Hi,
When I began this morning I was a little overwhelmed about all the various new web based learning/teaching devices there are. Yesterday I created my first ever blog, then my Wiki, which I am still unsure about and then this morning a view on Mahara. Initially I was apprehensive and to be honest panicked a little. Some of the videos wouldn’t play, my computer was having a meltdown with the amount of pages that were open, and I was skipping about all over the place. After walking away and taking a moment I started again. Coming back with fresh eyes worked. Suddenly I started to follow, the videos played and I worked systematically through it all.
I have began working on my first portfolio on cyclones. It is certainly in its infancy but I can see the potential for the future. To have all these resources for a lesson plan/unit of work all in the one place is just fantastic. It is easily adapted and changed, there is no need for mountains of paper that could be misplaced. The other aspect that appeals to me, certainly after the cyclone weekend, is you don’t have to pack all your work and find somewhere safe to store it. We had an entire car filled with papers, photos and other valuable items packed up in case we lost our house last weekend in cyclone Ului. Having all your resources and hard work stored online to be accessed any time is incredible.
Mahara would be a great tool in the classroom. Its’ use in project work would be beneficial for both the students and teachers. The students could have their own profile for that year or for life, and in their various views retain information from past work and use it in another related project. Another benefit would be for group projects, allowing only certain users to see and access their portfolios. Project work could then be adapted by the users outside of school, discussions could also take place between the specific group to further their assignment. Also, the fact that Mahara has limited access, ensures that original ideas remain original.
I have a long way to go in exploring all the capabilities of Mahara, but I know that it is a tool I will use both now and in the future.
Cheers,
Kylie
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Hi Kylie,
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on a great posting. You are right when you suggest the flexibility in which e.portfolio tools like Mahara can be used.
With ICTs in schools we are only beginning to scratch the surface of what is possible.
Best,
Scot
Hello Kylie,
ReplyDeleteThe idea of Mahara having limited access to only a chosen few, is one that I hadn't really considered from a teaching viewpoint, but now you have mentioned it I see how important this aspect is in a school setting.
Unlike many other forms of communication on the Internet, in Mahara, with access allowed only to those within the class, we have to worry less about security. Perhaps on this site, then, we will be able to incorporate projects that contain images of the learners, without worrying about all the on-line lurkers watching on.
We will certainly be able to be much more specific about people and places involved, and all new postings will be easily available to the teacher on this one platform (rather than 28 different Blogs all with different URLs) to ensure that 'netiquette' is in place and all communications are appropriate to the task.
Alice