Digital Tool: Website
This week I created my own Weebly in an endeavor to explore its effectiveness in a learning and classroom environment. Weebly can be simply described as an online, free, widget-based web site creator, allowing users to create pages with only a few clicks by dragging and dropping different page elements (images, text, or interactive content). After quickly and easily setting up my account and navigating through its features, I quickly learnt and discovered its strengths and weaknesses for my own use and its use in a classroom context. The difference between this type of website to the blogs and wikis that I have also explored is that the user chooses the content and construction of the website, and nobody else is able to edit, or add to it. This website structure is referred to as static ‘read only sites’; however they are a fantastic tool for obtaining knowledge and understanding of important topics. In addition, this tool is great for students to be able to create their very own websites expressing their creativity in diverse ways. In my prior experiences in the classroom, the use of websites for online learning has been a very effective online tool for many different research topics. This form of learning effectively engages students and I believe many learning outcomes can be achieved in all learning areas when successfully and appropriately implemented in the classroom. All in all, I will endeavor to implement this online tool in my future practice as a learning manager.
For students to effectively reap the benefits of online spaces such as blogging, certain thinking tools needs to well scaffolded so as to set clear requirements and expectations of the task. To ensure students success in Weebly, certain thinking tools as well as carefully constructed questions sequence or strategies need to be implemented
To successfully analyse Weebly I have again used a thinking tool called SWOT to analyse Weebly’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.
Weebly SWOT
Strengths · Free (Open Source) web content creator · Simple Drag and Drop interface · Blogging features and tools (audio, video, YouTube, Google maps and photo gallery etc.) This will ensure engagement with tasks · Fast and easy way to create a website · Become internet savvy- information experts (connectivism) · Blogging feature can be implemented so the need and use of Blogger is not necessary. · Unlike wiki’s and blog’s Weebly for education cannot be edited or changed by anyone who does not have access (private) · Interactive and engaging · Ownership of their own learning | Weaknesses · Unlike blogger and unless interacting in a blog on Weebly, the online tool only encourages a low level of thinking as students can only read and not contribute content, perspectives and ideas to particular topics. |
Opportunities · opportunity become internet and computer savvy · navigate online · improve writing skills · critically reflect · ownership of their own learning | Threats · Time consuming · Unreliable (technical difficulties) · Students tend to waste time on the aesthetics and features of their Weebly account and steer away from the content |
Checkout the Weebly I created and discover how this tool can enhance and transform learning at http://briezas.weebly.com/
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