OLR Exercises - Topic 4: Human Centred Computing: Human Interfaces

Exercise 4.1: Blog or Wiki Design

1. How would you design and manage content in a blog?

A blog needs to be designed for ease of use by the author as well as by potential readers. It should be visually appealing to help engage readers. Headings and tags should be used for ease of naviagtion. Font needs to be easy to read and consistent to improve readability. It should be easy to upload new entries, photos, images and video, and provide opporunitites for readers to provide comments and feedback on the content.

2. Summary of Blogger

When having to set up a blog for this subject, I chose Blogger because it was very easy to use and set up. A video tutorial was provided to help with setting up the account. I was easily able to set up a profile and choose an appropriate level of security to allow others to access the site and make comments. It is easy to create new posts and edit old ones. I can choose a variety of fonts and colours to help make text stand out, and topic titles and tags make it easy to navigate through a blog. I was able to include an introduction which stated the purpose of my site. Blogger enables others to follow the site and provide comments and feedback, making the establishment of community easy. Blogger is designed for growth and change, allows you to create and maintain community feedback, and allows members to eventually take more control.

I have had some issues with using Blogger that have caused frustration at times. I would like more control over how the contents and topics are organised. I would like to be able to sort the topics into categories so that all OLR Exersices are listed together, all Chat Reflections listed together etc... However Blogger only seems to list them in reverse chronological order. I have also had difficulty changing the layout of text, for example using tables or columns, and inserting pictures and placing them where I want them.

Exercise 4.2: Hosting Good Conversations: House Rules!

a) Discuss three ways of providing users with more control in an online community

1. Provide good help tools, for example online videos and tutorials to help users become familiar with how to use the technology. As users become more familiar and comfortable with the technology, they will gain more control of the community.

2. Provide clear objectives and guidelines for the community, including accepted rules and protocols.

3. Provide a forum or chat facility which enables users to discuss and share issues and problems, and suggest solutions.

b) Howard Rheingold wrote the The Art of Hosting Good Conversations Online in 1998. What three rules or tips did you find interesting or have experienced so far in your online meetings or interaction?

The three tips I have experienced with our online meetings and interaction so far are:

1. A spirit of group creativity, experimentation, exploration, good will.

In our online meetings we are certainly experimenting and exploring different online facilities, and are providing good will and support to each other as technology works or challenges us.

2. A shared committment to work together toward better communication, better conversations.

We are working together to find a tool that supports all of our technology platforms, time zones, and large group communication so that we can have better conversations.

3. A place where everybody builds social capital individually by improving each other's knowledge capital collaboratively.

We are working together to improve each other's knowledge and understanding of this subject, the terminology and technology, therefore improving our knowledge capital.

c) Read the ISPG policy for user behaviour in a MOO at http://ispg.csu.edu.au/subjects/cscw/moo/moo-policy.doc and compare it with the Community Guidelines at http://digg.com/guidelines.

I have finally been able to access the Moo Policy Document after having problems the first time. The document is very wordy and uninviting to read. It is quite formal and is written in academic language. It explains the rules of engagement and provides examples and reasons why certain behaviour is acceptable and unacceptable. Rules are basically designed to ensure appropriate behaviour, language and respect for others are used.

The Community Guideleines at Digg are explained very simply and clearly. It is quite informal and the language is more modern and youthful. There are 5 rules which users are expected to follow, which are simple to read. The use of graphics and the simple layout of the page make it easy to read.

While both documents have simlar rules of engagement and expectations of behaviour and language, the guidelines at Digg are far easier to read and understand than the Moo Policy Document. The Moo Policy Document is far more explicit in its expectations of appropriate behaviour. They are both designed to convey the same message, and users are more likely to read and pay attention to the simple rules at Digg. I think most users would not bother to read the Moo Policy Document.

Why do collaborative social software systems with synchronous and asynchronous communications need to develop a set of “rules of engagement"?

Any community or society requires a set of rules in order to keep law and order and prevent anarchy. An online community is no different. Without rules and expectations, people may be encouraged to behave inappropriately towards others. People want to feel safe and valued within the online community, just as they do in reality. Although there will always be an element of any society who bend or disobey the rules, most people are more likely to accept and follow them. This is because people generally want to be accepted and respected by the community. Also by having rules, it allows communities to exclude those who do not comply.

Is the need the same or less when using a document sharing system only?

In using a document sharing system, there is still a need for rules and expectations about how people needs to be respectful of others. Documents can be used to hurt others and can be evidence in legal cases. Most businesses who use document sharing systems would have a set of guidelines about appropriate use.

Exercise 4.3: Social Networking Tools for your "PLN"

a) My heuristic of sites which do/do not have potential and challenges for learning

Sites which have potential for learning:

• Yahoo!
• YouTube
• Ning
• Delicious
• TeacherTube
• Flickr
• Bubbl.us

Sites which have potential for Professional Development:

• Yahoo!
• YouTube
• Ning
• Delicious
• TeacherTube
• bubbl.us

Sites which do not have uses or have challenges for use in education:

• Bebo
• Facebook
• LinkedIn
• Twitter
• MySpace
• RevYu
• SocialGo
• Digg
• reddit

These sites are mostly social / gossip pages that would have issues around privacy and security of students and can not be accessed by students through education portals. They also may provide more distractions than educational value.

b) 2 new social profiles:

Ning

I have set up a profile at Ning. http://www.ning.com/

I have been meaning to do this for a while because the netbook trial I am involved in had set one up and I had been meaning to join. The netbook trial is using it as a place for teachers involved in the netbook trial to communicate, share ideas and access information about various issues including technical difficulties. This is proof of the site's worth as a Professional Development tool. Click the following link to find out more about the 1 to 1 Netbook Trial - "In their hands" - State of Victoria, DEECD

While I was setting up my Ning profile, I also created a social network for the Blue Pod and have sent a message asking for email addresses so that I can invite others to join. The link is http://itc501blue.ning.com/

Twitter

I have set up a profile at Twitter, but I have no real idea what to do with it because I do not really know anyone who uses it. It seems like a good time waster to me. I followed Dave Hughes because he was the only person I could think of at the time, and I wanted to see what happens. but I have no real interest in it.

c) Do I have a "PLN"?

