Module 9

Scootle is a resource I have used for a while now to use multimedia resources in my teaching. It has evolved a lot since the early days of The Learning Federation. The great feature is the ability to create and share "learning paths" with other teachers at your school and beyond. I often search to find if someone else has made a path about a topic I am teaching and either use it or modify it for my purposes. Then I make the resources available to students via their myclasses page.

Whilst Scootle is not very Web 2.0, there are a number of features in it that are Web 2.0: ability to track via Twitter, the use of "tags" to search for resources and the ability to create and share "learning paths" with your school, the National Catholic Education Commission and finally the public in general.

Social Networking is very much a part of the contemporary culture of our young people. It is a vehicle that gives them a voice or forum to express their ideas and opinions about their world. It enables them to connect, communicate, collaborate and create. It has positive benefits and some negative possibilities, obviously, but it can't be ignored and shouldn't be overlooked by educators. Students just need to be given the tools to use these sites carefully and safely, being aware that their "digital footprint" lasts a long time and can't be totally erased if they make a bad decision by uploading questionable images or content.

Second Life - wow! This is an amazing concept... I remember my own kids using "The Sims" and "Zoo Tycoon" and marvelling at what they could create but Second Life is so much more. If it could be used in our schools (and I haven't yet looked at the practicalities like access, privacy, cost etc) it could be so powerful in getting students to learn in new ways: experience virtually different eras, simulate events and scenarios, use their imagination to create. The list is endless and so are the possibilities for learning.

Twitter - another vehicle for communicating and connecting with the world that has relevance for some. Personally I don't have a use for it but know people who love it. Not sure it is a hit with school-aged kids and not sure how it fits educationally.