannot be added to, nor adjusted other then by its creator. For example, each of us have our own Facebook by now, or if not, you live under some kind of rock in the deep oceans :). Blogs, are also a Web 1.0 because no-one can alter the media devices found or written text other then that of the owner.

Having said that, if you were to create a Facebook page, and invite a large amount of people and then create them all as admins? That's a different story. Would that be a Web 1.0, or a Web 2.0? In my opinion, it would be a Web 2.0 to the newly advised admins, because they are fully functional at being able to add content such as images, links, status updates, but simply because you are the main creator, these admins are unable to 100% access your available hierarchy of ownership of the site. Confused?

Well to put it into perspective, a university moodle site, or online learning program can be created the same way as a Facebook page (how amazing all of this integrated technology) by creating admins (lecturers) who are fully operational in regards to accessing personal information, responding to student needs and emails, viewing each students online progress activity for each subject, but they are unable, nor allowed to update the core content of the subject.

To sum it all up, there may be Web 1.0 and Web 2.0 differentials, but personally I think there are many levels of ability within each technology tool that makes technology and the continually changing internet so diverse for many uses, not only for learning but for general communication (See digital tool 2 - Concept mapping).

Blogs are a fantastic tool to support learning

Why you ask? Why not just use Facebook for collaborative online learning?

Facebook is commonly known for it's continually updated memoirs and daily/hourly/by the minute (for some every second) postings of peoples thoughts, activities etc, it has become a very openly discussed forum for everyone that you know or don't know, that 'could' be used to support learning, if the correct privacy settings were to be adjusted and catered for, so that 80% of the world did not have access to the personal information within a matter of 20 minutes.

Blogging, from specific online blog locations such as this one, to me, is more personal, less popular then sites such as facebook and twitter, and you need to be registered in order to view other peoples blogs. It's more interesting to add content with the ability to change text type, size, colour, add images and link words to websites, very similar features to that of a wiki.

If I were in a classroom setting, and learning about... lets say ' Extreme sports', I would with the class, write down all of the names of extreme sports that come to mind, draw them out of a hat (assuming that there were enough for every child) , create a online blog with the title, of course ' Extreme sports', and give each child the password. They would then go off and research their sport and then go online and create a title for their sport whilst adding their information. Each student would then comment on their fellow classmates information.

Well, being that Web 1.0 is the state of a website that simply cannot be added to, nor adjusted other then by the creator of that site, and Web 2.0 being an adjustable, readable and re-writable web program, I would have to come to the conclusion that sites such as Facebook and blogs would be a Web 1.0 to the readers, and a Web 2.0 are simliar to Wiki's and wikipedia that can be adjusted? Does everyone agree with me there? That is of

Knowing your learners

Everyone is different in so many ways, when regarding how we learn. It is a good idea to firstly find out as much as possible about the learners in your classroom, before embarking on each learning journey. There are many ways that you can find out the best possible attributes of each learner, and how they learn best, through which type of learning understanding, whether it’s through visual, auditory, verbal, logical, social, physical, intrapersonal etc.

Along with the many learning styles, there are quite a few learning style theories that learning and educational theorists have created to endevour an easy application of understanding how each of us learn in different situations.

A combined graph showing my own personal learning style in comparison to the rest of Australia is shown below. It is created through a program online called Memletics, which is a new online learning style website which shows modern approaches to learning. It shows that on average, the majority of Australians are highly social and aural learners, which means they love to socialise and listen ;)

To enable a student to learn actively is to create a classroom climate and understandable curriculum lesson that is not only relative but also engaging to all personality/learning styles.

There are many types of learning styles formulated by Richard M. Felder and Linda K. Silverman. you can access this site and take the ILS 44 multiple choice questionaire to find out what type of learning style you portray.


Learning Effectiveness

Dales cone is the perfect example of needs to cater for when creating lessons for lifelong learning.

Just referring to the Mazlow's Hierarchy of Needs article . Looking at the pyramid of needs created by Mazlow, it clearly states that each child, regardless of economic status, should be entitled to the same needs as the next child which obviously shows that food, shelter, warmth and water. Not only at home, but also in the education learning setting.

For a student to learn, there has to be the correct classroom climate which feels like a comfortable and caring environment. After these critical needs have been met, then the other needs should be looked at. For instance, you wouldnt, in our current economic status, begin a classroom learning situation with no chairs/desks/roof. It is not possible for students in our time to learn without these necessities, or if in a Snow-filled country, for students to have no windows and be shivering cold.

When all aspects of such have been met, then it is possible to meet other needs such as Safety, Belonging/love, and then deal with issues of self esteem and creative talents...
The Mazlow theory should be taken into account, not only before each lesson, but should become second nature, almost an instantanious intuitive thought process for anyone working with children, to ensure that they are looked after in the best possible way.

Everyone is different in so many ways, when regarding how we learn. It is a good idea to firstly find out as much as possible about the learners in your classroom, before embarking on each learning journey. There are many ways that you can find out the best possible attributes of each learner, and how they learn best, through which type of learning understanding, whether it’s through visual, auditory, verbal, logical, social, physical, intrapersonal etc.

My personal learning style according to the Memletics' learning style inventory is shown here on the blue along with the comparisons of my own personal learning to that of the rest of Australia (red). It