Yes I guess I do, although I had never thought of it in these terms before. I have had to join so many sites because of this course, and have to remember so many usernames and passwords, that I have set up a Word Document with hyperlinks to each site, and have listed the usernames and passwords. Not very good security I suppose, but I have to store them somewhere, and this was the easiest option.

d) Optional: Create a social network for your POD group:

I have created a Ning for our POD group and invited others to join. The link to the site is http://itc501blue.ning.com/

OLR Exercises - Topic 3: Augmented Reality, Gaming and Mobile Computing

Exercise 3.1: The Battle of Wesnoth

I have just spent over an hour trying to play this game. I visited the website, read the instructions, and joined the site. I wanted to try a tutorial or walk through, but the links in the contents pages just sent me around in circles. I could not work out how to get it to play. I am not really interested in games myself, and so decided not to waste anymore of my time.

I believe there is great value for ICT games in education. There is evidence to suggest boys in particular are more engaged in education when using ICT. Many of these role playing games require the understanding of senarios and the reading and understanding of instructions (literacy). Users often have to use problem solving and strategic skills to compete. Some games also include points or monetary rewards and buying of equipment, therefore including an opportunity to practise maths and economics.

Exercise 3.2: Mobile Computing Research

What is the educational value of online mobile games and mobile social network access?
Wireless technology: issues and opportunities for improved workflow

Wireless technology offers many benefits to education. Earlier this year, the Victorian Government began a 3 year netbook trial in many regions of Victoria. In the Loddon Malle Region, grade 6 students have been provided with netbook computers, and school wireless connections have been upgraded to allow students to access the Internet. My grade 6s enjoy the freedom of being able to access the Internet to find out information and play online games to support their learning.

Wireless technology has meant that the netbooks can be used anywhere, anytime, which means we are not hindered by the physical constraints of being plugged into a network. This creates a much more flexible learning space for the students. We can work in the classroom, in the library, in the computer lab or even outside if desired.

Previously using computers tended to be an isolating experience for many students. The classroom computers were situated so that students faced the wall and were therefore isolated from others in the classroom, making it difficult to collaborate. With wireless technology and the netbooks, the students are now able to sit in groups, collaborate and provide help to each other in ways that were impossible before.

Students are able to take the netbooks home and most are able to access the Internet at home. More and more places are providing wireless access so that the Internet is available anywhere anytime.

The students currently use Superclubs Plus as a social networking tool. They are able to chat, email and participate in forums with students from other schools in an environment that is mediated to ensure students are safe from inappropriate content. In the not to distant future, I am hoping to begin using blogs, wikis and nings in order to share information with students such as up to date information about class related issues, weekly time tables, homework and project topics. Having wireless, mobile technology will mean the students will be able to access this information from anywhere.

Some issues with wireless connections include:
bandwidth issues: if the bandwidth is not big enough connection may be slow, may drop out, or not all users will be able to access the Internet at the same time. The Government is currently increasing bandwidth in schools, which will eventually alleviate this issue.

security issues: other wireless devices are able to access wireless connections. Firewalls and network systems that require passwords can help prevent this issue.

Any technology has issues and requires technical support to be successful. The issues around wireless technology seem minor compared with the benefits access to wireless technology can have.

Skype Conference Call 26/8/09

I participated in the 8pm conference call meeting. This began with a small group conversation with Blue Group people including Tyrone and James. The connection was clear and we could talk fairly easily. It got confusing because others were trying to call us and we were trying to put each other on hold in order to answer other calls. It took a while for me to work out how to put calls on hold and then retrieve them again without hanging up.

After a short time, Ken asked us to hang up so that we could particpate in the group call. This was a frustrating experience. Sometimes the audio was clear and I could hear and participate in the conversation, particularly at the end when there was only 4 of us online. At other times, there seemed to be a lot of feedback which made it difficult to hear. Most of the time, the audio was very slow and I could not understand a word that was being said. We talked about Facebook and Ken was asking about the new Government initiatives, but I could not understand most of this conversation. I have been to the resources section to find the log but it hasn't been put on yet.

I can see the value in using Skype for conference calls between 2 or 3 people, but I can not see it being suitable for classroom situations with 20 or more people. However, it could be used for contacting an expert about project topics one-on-one, or perhaps conversing with another class at another school through one connection at each end, with students taking it in turns being on the microphone.

Skype Chat with Jenny Lesley and Liz 25/8/09

Just had lovely chat with Jenny, Lesley and Liz on Skype while preparing for tomorrow night. Skype was easy to use and we all soon got the hang of chatting and sending emotions to each other. We discussed the weather (of course!) at our various locations as well as some reflections on aspects of this course. While we were able to chat effectively in our small group, we were all wondering how we will manage to keep up tomorrow night. We will soon see!

Log of Skype Chat:

[8:45:51 PM] jenny-waterman: Hello! Please add me to your Contact list.
[8:46:50 PM] Sarah Eade: Sarah Eade has shared contact details with Jenny Waterman.
[8:47:02 PM] Sarah Eade: Hi Jenny
[8:47:54 PM] Jenny Waterman: Hi Sarah just trying to add everyone
[8:48:39 PM] Sarah Eade: Thats what I've been doing too. Have you used Skype before?
[8:49:12 PM] Jenny Waterman: Ages ago we used it for emt last semester, not successfully though
[8:49:17 PM] Jenny Waterman: what about you?
[8:50:26 PM] Sarah Eade: This is all a first to me!
[8:51:17 PM] Jenny Waterman: well we will all get there one day I hope. so how are you finding this subject?
[8:54:06 PM] Sarah Eade: It's all new technology and terminology. I am enjoying experiementing with different sites etc... but still don't really know what I'm doing half the time. You?
[8:55:22 PM] Jenny Waterman: Yeah I am finding it hard work, don't have a clue what we are doing and hating the game stuff.
[8:55:54 PM] Jenny Waterman: you are not that far from me, great another one close by
[8:59:57 PM] Sarah Eade: Where are you from?
[9:00:20 PM] Jenny Waterman: I am just north of Bendigo, and Lesley is at Heathcote
[9:01:05 PM] Sarah Eade: Ah. i'm from Ballarat, but work at Talbot PS. I've been to a few PDs at Bendigo this year
[9:01:43 PM] Jenny Waterman: okay

