E-learning Goals Reflection

BLOGS
1.  This year, students didn't manage their blogs well.  Many didn't take responsibility for remembering their passwords, and Blogger was not always reliable - sometimes just wouldn't work - this problem dimming the enthusiasm for students who were having login issues.
2. It may be a problem that blogging isn't new anymore, so students weren't that excited by it.
3. Nevertheless, Fishy and Gaby persisted.  The Year 9 classes used blogs for uploading their Noumea journal.  Unfortunately, there were organic problems with the Noumea unit this year - we tampered with it, hoping to improve outcomes by placing the Adjectives unit first, thereby allowing students to better describe their hypothetical experience, as well as writing their profile.  Sadly, with the short first term, as well as the many interruptions to the classroom time due to extra-curricular activities, there was a lack of continuity that really impacted on student learning and enthusiasm.  So the blogs were half-heartedly done.
4.  Year 10 classes blogged their Hypochondriac journal and their Region Research task - these were more or less satisfactory, because students were able to redraft, and revisit earlier journal entries in order to extend ideas and grammar.  What doesn't work anymore is the online FEEDBACK comment system.  Previously, the teacher could look back on comments and see how students had addressed issues and improved drafts.
5. In light of the above problems, Fishy and Gaby are looking into the use of Edmodo - an educational online social networking platform - which may solve the feedback problem.  Also, Edmodo should never be blocked by DEECD, as Blogger was at the beginning of the year.  Because it's more like Facebook, students may relate to it better.  Lastly, there's provision for posting and loading homework assignments and education-related activities.
CHATROOMS
1. We used these with Year 9 to check learning - eg weather terms.  They were also able to prepare and practice with their partners for their speaking assessments.
2. In Year 10, similarly, students were placed into chatrooms to converse about organising social occasions and to discuss health issues.  We used chats as a formative assessment to monitor their progress in the Unit.
3. Students are required to respond quickly in remembering and using essential vocabulary and expressions.