Del.icio.us

I found that throughout the semester I did a lot of reading and in most cases forgot to record the URL and so my del.icio.us is pretty empty. But of what I have bookmarked are resources I have gone through and used to help me along the way. I also started to add bookmarks of my favourite places to eat (check out Wicked Bite – the best restaurant I have ever been to) and links that are relevant to my life outside of uni.

Netvibes

Now I praised this site in one of my earlier posts and I still hold high regard for it. It is still to this day my homepage and is so efficient and easy to use I just love it. My e-learning tab has been updated with some good feeds and links but I must say that I’ve used it more for my own personal benefit than for this subject. The feeds I have included in my e-learning tab relates to the subject as well as to the subject of knowledge management because I found that the two subjects were quite intertwined and because I am doing a knowledge management subject it was a bonus. I also had blogs from commentators on e-learning so as to have links to their resources as well to see how they maintain their blogs. The best feed is perhaps Mark’s del.icio.us feed because that is where I have found most of my resources so far.

Edublogs

What more can I say that I didn’t already say before? I write too much and I feel so sorry for Mark who has to read this and go through my long and tedious posts. I also realized that my layout isn’t perhaps the best one to have gone with but it looks, as Paris Hilton would say, ‘Hot’. It’s been fun blogging and I also discovered the photoslide tool provided by RockYou which you can see on my “About this Blogger’s Friends…” page.

All in all, I’ve had a good time and it has been a great subject. Well facilitated by Mark and very relevant to society today as technology increasingly becomes more embedded in our lives. I look forward to doing e-Learning Design now as we get into the nitty gritty side of the topic.

Her entry was so passionate and it’s great to see such an opinionated view of the topic. In part of her blog she wrote:

“by the end of 2011 80% of active internet users would be using secondlife. i seriously hope i would be part of the minority 20%. i believe human beings need physical attraction and interaction to be able to create relationships of friendship or whatsoever. the guest speaker mentioned that many users on secondlife create their avatars as images that look nothing like themselves. Second life gives people a life out of the normal environment, but what would happen when everyone begins to be too indulged into this secondlife.” (Edelweiss Chan)

I agree with her in that human beings need theat physical element to be able to function properly. She started off discussing social networking sites and I must admit that I have become addicted to Facebook, which is hypocritical of me especially when I used to bag out people who used Myspace. But I have found Facebook to be important in keeping in touch with people who I have befriended and learned to love over the years. Also it helps me to better understand my friends, to know their interests, goals and so forth and also to remember their birthdays. Furthermore, I use Facebook to update my university club (85Broads) of events that we have coming up and to post recaps of events as well as to get in contact with our members as my role as the media executive in this group involves me promoting the club and disseminating information. Furthermore, being on Facebook we are exposed to millions of people and so this helps with the promotion side of my role.

Thus, I can see how social networking sites can enrich our relationships but returning to the topic of second life/virtual worlds I can understand where Eddie is coming from. I remember watching a 60 minutes documentary on the topic and I remember laughing at the idea. Creating your ideal self in a virtual world (your avatar) may fulfil fantasies but it should never replace your reality. I think when people become too involved in these virtual worlds you lose touch with the real world, which is a great shame as there is so much of this world that is left unexplored and unexperienced. The idea of having online relationships is also a scary thought because to me the most important things about relationships is the physical, emotional and spiritual aspects that the people we meet bring to our lives. Nothing beats a hug from your mum, dad, friend when you are down or enjoying a laugh after you’ve done something stupid.

But then again I do understand that it can be an escape from the pressures of the real world. But I still can’t seem to think that it can bring out the worst in people as when I think of virtual worlds as fulfilling fantasies, what happens when a fantasy involves abuse, violence and so on. Sometimes what appears to be technological advances are not necessarily advances in society.