[9:00:15 PM] *** Lesley Anderson added Jenny Waterman ***
[9:00:25 PM] *** Lesley Anderson added Sarah Eade ***
[9:00:45 PM] Lesley Anderson: hi, can we talk like this??
[9:01:43 PM] Sarah Eade: Cool!
[9:01:56 PM] Lesley Anderson: hi sarah, sorry
[9:02:08 PM] Lesley Anderson: jenny and i were talking about conferencing
[9:02:12 PM] Lesley Anderson: and here we are
[9:02:19 PM] Lesley Anderson: easy
[9:02:24 PM] Jenny Waterman: how did you do that Lesley?
[9:02:31 PM] Lesley Anderson: go to contacts
[9:02:41 PM] Lesley Anderson: create new group
[9:02:42 PM] Sarah Eade: I was hoping to practice for tomorrow so this is good
[9:03:03 PM] Lesley Anderson: drag contact names to the blue rectangle
[9:03:06 PM] Jenny Waterman: right now we can talk together, hey Liz Evans is also on line
[9:03:21 PM] Lesley Anderson: liz has gone to do some work, i think,
[9:03:27 PM] Lesley Anderson: i was just talking to her
[9:03:33 PM] Lesley Anderson: she is in my pod
[9:03:44 PM] Jenny Waterman: right
[9:03:48 PM] Lesley Anderson: hey this could have possibilities for sharing
[9:03:55 PM] Lesley Anderson: it isn't blocked at school
[9:04:03 PM] Jenny Waterman: better than the chat last week
[9:04:05 PM] Sarah Eade: No one from my POD is really responding
[9:04:15 PM] Jenny Waterman: isn't it, must try it at school tomorrow
[9:04:33 PM] Lesley Anderson: same here sarah
[9:04:36 PM] Jenny Waterman: same here Sarah and I think that ius the top of the agenda tomorrow night
[9:04:38 PM] Sarah Eade: What grade do you teach?
[9:04:57 PM] Lesley Anderson: i teach 3 days a week
[9:05:05 PM] Jenny Waterman: me? I teach Yr 7 for maths and science and Yr 11 and 12 chem
[9:05:05 PM] Lesley Anderson: 1 day ICT
[9:05:24 PM] Lesley Anderson: 1 day 3/4, 1 day 5/6
[9:05:46 PM] Sarah Eade: Some of my kids and I are about to do Kids Congress in Bendigo.
[9:05:46 PM] Lesley Anderson: how about you sarah??
[9:06:04 PM] Lesley Anderson: okay, that sounds like fun
[9:06:10 PM] Sarah Eade: 5/6
[9:06:12 PM] Jenny Waterman: that is a great thing Sarah, our kids have gone the last couple of years
[9:06:40 PM] Sarah Eade: I did it last year, but am happy for kids to present this year!
[9:06:58 PM] Lesley Anderson: great
[9:07:14 PM] Jenny Waterman: I don't know whether our kids are going, as they are busy doing other stuff with 1 to 1
[9:08:05 PM] Sarah Eade: I look forward to it except its a long way from Ballarat to Bendigo!
[9:08:53 PM] Jenny Waterman: worse if you had to go to Melbourne though Sarah
[9:09:08 PM] Sarah Eade: Definitely!
[9:09:21 PM] Lesley Anderson: it is a big trip
[9:09:39 PM] Jenny Waterman: any trip with kids is a big one
[9:09:47 PM] Lesley Anderson: true, ture
[9:09:49 PM] Lesley Anderson: true
[9:09:50 PM] Jenny Waterman: Hey Lesley can you add Liz to this group chat
[9:09:56 PM] Lesley Anderson: yep
[9:10:04 PM] Lesley Anderson: are you talking to her?
[9:10:10 PM] Sarah Eade: Went to Canberra on camp with kids from Ballarat last year, now thats a long trip!
[9:10:10 PM] Jenny Waterman: yeap
[9:10:15 PM] Lesley Anderson: ok
[9:10:22 PM] *** Lesley Anderson added Liz Evans ***
[9:10:32 PM] Lesley Anderson: there she is/there you are
[9:10:36 PM] Sarah Eade: Welcome Liz
[9:10:53 PM] Liz Evans: Hello Sarah
[9:10:54 PM] Jenny Waterman: see Liz we are a little group now
[9:11:15 PM] Lesley Anderson: aren't we clever
[9:11:17 PM] Lesley Anderson: ??
[9:11:18 PM] Liz Evans: Gee this chatting is addictive. Hello again Lesley. I am actually go to go and do some study in a minue
[9:11:23 PM] Jenny Waterman: Yeah our 5/6's are off to Canberra later in the year
[9:11:29 PM] Lesley Anderson: yeah right, liz
[9:11:46 PM] Lesley Anderson: canberra?
[9:11:49 PM] Lesley Anderson: brave
[9:11:53 PM] Sarah Eade: This is work, isn't it!
[9:12:02 PM] Jenny Waterman: Hey can this be a voice and camera meeting?
[9:12:09 PM] Lesley Anderson: this is importatn research
[9:12:12 PM] Jenny Waterman: or just typing
[9:12:17 PM] Lesley Anderson: yes it can jenny
[9:12:23 PM] Sarah Eade: and good practice for tomorrow
[9:12:25 PM] Liz Evans: I'll have to stick to typing for tonight
[9:12:33 PM] Lesley Anderson: but i am too comfy to move to my cold, cold room
[9:12:38 PM] Liz Evans: I can imagine this will get hectic tomorrow
[9:12:42 PM] Lesley Anderson: and hook up my headset
[9:12:44 PM] Jenny Waterman: haha just asking
[9:12:46 PM] Sarah Eade: We can probably add this to our Blogs as a "chat"
[9:12:54 PM] Jenny Waterman: definietly
[9:13:01 PM] Lesley Anderson: for sure
[9:13:09 PM] Liz Evans: Lesley, you should move to Darwin it is so hot here. OUr build up season is on its way
[9:13:26 PM] Sarah Eade: Gee you have to read and type quick to keep up with just us here....
[9:13:46 PM] Jenny Waterman: research and practice, and if this works at school I am definitely going to try it with my seniors
[9:13:51 PM] Sarah Eade: Its freezing here (rain)
[9:13:55 PM] Jenny Waterman: Oh the heat,
[9:13:58 PM] Lesley Anderson: used to live in far north queensland
[9:14:09 PM] Jenny Waterman: Sarah you are getting the hang of chat,
[9:14:20 PM] Liz Evans: YOu guys are too quick for me.
[9:14:41 PM] Lesley Anderson: we have 2 fires going here
[9:14:43 PM] Jenny Waterman: Liz you get fast if you chat long enough
[9:14:57 PM] Lesley Anderson: we don't chat, do we, jenny?
[9:15:14 PM] Liz Evans: Do you guys know each other or live near each other
[9:15:17 PM] Jenny Waterman: not when we are not on the computer
[9:15:39 PM] Jenny Waterman: about 80 km apart
[9:15:45 PM] Liz Evans: Gee, 2 fires. That would kill me. I sweating here.
[9:15:46 PM] Lesley Anderson: we did our grad cert together in 2006
[9:15:55 PM] Sarah Eade: We are all from Vic and work in same region but have never met
[9:16:15 PM] Liz Evans: It is a bit isolated here in Darwin
[9:16:15 PM] Jenny Waterman: yes we suffered the course from hell 1 together
[9:16:29 PM] Sarah Eade: Have you always lived in DArwin
[9:16:34 PM] Lesley Anderson: and then rocked up to do it again!!
[9:16:45 PM] Jenny Waterman: Yeah you are a bit out of the way, I loved Darwin when we were there
[9:16:56 PM] Lesley Anderson: darwin is great, loved it too
[9:17:15 PM] Sarah Eade: Haven't been but its on the to do list
[9:17:37 PM] Liz Evans: I have been in Darwin for 15 years. Originally from Ireland. Couldn't stand the weather there so moved to Australia
[9:17:45 PM] Jenny Waterman: don't you love the to do lists, I
