Digital Tool 1 'A Blog'

E Learning Blog Reflection Week 3

I have chosen a ‘Blog’ as my digital tool for this week’s reflection. A blog in my view is very similar to a Facebook page. In a blog the user can edit their work, add images, videos and links, etc. Blog’s are a similar digital tool to Facebook, as users have their own profile  page, you have to subscribe to the pages and the subscribers can only comment on the users work.  

I am doing this degree to become an Industrial Design and Technology Teacher. I asked myself the question, how could blogs be incorporated and relate to my classes?

I believe blogs could be an asset to a manual arts classroom. As a teacher I would have the ability to upload YouTube clips, images of a job, procedures of how to complete a job and the tools needed to successfully carry out jobs. Blogs allows students to interact and gain an understanding of what I am talking about. This would improve the student’s communication barrier and knowledge content about the tasks set. Students could also create their own blogs as an assessment task and blog the procedure of a job from start to finish. For example a wood lathe; by using this concept of a ‘Blog’, students with no hands on experience could clearly see how a wood lathe worked, all the components of a wood lathe and the finished job after it has been produced.. 

I have included a link below, to a similar blog, which could be utilised in the classroom to explain the concept of a wood lathe to students.  

http://mini-wood-lathe.blogspot.com.au/

PMI CHART

The PMI Chart as set out below allows us to evaluate a blog.

Positives ·         Students and staff can interact with blogs 24/7 ·         The user is the only person that can edit a blog ·         Improve communication skills between students and teachers on jobs ·         Students and staff can add comments to the content for further knowledge

Negatives ·         Needs internet access ·         Blogs can be viewed by the world ·         Students outside of school may not have internet access to access a blog

Implications ·         Students improve technology skills ·         Further knowledge of a topic via a blog

 

As evident from the above table, a blog would be an asset in any classroom, if it’s used in the right way and context. It’s a great learning and demonstration tool and another strategy to keep the students involved and active in the concept of learning.