What's the idea?

[thornybee]

Hello Gerald,

I teach science here in Istanbul. I am just getting into this sort of stuff. I proposed a Ning for our school but admin had agreed to a Moodle so I have been working on my class's page for that. Not very friendly though. So what's your idea for this group. I keep writing things in these forums that no one answers so I won't write too much now.
thornybee

[Rougiem]

I agree thornybee! Lets get this thing going!
Rougiem~

[thornybee]

Hi there Rougiem,
Just looked at the dog and found he was asleep. So I'll sneak this one in. What are your kids doing this year? I will have a time in te summer term (May-June) to do project work although we're pretty flexible this year. We could incorporate almost anything that will develop the kids will to learn. I want to develop their will to learn and personalise learning so they learn certain core concepts but can then take off in different directions. It takes a lot of resources but guess where you can find those - three places - nature, the internet and human activity - e.g. instituions and individuals who work on the things we are interested in. Why don't we get a group of kids working on a project together? Any different apporaches?

TB

[Rukiye Kahraman]

Hello everyone in this group, and hi thornybee:))
I am a new member of this group. I like Moodle, and I have been designing a physics course by using it. Last summer I took an online learning communities course. We used both WebCT and Ning for that course. We, all class members really liked Ning because it was so much fun. Because it has many applications to interact. Now I have the idea of designing my online course website by using Ning instead of Moodle. But, I am still not sure about that, because Moodle has more serious applications for a course, like gradebook.
That course website is going to be my final project of my masters degree.
So what would you recommend? What is your idea?
Thanks,
Rukiye Kahraman.

[amele nailevu]

Bula Gerald...and to everyone.I am a new member to your group and this network..I am teaching in Fiji..{peri-urban school}In the South Pacific.... ring.a bell....place of miltary coups..last one in 2006 and we are still ruled by them.Arent all of you guys lucky..with all these modern facilities.Here students are not acess to computers..ie..only 10 for 280 students and teachers..INTERNET..out of the topic...so we still have to go with Prehistoric method of chalk and blackboard.So 4 me i am using the resource that thornybee suggested nature nad human activity...For you Gerald congratulation 4 your effort....CHEERS..

[Julie DeSutter]

I teach in central Illinois (mostly a farming community). We have limited resources but have some technology. At times, I think there are only a few of us out there that are interested in technology and introducing new things to our students. Many times I find resistance from the adminstration or tech people to allow things to be used. Anyone else feel trapped in a technolgoy bubble?

[thornybee]

Dear Julie,

I share your view! Luckily I am moving on and hope to have more of a free hand where I am going. It is perhaps fear of the unknown (will we get into trouble legally somehow via abuse of a tool we don't understand) or maybe just that some can't be bothered to change! It's funny with some tech people - especially when they are just one step ahead of you. Often they are very busy with mundane tasks and in setting up and maintaining systems - it must be frustrating when we 'ordinary' teachers start asking about things they haven't had time to try yet or start wanting access and answers to things they've been in control of up to now!

[Jennifer Barnett]

Hello Everyone,
What exciting ideas you have! I am jealous of the comments about teaching what the students want to learn. In Texas we have a defined curriculum for each grade. Our school year is about up (3.5 weeks to go) and I still have a lot I want to do! Rukiye, I would be interested in the level of students you would use Ning with. I teach middle school science (6th grade) and feel Moodle has a lot more structure for assignments, but I a novice at Moodle. I am in the process of putting the finishing touches on my first Moodle experiment and have been a member here for several months. Ning seems like Facebook for Teachers, while Moodle seems much more geared to instruction management and delivery. With Moodle you have so much control over the length of the class, who can access it, quiz generation, paper submission, lesson planning, forums, blogs, chats, etc. Ning seems like a great place for teachers to bounce ideas off each other (if they keep up with it), but not a such great place for students in school. Moodle seems like a much more controlled environment for students for actual academic collaboration. One issue with technology is deciding what to use and stick with it. I, too, was 'gung-ho' on Ning, but the responses dropped, so I did too. I ended up having to drop something...I had a school web site with a Science website in FrontPage embedded, a wiki, Ning, Moodle, as well as personal stuff. It was just too much, so I've pared it back. I'm hoping to keep Ning if I can find others who want to collaborate. I am lucky to live in a high-tech area. Most students have access to technology at home and I have 9 (older) computers networked in my classroom as well as access to laptops and computer labs. With this bounty comes high expectations in the way of technology integration and products. What I teach still needs to be about the Science, and it has to be remembered the technology is just a tool and not the main idea.

Looking forward to your great ideas!
Jennifer