[9:17:51 PM] Lesley Anderson: what a contrast
[9:17:53 PM] Sarah Eade: Now thats extreme!
[9:18:01 PM] Lesley Anderson: where in ireland, liz?
[9:18:21 PM] Jenny Waterman: hot rain instead of cold rain
[9:18:21 PM] Lesley Anderson: to do lists
[9:18:29 PM] Liz Evans: Wicklow, South of Dublin.
[9:18:29 PM] Lesley Anderson: the ones that go on the fridge!!
[9:18:54 PM] Sarah Eade: :D
[9:18:58 PM] Jenny Waterman: yep, if I don't have a list, I can't do anything
[9:19:13 PM] Liz Evans: How do you get those funny faces and rain clouds
[9:19:15 PM] Lesley Anderson: same here, jenny
[9:19:20 PM] Jenny Waterman: right where have you found the emicons
[9:19:31 PM] Sarah Eade: click on smiley above the box
[9:19:33 PM] Lesley Anderson: (*)
[9:19:40 PM] Lesley Anderson: that is for us, we are stars
[9:19:58 PM] Jenny Waterman: okay (wave)love this
[9:20:16 PM] Jenny Waterman: we are going to be fabulous tomorrow night girls
[9:20:16 PM] Liz Evans: (y)
[9:20:26 PM] Lesley Anderson: we'll blitz em
[9:20:27 PM] Sarah Eade: found!
[9:20:33 PM] Liz Evans: I think I'll got dizzy with more people talking
[9:20:49 PM] Liz Evans: Where on our blog would we record this chatting
[9:21:00 PM] Jenny Waterman: yeah I agree, I couldn't cope last week
[9:21:17 PM] Sarah Eade: It was very hard to keep up
[9:21:55 PM] Jenny Waterman: OLR Exercise 2.3 Create and record your online personna?
[9:22:15 PM] Liz Evans: Last we the message thingy didn't post have the messages it was a bit silly and then sometimes your message wasn't answered
[9:22:16 PM] Lesley Anderson: what about it jenny??
[9:22:53 PM] Jenny Waterman: that is where we can put this chat in our blogs Lesley, we are online we are a community
[9:23:03 PM] Lesley Anderson: ok
[9:23:07 PM] Sarah Eade: and we have a persona
[9:23:09 PM] Lesley Anderson: that is cool
[9:23:12 PM] Jenny Waterman: and you could only see 3 or 4 posts
[9:23:33 PM] Jenny Waterman: definitely we have a presona
[9:24:08 PM] Sarah Eade: Keeping tabs on all the passwords etc is getting tricky!
[9:24:16 PM] Jenny Waterman: damn my typing is getting worse
[9:24:36 PM] Lesley Anderson: it is mind blowing
[9:24:39 PM] Liz Evans: I am keepign a list of passwords now as I've got so many
[9:24:39 PM] Jenny Waterman: haha yep that is a trick in itself,
[9:24:50 PM] Lesley Anderson: i have had to keep a list
[9:25:09 PM] Jenny Waterman: I print everything out otherwise poof gone as soon as I log off
[9:25:10 PM] Sarah Eade: I try to keep same ones for everything but is not always ok
[9:25:32 PM] Sarah Eade: Did you try Second Life
[9:25:58 PM] Jenny Waterman: had heaps of trouble with that one
[9:26:06 PM] Lesley Anderson: second life was ordinary
[9:26:23 PM] Lesley Anderson: don't see the point
[9:26:31 PM] Sarah Eade: It was an interesting but not something I'm really interested in
[9:26:32 PM] Liz Evans: I didn't like second life. Kept getting chatted up by people.
[9:26:36 PM] Jenny Waterman: I would like to meet someone there before I give an opinion
[9:26:52 PM] Liz Evans: It also seemed to have alot of people standing around doing nothing much
[9:26:53 PM] Sarah Eade: couldn't think of anything to say to people I didn't know
[9:27:07 PM] Lesley Anderson: i felt the same sarah
[9:27:21 PM] Lesley Anderson: and the battle of wesnoth is not much better
[9:27:23 PM] Sarah Eade: I think you need a shared interest
[9:27:31 PM] Lesley Anderson: i like strategy stuff
[9:27:42 PM] Jenny Waterman: I hate the fact that we are being forced into something
[9:27:44 PM] Sarah Eade: I haven't tried that next. That will be weekend task
[9:27:46 PM] Liz Evans: I can't get the hang of the battle of wesnoth either has anyone tried it as a group
[9:27:48 PM] Lesley Anderson: but it has to be interesting
[9:28:11 PM] Liz Evans: I am not sure this is really useful as a teacher most of these sites are blocked in my school
[9:28:22 PM] Sarah Eade: I'm not really interested in games so not looking forward to it
[9:28:33 PM] Jenny Waterman: I was going to get my son ( an avid gamer) to play it and tell me what he thought
[9:28:50 PM] Sarah Eade: I agree Liz. Also have to be careful with primary school kids - privacy etc
[9:28:55 PM] Lesley Anderson: i was talking to one of the kids at school and he plays runescape
[9:29:06 PM] Lesley Anderson: and loves it
[9:29:13 PM] Lesley Anderson: i think it is similar
[9:29:15 PM] Jenny Waterman: I found it interesting that as teachers we are being asked to do this when we can't use it at school
[9:29:25 PM] Lesley Anderson: true jenny
[9:29:40 PM] Lesley Anderson: i prefer games like theme hospital
[9:29:44 PM] Lesley Anderson: zoo tycoon
[9:29:48 PM] Jenny Waterman: the other problem is the cost of the internet to the kids
[9:29:48 PM] Lesley Anderson: sim city
[9:30:03 PM] Liz Evans: The sims is much more fun that second life
[9:30:15 PM] Sarah Eade: Yeah. I hate to see my next bill with all this downloading
[9:30:16 PM] Lesley Anderson: exactly, liz
[9:30:28 PM] Jenny Waterman: my kids loved the sim stuff
[9:30:33 PM] Lesley Anderson: i pay a flat fee
[9:30:45 PM] Lesley Anderson: and then get slowed after a certain amount
[9:30:46 PM] Liz Evans: I had to increase my speed to do this course. Am paying $110 a month for "broadband satellie" - yeah right.
[9:30:52 PM] Jenny Waterman: I had an internet bill over 150 last semester due to the downloads
[9:31:03 PM] Liz Evans: I get slowed too after a certain amount - not that I could be much slower
[9:31:24 PM] Sarah Eade: We can probably claim it on tax but will have to wait till next year
[9:31:26 PM] Lesley Anderson: ours is 180 a month for internet, phone, voip phone
[9:31:33 PM] Jenny Waterman: I had to put mine up to 12 Gb
[9:31:40 PM] Liz Evans: I am in the rural area and don't have land line. I live in a solar village and rely on solar power for electricity. We have a satellie for our internet.
[9:31:59 PM] Liz Evans: I can't get broadband any other way - not that I actually have it now.
[9:32:03 PM] Lesley Anderson: very green, liz, sounds great
[9:32:08 PM] Jenny Waterman: Right, we have to have a landline as no mobile coverage here
[9:32:19 PM] Lesley Anderson: same here jenny
[9:32:34 PM] Sarah Eade: I have wireless broadband. Very good
[9:32:36 PM] Liz Evans: Sounds great - pain mostly. Have to be always turning off lights and not havign too many fans on - not so nice in the tropics
[9:32:54 PM] Lesley Anderson: love wireless (y)
[9:33:42 PM] Lesley Anderson: we have 2 desktops and 3 laptops here
