You want to share resources with students, but are not sure what to share or how to share them.

The first stage is to analyse exactly what it is you want to share. No tool is going to fix things for you. If you are clear in your own mind about what you want to achieve you stand a far greater chance of success.

I have summarised some of the important questions below. In addition, the flexible learning site has an AWESOME resource which will help you answer the questions:

What is e-learning?
How do I do it?

Link to Flexible Learning - Design Elearning site

1. What do I want to share?

Do you want to deliver a course and offer online assessment?

In this case you're probably better off using a learning management system like WebCT or even Moodle. While these both work in similar ways, as TAFE employees you have access to PD, training, support and even standard courses which you can reuse if you use WebCT. If the system upgrades, WestOne will ensure your courses get upgraded.

Even better, WebCT ingetrates with TAFE's IMS. In plain English, this means that once a student is enrolled at TAFE, it's a one-click process to enrol them in your online course.

The WebCT vs Moodle argument is like the Apple vs PC argument. There are pros and cons to both systems. However, if you are starting out in online delivery, my recommendation is to choose the option that offers support - WebCT.

WebCT allows you to

share PowerPoints
Create online course materials
Deliver assessments
Develop multiple choice quizzes
Use ARED to develop drag and drop, and interactive learning objects
Use online learning objects (SCORM) which have already been developed by other organisations.

If you want to know more about WebCT come and see me.

There are training courses regularly available through WestOne. Click here to find out more about dates and times.

2. Develop an online social network

First be clear about what you mean by social network.

I personally like the following definition - A social network is a social structure made of nodes (which are generally individuals or organizations) that are tied by one or more specific types of relations, such as financial exchange, friendship, hate, trade, web links, or airline routes.

Social networks take time to develop, time to support, and time to grow. Generally the larger the network the more successful it will become. Networks can develop around a shared interest, however, bear in mind that only approximately 10% of your members will be active users. This means that an online social network of 15 people, will only really have 1 - 2 people contributing regularly. This is often the cause of many social networks failing.

Social networks allow you to share online video, photos and comment/chat in one place. It's a way of amalgamating all your resources in one area. However, the object is communication and sharing and you have to be prepared to let it take directions you had not anticipated!

What does this mean to me?

Perhaps get together with other people in your division and decide to form a collective network with different groups instead of individual networks per course. This will also give your students a chance to meet other professionals and students outside of their course area. It will also share the development and maintenance load.

Think clearly about the outcomes you want and devise ways to support them

If you want students to participate in an online network then you need to give them a reason to go there, and a reason to come back.

Some ideas:

set a class task requiring students to set up a profile on the network
make one of your assessment topics dependent on posting something to the network.
post regular videos, photos and resources which are directly relevant.
link to job placement sites
encourage employers to post profiles.....
run a workshop with students to get their ideas on how to make the network useful...

Remember that social networks rely on user generated content - you HAVE to be prepared to give up control.

I'm happy to run some social networking workshops if there is demand - please drop me an email or post me a comment here.

Ning is a great social networking tool that operates on our student network. There are many many more, please come and have a chat if you're interested.

Facebook, MySpace etc are all social networking sites, however, there are issues with blocking and duty of care.

3. Use Web 2.0 tools

I have used this contentious phrase which is an expression used for the first time in 2004 referring to the second generation of the Internet. The main characteristics of new era in Internet is connected with its constant development and delivering services tailored to the needs of each user.

Huh?

What that means is tools like this blog that make it easier to comment, share and generally exchange information easily. Social Networking is an umbrella term that refers to this, however, it also refers to a variety of tools that you can access, usually for free, and are great for designing learning materials. These include:

Slideshare - to upload and share powerpoints

Googledocs - to share documents, spreadsheets and powerpoints and collaborate live in real time with users all over the world.

Flickr - an online photo and video website that allows you to comment, share, and use images to make creative resources.

Blogger, Typepad, EduBlogs - blogging sites which allow you to present opinion and comment on other people's ideas.

Wimba - create interactive voice tools...

There are many many more, let me know what you'd like to play with next..!

How to comment?

To get in touch with me, please feel free to comment on this blog. Commenting is a much faster way to reach me than email as I am immediately notified if a comment is made. Commenting also allows you to see other people's queries, and perhaps find someone in WestCoast TAFE who is interested in the same things as you - it's easy - follow the instructions below and have a go.

1. Click on the header of this article.