Palloff & Pratt covered lots of ground on how to be a succesful online learner providing many tips to instructors about creating an environment and building a relationship to foster this. They concluded with the following:

TIPS FOR SUCCESSFULLY WORKING WITH THE VIRTUAL STUDENT

• Do not assume that students will automatically know how to learn online. Do welcome them to this new learning experience and create a warm, supportive environment in which they can learn.
• Provide some form of orientation to students as they embark on an online learning experience. If the institution does not provide an orientation course for students, an instructor can include some tips and guidelines for success on the course site.
• Construct a course that is varied and addresses different learning styles. This does not mean using complex forms of technology, but instead designing assignments and approaches that require both action and reflection.
• Encourage and empower students to take charge of the learning process. Provide them with assignments that allow them to explore, research and work collaboratively.
• Pay attention to changes in participation levels and address them promptly.
• Stay present and be responsive to student needs and concerns. The instructor should engage in a balanced level of participation so students know that he or she is there. (p.124)

I have found that throughout my e-Learning Experiences classes that my tutor, Mr Mark Lee, has done well in facilitating an environment in which we can become successful e-learners. Although I haven’t yet begun my short online course, the e-learning activities that I have completed have shown me the diverse nature of e-learning. From simple things as researching efficiently through search engines, becoming familiar with e-learning jargon, using a range of online tools such as netvibes and del.icio.us to collaborating on a wiki and becoming a vigilant blogger. I do believe that my experience in this class has made me more aware of my role as a university student to be the guardian of my own education. I understand now how important it is to be an independent learner but also appreciate being a collaborative learner.

Watkins was more concerned with the issue of learner readiness and like Palloff & Pratt, also provided many tips and guidelines for instructors but with the focus on gauging learner readiness and helping learners become ready.

This is, I believe, fundamental to being successful in e-learning as without the basics, it would be impossible for a learner to move on with their learning. I think it is this reason why taking note of the publishing dates are important to consider. It shows that in these four years, literature surrounding e-learning has shifted to elevate the issue of learner readiness above being a successful learner. That is, the issue of learner readiness is more prominent and important and this is justified as to be a successful learner, one must first be a learner whom is ready and prepared and supported before engaging in e-learning. Palloff & Pratt did recognise this issue but did not put much emphasis on it, rather their emphasis was on maintaining the success of online learners.

These articles were interesting to read and I believe they do help me in preparing to undertake a short online course. They were very similar and provide great tips that I will take in consideration as I am going through the course but also in my future organisational learning contexts.

When we set up the wikis we had a go at using the graffiti wall which proved to be a very chaotic exercise. We were all posting simultaneously and so the page was continually changing. We then set up our group pages which we titled Lam Chan Dinh and then added our names and also established links to a page dedicated to each member.

As our group has been a bit frustrated with narrowing down our topic I must admit we have not been using the wiki. We are all currently working on our individual case studies and so when we complete these I think we will get a better grasp of the purpose of the wiki. It is also a blessing that we have been granted an extension as this will allow us more time to polish our discussions.

Procrastination – what kept me busy? Well I did my work for other subjects so that’s one, I worked (two), Father’s Day Celebrations (three), ummm … I was sick (four), I painted my nails (five), The Chaser’s returned to the ABC and I also got hooked on Summer Heights High (six, seven) and yeah …

Current effects of procrastinating include sleep deprivation, panda eyes as well as dry eyes, grumbling tummy, sore buttcheeks (I thought about which word to use here and went for a very mild language rating) and aching shoulders (if I were to continue at this rate I’d have a hunch that would easily be comparable to that of the hunchback of notre dame). But moving on …

At this stage of the semester I’m still adjusting to using del.icio.us and I’m bookmarking more so that is a good sign. As for Netvibes, I have now set the page as my homepage and have told friends outside of e-learning experiences to set up an account because I’ve found it as such a useful tool. I’ve linked my email and facebook accounts as well as del.icio.us and my edublog and I’ve subscribed to a number of SMH RSS feeds so when I open my browser everything I would check individually is all there right in front of me. I LOVE IT!!!

And finally, a comment on my progress with this blog … it’s going A-oK. I need to blog more regularly as I am finding that I do work throughout the week but end up posting everything up on one day and also because I am writing responses in Word I tend to treat this blog as a publishing outlet and thus fail to include my personal reflections on the activities as I preoccupy myself with getting the work done and then posting it. So there are a few obstacles to be overcome but I believe that I will manage. I am aiming high for all my subjects and so I will be sure not to neglect my blog.

The bed is calling me and sleep (one of my favourite things to do) awaits … Class is today and so when I wake up I look forward to the hour trip into uni but at the end of the day its dinner and drinks with some uni buddies (HEY TO ALL THE GANG THOUGH- Anne, Artha, Barbs, Eddie, Kimmy, Laurence, Lia, SarahG, SarahK, Vince, Yvonne) and my besties who are coming from work and who will be making the most of the APEC Public Holiday on Friday.

Until next time, this has been another mindless rambling …