[9:33:57 PM] Lesley Anderson: wireless is fantastic
[9:34:19 PM] Sarah Eade: I have a desktop and my laptop, but since I got the wireless haven't used the desktop
[9:34:30 PM] Jenny Waterman: My wireless won't work outside the range of this room, walls too think
[9:34:49 PM] Lesley Anderson: i know, sarah, i am sitting in the lounge room on my recliner, in front of the fire
[9:34:57 PM] Lesley Anderson: chatting
[9:35:01 PM] Sarah Eade: in front of heater
[9:35:02 PM] Lesley Anderson: sad, hey??
[9:35:12 PM] Jenny Waterman: no Lesley we are not chatting we are researching remember
[9:35:19 PM] Liz Evans: Did you guys get the bad storm
[9:35:26 PM] Sarah Eade: :D
[9:35:41 PM] Jenny Waterman: Yep had to cancel the astronomy night
[9:35:42 PM] Lesley Anderson: lol, jenny
[9:35:48 PM] Sarah Eade: Its been very wet and windy but I haven't seen any damage
[9:35:57 PM] Lesley Anderson: it has been wet and windy here too
[9:36:09 PM] Lesley Anderson: had a couple of heavy showers and it is freeeeezing
[9:36:13 PM] Jenny Waterman: we have had trees down here
[9:36:25 PM] Jenny Waterman: hail and lots of rain
[9:36:28 PM] Sarah Eade: Driving home from Talbot to Ballarat was a bit hairy
[9:36:32 PM] Jenny Waterman: and very very cold
[9:36:50 PM] Sarah Eade: We could do with some of your heat Liz
[9:37:41 PM] Lesley Anderson: for sure
[9:37:46 PM] Lesley Anderson: warm is good
[9:37:47 PM] Liz Evans: Would love to share believe me. We have had a terrible dry season. ONly a few cold days.
[9:38:18 PM] Sarah Eade: mmm bring on summer I say!
[9:38:25 PM] Liz Evans: When it gets down to 17 degrees here we are so cold. I have to put on jackets, socks, gloves and hats.
[9:38:37 PM] Jenny Waterman: heat wave
[9:38:37 PM] Lesley Anderson: but not 45 degree heat
[9:38:52 PM] Sarah Eade: Well I'm not sure what temp is now but it must be near 0
[9:39:36 PM] Liz Evans: We don't ever get that hot. usually up to 35 or so it is the humidity that kills us.
[9:40:01 PM] Jenny Waterman: we are at 7 at the moment
[9:40:04 PM] Sarah Eade: My birthdays in January and it is nearly always in the 40s
[9:40:06 PM] Liz Evans: It is particuarly bad in the build up on playground duty. YOu have to bring a change of undies as the sweat just trickles everywhere
[9:40:20 PM] Sarah Eade: HaHa
[9:40:29 PM] Jenny Waterman: wow that is really bad lol
[9:40:30 PM] Lesley Anderson: lol
[9:40:35 PM] Liz Evans: 7 - oooooh (chuckle)
[9:41:00 PM] Lesley Anderson: it is a bit like that here in summer, liz
[9:41:07 PM] Lesley Anderson: flat chat hot!!
[9:41:23 PM] Sarah Eade: but i've never had to change my undies :D
[9:41:56 PM] Liz Evans: (chuckle)
[9:42:15 PM] Lesley Anderson: no, i know
[9:42:28 PM] Lesley Anderson: and these days we keep kids inside if it's too hot
[9:42:31 PM] Sarah Eade: (chuckle) stll laughing
[9:42:53 PM] Liz Evans: We keeps ours in in the wet when we have thunder and lightening or torrential rain
[9:42:54 PM] Lesley Anderson: used to be just wet day program
[9:42:55 PM] Sarah Eade: We had 2 days no school in summer in case of fires - none in sight though
[9:43:13 PM] Lesley Anderson: we had fires 12kms away
[9:43:15 PM] Liz Evans: We have flood days somedays if the creeks flood
[9:43:31 PM] Lesley Anderson: that used to happen here, too, the floods
[9:43:39 PM] Lesley Anderson: not for a while though
[9:43:39 PM] Sarah Eade: scary Lesley
[9:43:52 PM] Jenny Waterman: we dont have time off even when we have no power
[9:43:55 PM] Liz Evans: Yes scary
[9:44:00 PM] Lesley Anderson: was scary, sarah, i packed the kids and the caravan and left
[9:44:09 PM] Sarah Eade: I would too
[9:44:27 PM] Lesley Anderson: jenny, didn't you get closed down during the fire season at all??
[9:44:52 PM] Jenny Waterman: no not at all, we weren't in the fire area,
[9:45:11 PM] Sarah Eade: neither were we but it was just in case
[9:45:12 PM] Jenny Waterman: not much to burn at East Loddon
[9:45:12 PM] Lesley Anderson: ok
[9:45:18 PM] Lesley Anderson: lol
[9:45:45 PM] Lesley Anderson: i couldn't believe how close they got to kilmore/wallan
[9:45:55 PM] Lesley Anderson: that would be really scary
[9:46:13 PM] Liz Evans: I hope this summer is better
[9:46:20 PM] Lesley Anderson: so do i liz
[9:46:20 PM] Jenny Waterman: yeah, one of the teachers nearly lost her house in the Bendigo fires
[9:46:41 PM] Sarah Eade: I felt bad. I was at fortieth that day. We didn't know anything until next day. Felt guilty for partying when all those people were suffering
[9:46:50 PM] Lesley Anderson: we got out when the whole place filled with ash, here
[9:46:51 PM] Jenny Waterman: it is supposed to be worse because we have had so much rain
[9:47:33 PM] Liz Evans: Well, I am anxious to try and do at least one activity tonight so this time am really going to say goodbye. Will come back on tomorrow. Thanks for the chat ladies. (nod)
[9:47:39 PM] Jenny Waterman: I didn't know until my daugther rang to say that my mum might be evacuated
[9:47:55 PM] Sarah Eade: Goodnight Liz
[9:47:58 PM] Jenny Waterman: See ya tomorrow Liz
[9:48:08 PM] Liz Evans: :*
[9:48:37 PM] Sarah Eade: I've been leaving school stuff till weekends. Can't get head around it after school. Apart from this of course!
[9:49:19 PM] Jenny Waterman: same here Sarah, I do course work during the week and Sunday and school work at school and Saturday
[9:50:05 PM] Sarah Eade: It's been ok so far but hope to have finished before reports
[9:50:23 PM] Jenny Waterman: dpn
[9:50:28 PM] Jenny Waterman: don
[9:50:29 PM] Lesley Anderson: goodnight liz
[9:50:41 PM] Jenny Waterman: t talk about them, I have to get them ready for next week
[9:51:33 PM] Sarah Eade: I don't have to worry till next term
[9:51:47 PM] Lesley Anderson: same here sarah
[9:51:55 PM] Lesley Anderson: we only report twice a year
[9:51:59 PM] Jenny Waterman: we do reports each term
[9:52:05 PM] Sarah Eade: thats enough :)
[9:52:19 PM] Lesley Anderson: and we do journals twice a year too
[9:52:23 PM] Jenny Waterman: yeah I think we overdo them
[9:52:31 PM] Lesley Anderson: for sure
[9:52:46 PM] Jenny Waterman: okay cya later girls I am off to bed
[9:52:59 PM] Jenny Waterman: (wave)
[9:53:21 PM] Lesley Anderson: okay, me too, might finish some stuff for 569
[9:53:24 PM] Sarah Eade: Goodnight. Thanks for chat (wave)
[9:53:30 PM] Lesley Anderson: goodnight ladies
[9:53:36 PM] Sarah Eade: See you tomorrow nite
[9:53:49 PM] Lesley Anderson: for sure

