On Thursday afternoon I had fun for 2 hours with another group of fellow TAFE staff, as we saw how easy it is to create our own website on the Internet. Judging from the feedback, most people were suprised at how easy it was!
We spent quite a bit of time at the beginning of our workshop chatting about the nature of the new read/write web – a web that has moved from being read-only (except for the technically-elite) to a read-write medium for all of us! As an example, we were looking at Wikipedia and chatting about whether this type of “Open” encyclopedia was a good thing or a dangerous thing for learners – in terms of reliability of information. It was great to hear a bit of debate from both sides… I’d encourage everyone to check out some Wikipedia articles in their professional area and evaluate for themselves the information they find!
In the end we had all updated our own websites with information, although nearly everyone identified on their feedback forms that it would have been good to have more time to practise this process. I reckon it would have also been good to spend some time investigating how other people are using blogs in education in our specific professional areas.
The “Free and Easy Tools” session was great. I was excited about the simplicity and flexibility of read/write web tools.
Now….uses these for our library:
Quick updating of content and links for diverse classes we teach?
No more printied handouts?
Competencies and feedback from information skills sessions?
Just add time and application….
Thanks Michael.