First, I have no experience using blackboard. That makes it a disadvantage in itself for a web technologies practitioner like me who is always keen to experiment education technology solutions for learning. Affordance is an issue in that respect.

If I am to compare between webct and moodle, I would go for moodle. I personally find it more open, user-friendly, and flexible in many aspects. I had the opportunity to experiment webct as a designer in my previous course, but the customization or ‘wizard’ selection looked a limit in that aspect. After several trials, I was not happy with the results of my work. As a user, webct is an effective tool for ‘discussion forums’, but again I don’t find it attractive in exploring the other resources.

On the other hand, I find moodle simple and open in choosing the layout, i.e. designing topic or theme-based courses. The rated/ graded ‘discussions’ is an advantage. Being an open source makes it a potential global software with lots of additions or added ‘plug-ins’ by other users, developers or educators. As a free tool, the affordance is not an issue. It could also be installed in an internal network or server with no internet access.

This year, I had some promising experiments running my moodle courses as part of a blended course. I hope to be able to effectively use it with more dynamic and professional tasks in the near future.

Tags: e-learning, environments, learning, virtual, vle

Many people now question the social nature of many web 2.0 technologies. Some of them find it an interesting new way for learning, interacting with others and sharing knowledge and resources. Other may show concerns about its nature and any other related implications. Porter discussed the question of web 2.0 as a promise or a threat in this post. Some even alerted people who share ideas over the internet, mainly bloggers as they might be legally questioned or being arrested for doing so, found in this article and a full official report in PDF.

He refers to this article which shows good potentials of web 2.0, ‘Minds on Fire‘. There are many good dimensions for knowledge and learning that are mentioned in this article. Another forum had a similar discussion where one teacher expressed concerns and wished to be able to delete or control some of her own internet activities. More about it this discussion here.

In all cases, teachers need to fully understand the technologies available and then apply them according their needs and contexts. To successfully achieve this goal, they need to be realistic about which tools they really need that meets their objectives and which aren’t. This is just an initial thought which I hope to develop more through research or further readings later.

Tags: call, communities, Educational, learning, practice, reflection, technology

For the purpose of research and development of my related to CoP, I have initiated a new wiki space CoP08 http://cop08.pbwiki.com/ where I invited other CoP members to join and share their experience on the same field. So far, we I have received a good number of ideas, published materials, and personal reflections for teachers and practitioners who have been involved in CoP in several ways.

One example of a good resource from previous research and CoP Resource was shared by Elizabeth Hanson-Smith. The reflections shared by the webheads community were very interesting as well. I would like to share some of the intriguing quotes I found in these thoughful reflections.

Right from the beginning I was amazed at how much I could learn about technology and teaching from online colleagues via electronic discourse - especially via email lists or listservs like webheads. Michael Coghlan, Australia.

The next metaphoric descriptive reflection is a very meaningful one. It shows the scaffolding learning experience shared in a CoP. You may read the whole post in the original link above;

First of all - no regrets for having joined the WiA - so far so good - the journey has been very pleasant , and indeed it feels like an adventure…just like one of those dream trips (maybe it is only my dream trip…) that you leave home with an almost empty suitcase and off you go …you start your journey, you travel through that world wide open road and hope it will take you somewhere nice. From the places you stop by during your journey you will collect lessons, you will acquire new perspectives, you will change views, and you will LEARN all the way, all the time. The best thing is that you won’t thread that path only by yourself…there are people from all over the world willing to support you on your way. From the joint adventures you will get experiences which are - I guess- the best souvenirs you can get. They will fill up your personal and professional “luggage”. The amazing thing is that there will always be room for some more and it will not become an heavy burden. And the more you walk that road, the more you will want to walk it. Humankind is curious. We can’t help it. There will be days too in which you will have to slow down - because we all need a rest once in a while -, but after some time you’ll get back to the road. Cristina Costa, Portugal.

She even elaborates more on the social aspects of interaction in the type of communities where teaching and classroom interaction became rather a shared activity with other teachers.

For me it is the social side of this learning relationship what make all of this even more meaningful.And then is about shared and supported learning ; New links, new tools, new real teaching and learning activities/examples which are share by the members and which just give you the courage to to the same; Collaboration not only among the members - we sometimes also “invade” each others’ classrooms with our participation: comments, presentations and other kind of online interactions/contributes to the students’ learning - I just love that.

Some of the key elements shared by Hanson-Smith, USA, are of great importance in processing a CoP in a healthy and positive environment.

• the ability to share and learn with others who are perhaps “i + 1″ in a particular electronic gadget or software–people in our community are willing to walk you through something step-by-tiny-step
• meeting teachers from around the world–and their students–and sharing cross-culturally
• the sense of communal purpose that you can’t find in many teaching situations, institutions, or retirement–often teachers using technology are the only persons in their school who are interested in new tools, so it’s great to have support from around the world
• Key elements in community formation would be a willingness to help others and lots of patience with newbie-type questions. Perhaps also, one needs a good system of organization to keep track of everything that is going on, Elizabeth Hanson-Smith, USA.

More of her personal experience and recommendations for pre-service and in-service teachers can be found in her recent chapter (301-315) for Hubbard et al (2006) Teacher Education in CALL.

On that last reflection, Patricia reflects on her amount of knowledge along with the self-reflection and more awareness she acquired through her participation in WiA.

I have acquired such an incredible wealth of knowledge on the use of technologies in ESL/EFL teaching and professional development, social networking, being a community member, reflecting on my own practice through blogging and other forms of self-reflection, working in collaborative environments that it surpasses anything that I have learned at an institutional level. Also, my understanding of what knowledge is, how it is generated, how it is shared/distributed, and how students are engaging in its acquisition has changed dramatically because of my participation in this community and its events. Patricia Glogowski, Canada.

Tags: call, communities, Educational, learning, practice, reflection, technology

Hi there,

Welcome to my new simple Blogo~Nile which is part of Edu~Nile language and educational project. I should confess that I was hesitant trying this new blog as I like the other blog which I kept using for over 5 years now. However, this one looks promising indeed. At least it confirms to me how powerful ‘open sources’ could be. That is one good example and I do appreciate the help of all the people who contribute to professional communities or communities of developers.

I’m going to use this space to reflect on some of my key learning areas, shed some light and also reflect on some of the key aspects of what I read or find. In other words, don’t except to find some good ‘tools’ or shared materials in here, in a diary-set page, I would rather show you the reflective part of my brain on the tools, experiments, or technologies I find.

Your comments or reflections would add a big value to this space too.

Tags: call, communities, Educational, learning, practice, reflection, technology