OLR Exercises - Topic 2: Virtual Environments and Cognition

Exercise 2.1: Virtual Environments and your Cognition

a) The Ethics of Facebook.

I have been a member of Facebook for about 12 months. I joined because friends of mine were talking about it and I wanted to see what the fuss was about. Initially I was worried about the privacy and security of Facebook, but I became more comfortable because you need to accept people as friends before they can contact you or read your profile. I have also kept the information on my profile to a minimum. My profile photo is of me feeding an elephant in Thailand because the image of me is side on, and so partially obscured (and also because I thought people would focus more on the elephant than me).

Initially I was excited to receive friendship requests from people I had not seen since high school or even primary school. It was great to see what they were doing, where they were living, who was married, who has kids etc... I was soon bombarded with requests to particpate in quizzes, set up gardens or aquariums and to join various causes. In the beginning I would accept these and spend hours procrastinating with these. I now ignore them because I am really not interested and have far better things to do with my time. I really only look at Facebook about once a week, and only then to message people and see what people are up to.

I think there is a range of ethical issues in relation to Facebook, particularly in relation to young people and students, as discussed below:

I know a number of my students have Facebook sites, but I will not accept them as friends. I like to think of my private life as just that, and letting kids from school view my Facebook page will allow them to have more information about me and my friends than I want them to know. Also, sometimes friends might send material or messages with inappropriate language or conent that would be inappropriate for my students to see. I also wonder about ethics in relation to what we might see on students sites if we were "friends" with them. We might see inappropriate behaviour, language and content on their sites. We then would possibly be morally obliged to report some things, the idea of this makes me feel like Big Brother!

The fact you have to accept contacts as friends is an issue for me. I think it is inappropriate for students to think of teachers as "friends" and teachers to think of students as "friends". While I want students to think of me as friendly, approachable and supportive, and therefore someone they can talk to, I think it is unhealthy for them to think of me as their "friend" rather than their teacher.

Also being an adult, I can easily make desicions about who to accept as friends, but perhaps young people might be less selective. It would be very easy to set up an account using bogus information and details. I have searched for friends using their name and school information, and found hundreds of people from around the world with the same name.

I also know of an incident where security did become an issue. A guy I know doesn't believe in Facebook and doesn't have a site. He started getting text messages from an unkown mobile number, obviously from a female. He had no idea who the messages were from, but they were pretty full on. On investigation, it turned out to be an old girlfriend from over 17 years ago. She had seen on his sisters Facebook page that he single. She then rang his work and got his mobile number (another security /ethical issue!!!), and started messaging him. Scary enough for an almost 40 year old male, but how would a younger person deal with this sort of situation!

When searching for CSU, there was 2,800 groups listed with this name. I then searched using Charles Sturt University. There was 108 groups listed under this name. There was then a number of members listed under each one. Finding a particular person could be a challenge!!! I have already joined the ITC510/213 group, posted on the wall and contributed to a discussion on online communities. However, I think the forum and email systems we already have are more convenient ways to communicate.

b) What do I think is the difference between social cognition and visual cognition?

Social cognition refers to the thought processes involved in dealing with and understanding other people. It is about the social interaction between two or more people. It includes the need to understand social rules of engagement, ettiquette, norms and mores. It includes the understanding of body language, gestures and proximity. Different cultures have different rules, ettiquette, norms and mores. One needs to understand these in order to interact successfully with people of different cultures. In a way, the online community breaks down these barriers as people from all cultures need to learn new social cognition processes in order to interact with each other online.

Visual cognition refers to the thought processes involved with visual recognition, combining what we see with what we know. This includes the recognition of faces, objects, pictures and images. Visual cognition in online communities can be distorted. While I have created a 'real' image of myself in Facebook, I have created a 'virtual' image of myself in Second Life. I only show what I want to show of myself. Therefore you cannot always believe what you see!

Exercise 2.2: Virtual Worlds and "Citizenship"

Second Life

Second Life was easy to download and I did not have any technical issues when using the site. I had never heard of Second Life before. When I joined last week, I was nervous to give any personal details so I signed up with my initials SM and a last name that was offered rather than my own. I was greeted by other "newbies" who said they were from Russia, Greece, Serbia and England, but who would know... The people seemed friendly enough but I couldn't trust that they were who they said they were because I was not who I am!

I met a "volunteer" who offered me clothes, shoes, hair, accessories and teleporting options, which I accepted. I felt relatively comfortable in this first space because the people were all new and just experiementing, like me. I enjoyed making myself look different to my own self (more sexier) and flying around the place. Then I teleported to some other places. In the first few, I could not find anyone to talk to. Eventually I did, but they tended to ignore me and I could not think of anything to say.

While I enjoyed the initial experience, I was too shy to really interact with others I do not know, particularly because I didn't feel I could trust anyone or thing. Also, I would need to find topics of interest in order to have something to talk about, which I didn't. I can't see myself coming back here (unless part of this course, of course!).

I cannot envisage using this site with students because of the problems of trust and the very adult nature of the content i.e. very sexed up characters and clothing.

Exercise 2.3: Create and Record Online Persona

Facebook

My Facebook Avatar is based on the real life me. I have a photo of myself and some information about myself in my profile. This is because the people I chat with and contact via Facebook are real life people that I have contact with. I am comfortable with them knowing the real me because they do anyway.

Second Life

The Avatar I created in Second Life was a made up one, a "virtual me." This is because I would be interacting with people I do not know and I did not feel comfortable using real information a bout myself. It was also an opportunity to be "someone else" for a while and take on a character. I was able to look and dress differently than I do. however, I found it difficult to interact "in character" or be someone I am not, even in this virtual world. I guess deep down, I cannot be someone I am not!

Will I have a persistent avatar? Why/Why not?

I will therefore create different avatars based on the type of site used. In sites I feel I can trust and where I feel comfortable interacting with people as myself, I will create avatars based on the real me. However sites I feel a bit nervous about, or where I am worried about people I don't know learning personal information about me, I will create an imagined avatar.

Exercise 2.4: Online Identity and your State of Presence

Dick Hardt, ETech 2006: Who is the Dick on My Site?

The video was a humourous and interesting way of discussing the problems associated with Identity 2.0, that is the need to protect our identity but at the same time being able to identify ourselves with the people that we interact with so that they know who they are dealing with. The fact we have to have multiple usernames and passwords, and remembering them all is an issue for many of us. The video identified some solutions for helping us to verify who we are at the same time as protecting our identity.

One solution was having an online identity management system. We register our personal information with the site. When we need to release personal information, we authorise the information to be released. The system sounds simple, and means the user would only have to input personal information once, instead of everytime we need to verify ourselves. However, I wonder about the security of such information, which unfortunately, will always be an issue when posting personal information online. It would not take long for someone to work out how to obtain these private details and use them inappropriately, as they always seem too!

phishing: the attempt to acquire sensitive, peronal information such as bank account details, by sending fake emails. For example, emails that look like they are from a reputable bank asking for account details.

pharming: is a scam in which a code is installed on their computer and users are misdirected to fraudulent websites. I have experienced this where I have typed in a web address, and the address was automatically changed everytime I typed it in, sending me to a different site.

privacy invasion: Accessing someone's private information without their knowledge or consent.

identity theft: Someone pretending to be someone else by using their personal identity information, for example drivers licence, credit card information, usernames and passwords.

Interact Chat 19 Aug

Interact was very easy to log in to and use. It seemed everyone was able to log in and we were all colour coded so it was easy to identify different people. There was also a list of names on the screen to see who was in the chat room at anyone time. I did have a few messages go astray, and still don't know whether others could see these, even though I could not!

Because of so many people, it was at times difficult to understand conversations. I found that by the time I had typed a response and entered it, the conversation had often moved on and my responses seemed irrelevant. Ken tried to control the conversation, but this seemed difficult. We did discuss nings briefly, although this ended up in a communal recitation of Spike Milligan's On the Ning Nang Nong! Nothing wrong with that is there! I admit I hadn't read the topic information at the time of the chat, and therefore found it difficult to discuss the topic anyway. By the looks of it, I think many of us were in this situation!

A copy of the log of conversation is available on the following link.

19Aug09_Log.doc

OLR Exercises - Topic 1: Social Networks, Workgroups and Workflow

Exercise 1.1: What is Social Networking? How does it compare with my ideas about online communities?

What I know: I use Facebook occasionally to interact with friends. I use it to chat, find out what people are up to, and look at photos. People can send each other games and quizzes, and join groups of interest. However, I tend to ignore these because I found I was using them to procrastinate – to avoid doing whatever I was meant to be doing!

I hope studying online communities and social networks will change my professional practice by allowing me to incorporate these into my classroom and school environment. I would like to be able to create a safe online community for my students to be able to interact with each other, students from other schools, and with myself.

My students currently use Superclubs Plus to email and chat with each other. I would like to be able to share timetable, homework and other schedules and information with them online. I would also like to learn more about the difference between wikis and blogs, and how to create them.

Social Networking is a social structure of relationships and links which allow people to interact over the internet. People are able to interact and chat through forums, generally with common interests. Examples of Social Networking sites include Facebook, My Space and Twitter. Fatpublisher: http://www.fatpublisher.com.au/resources.php?topic=6&article=14&page=1

Online communities are groups of people with a shared or common interest who interact and share information using an online forum or website. TAFE NSW: http://www.icvet.tafensw.edu.au/resources/online_communities.htm . Vet.edna.edu.au: http://www.edna.edu.au/edna/go/vet/themes/pid/3189

Exercise 1.2: Social Networking Taxonomy

Some definitions of folksonomy that I found on the Interent:
A folksonomy is a system of classification derived from the practice and method of collaboratively creating and managing tags to annotate and categorize content; practice is also known as collaborative tagging, social classification, social indexing, and social tagging en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Folksonomies
The spontaneous cooperation of a group of people to organize information into categories; a user-generated taxonomy. en.wiktionary.org/wiki/folksonomy
A folksonomy is a user generated taxonomy used to categorize and retrieve Web pages, photographs, Web links and other web content using open ended labels called tags. www.enterprisesocialsoftware.info/glossary&

Some examples of folksonomies include:
Flickr is an photo and video hosting website, web services suite, and online community platform (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flickr ). http://www.flickr.com/.
Delicious uses a non-hierarchical classification system in which users can tag each of their bookmarks with freely chosen index terms, generating a kind of folksonomy (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delicious_ ) http://delicious.com/

Exercise 1.3: An Heuristic Experience

Following the links in the reading, I downloaded a folder full of files but couldn't work out how to use them. Thankfully Lesley sent this link, which I was able to use easily: http://oldwww.acm.org/perlman/question.cgi Anyway, I decided to evaluate the Victorian Teachers Credit Union website because I use it frequently to complete online banking transactions and pay bills.

system=http://www.victeach.com.au/
date=2009-08-15 05:37:56
comment=I am evaluating the Victorian Teachers Credit Union website because I use it regularly to do all of my banking.
q1=6 c1=The system is easy to use. It has menus and categories which clearly indicate where you are in the website
q2=6 c2=as above
q3=N/A
q4=N/A
q5=N/A
q6=6 c6=I have been using this system for a number of years to do online banking, and am comfortable using it
q7=6 c7=The system was easy to learn because of the easy to use menu system
q8= N/A q9=5 c9=I haven't had too many errors when using the site, but if put in wrong password, it tells you and sends you back to log in page to re-enter
q10=6
q11=4 c11=On screen messages in form when the system will be closed for maintenance. I could not find any online help, but I have never needed it.
q12=6
q13=6
q14=N/A
q15=6 c15=The menu system is very clear and easy to navigate
q16=5 c16=The interface is consistant, simple to use, with no "Whizz Bang" which can be distracting
q17=4
q18=5
q19=6
negative1=The log in system to access accounts - have to enter password using an onscreen keyboard, which for me is a lot slower than using my normal keyboard.
negative2=When adding new Payee to Bpay, have to wait for security code to be text to mobile which is annoying
positive1=Easy to use and navigate
positive2=Good security, even if a bit annoying
positive3=Efficient way to conduct banking transactions and pay bills

Facebook ITC510/213 2009

I have joined the ITC510 Facebook group, and participated in discussions about the use of online communities in the classroom. Click the link to view and join the discussion.
Facebook ITC510/213 2009

gmail: Group/Video chat 12/8/09

Just my thoughts about video / group chat which I participated in tonight 12/8/09:

After initial confusion about how to get into the chat, I had brief video chat with Lesley, which was a fun but weird experience, being able to see yourself and someone else on screen.

Makes you think about things you should & shouldn't do, the need to be dressed appropriately (not in pjs etc) and not eating dinner while chatting (although perhaps a glass of wine could help the conversation)!

Also enjoyed group chat, especially going down memory lane of old TV shows! I find it's sometimes hard to think of things to say though! See link for log of group chat Group chat

etherpad 9/8/09

After some difficulty and confusion in gaining access to etherpad, I was finally able to log in and communicate with Dale. This was very easy to use and I liked the colour coding to show who was speaking. I can see this would be useful if using as a group. I missed the message about the group chat, but I'm glad I finally got to chat with someone. Thanks Dale.

This is just a copy of the POD chat between myself and Dale of the Blue group which took place on 9/08/2009 9:02 PM

Welcome to EtherPad!

This pad text is synchronized as you type, so that everyone viewing this page sees the same text. This allows you to collaborate seamlessly on documents!

Hoping to see someone typing in here oneday, :).

Dake,

Hi, just trying things out as this is first time I've been able to log in. YEAH! Thanks for setting things up Dale.

Sarah

That's alright, we are a team, and congratulations. It has been a process, hasn't it.
Dale.

It certainly has! Sarah

I have worked out that we shouldn't have to pay money for this if we access it the way you just did, cause you didn't use an account of any description; therefore, my account is the only one in operation. Which brings to mind the thought of using this in my classes if the DET allows it.

What grade do you teach? I don't know what privacy issues there would be for using this in schools. My grade 5/6s currently use a site called Superclubs which is designed for student use and has mediators online to supervise and ensure appropriate content.

7 - 12 Classes. Does Superclubs cost much, if any?

I don't know. The Principal organised subscription for whole school (60 kids). I'll see if I can find out. The kids can chat with kids from our school and others as well as send emails and use forums. It's pretty good, they have challenges to earn stars where they have to complete tasks about privacy and appropriate use of online technologies.
Sounds pretty good. I am certainly going to setup a BLOG, cause I know the edublogs works in our school and it certainly works for kids to complete listed activities, such as web links, etc.

We don't have anything like that yet. I think the Vic gov is working on an Unltranet but don't know when that will be available. I just checked Superclubs site. It seems the Vic gov has prodived grant for free access to Vic schools. Its for 6-12 year olds so may not suit high school. http://www.superclubsplus.com.au/ Here is web address if interested.

Thanks Sarah, I will look into it.
No worries. I guess thats what this journey is all about. I'd better sign off now so I can get ready for tomorrow. I can see this is going to be a great procrastinater!!!
Yes, I think so. Also, some time tonight I will save this chat and put it up on my blog, cause they are all learning activities. You can copy it from there after that for you blog.

Hehe, happy travelling through the cyber and good luck to us all.

Here here! Nite. Yeah, night.

Introduction

This is my first ever blog and I have no idea really what I am doing!

I am a 5/6 teacher. I teach at Talbot Primary School in country Victoria, a small school of about 60 students.

Although I grew up in Melbourne, I have been living in Ballarat for about 8 years, which is about 45 minutes from where I teach.

I have just begun the Graduate Diploma of ICT in Education through Charles Sturt Univeristy.

My first subject in this course is Online Communities, which is why I am beginning this blog now. I am a bit daunted by this subject so far, and am wondering if I should have left this one till last, like some others seem to have done! Anyway, I am hoping the instructions become easier as I muddle my way through the terminology and jargon!