tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2548684498947841162.comments2010-11-24T05:27:16.928+00:00The Mr E BlogG.R.Evanshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06565671709370397746noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2548684498947841162.post-31170471916689318732010-03-13T14:38:53.880+00:002010-03-13T14:38:53.880+00:00Thanks Bryony - I seem to remember you were one of...Thanks Bryony - I seem to remember you were one of the few members of the Language group that looked at the original version of this blog! I also remember issues with blockers and proxy sites with one particular Language Investigation on bebo...<br /><br />There doesn't seem to be the same sense of chasing and blocking proxies that there was a couple of years ago - it may just be the classes I have, but students don't seem to be trying to get round security as much. Still similar issues with blocking image libraries, though - I wouldn't mind it being easier to access film stills at work!<br /><br />I do think we have a responsibility to familiarise ourselves with these online spaces - we're setting up a unit of work on it in Year 9 this year, and I'm just thinking about what we should actually be wanting the kids to learn. Is it just 'English' things like language and layout, or should we be teaching them about internet security and safety? Where in the curriculum should those things go? English lessons, or tutor periods?<br /><br />I have a sense that folk who aren't active in places like facebook have something of a sense of fear about it all - moral panics, with headlines like 'facebook killer', don't help, either. It's not really a generational thing: my mum's on facebook and she has a wii! I guess it's like many things - you get along fine without it, so you don't see how it could be a positive part of your life.<br /><br />I take your point about student-teacher internet connections: "school seeping into home life" is an issue for teachers as well as students. I don't mind being emailed in the evening by folk who are stuck on essays, but we have crossed a line. It's like vampires - invite them into your house once, and that's it. A solicitor friend of mine is refusing to be given a Blackberry by work. I can see why.G.R.Evanshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06565671709370397746noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2548684498947841162.post-79248686113766240502010-03-13T14:16:15.602+00:002010-03-13T14:16:15.602+00:00Hi Ray - I like the idea of the e-portfolio a lot,...Hi Ray - I like the idea of the e-portfolio a lot, particularly the sense that the student can define the space.<br /><br />One of the biggest psychological gaps between school VLEs and social networking sites, I think, is the sense of ownership, the possibility to create one's own space in a larger environment. The VLE is someone else's space, which the child visits to collect homework, rather than a place to drop in and see who's around. Apparently our school's VLE has the capability for students to set up profile pages, but it's not activated.<br /><br />I also like the idea that students take the e-portfolio site through their career - I seem to remember giving some lovely burgundy folders to my Year 11 tutor group, a few years ago, that were meant to serve this function. I don't think they did. A digital version has more hope.<br /><br />I have no sort of purchasing responsibility - my interest in this can be nothing more than academic - but how would the logistics work? Who purchases the e-portfolio? Individual schools? LEAs? Individual students? What happens when a student moves to an establishment that doesn't support e-portfolio?G.R.Evanshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06565671709370397746noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2548684498947841162.post-47642184366621837562010-02-26T10:17:30.842+00:002010-02-26T10:17:30.842+00:00Hi, Glyn,
I would seriously recommend that in ter...Hi, Glyn,<br /><br />I would seriously recommend that in terms of both collaboration and mentoring you consider the place of a good simple e-Portfolio.<br /><br />As opposed to a normal blog or the vulnerability of some cloud-based e-Portfolio systems I would like to explore with you some of the e-safe activities that an e-Portfolio such as my product can provide.<br /><br />In answer to Kerry, it is my opinion that the collaborative process should not be seen as producing only one artefact. I believe that after the 'group bash' there should then be the opportunity for students to lay claim to their own version of the collaborative exercise, refine as they wish and comment upon the contributions of others. (I could go on....)<br /><br />In terms of mentoring, I have seen profound examples of mentoring in the US. see Para 10 in http://issuu.com/efoliouk/docs/who_uses_an_e-portfolio<br /><br />My eFolio tool allows feedback, polls, simple questionnaires, or response via 1-10 (Rickhardt?) scales.<br /><br />Best Wishes,<br />Ray TRay Tolleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03654892229937491921noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2548684498947841162.post-579897526204737862010-02-25T02:30:53.456+00:002010-02-25T02:30:53.456+00:00Interesting topics. Ones I feel I can actually say...Interesting topics. Ones I feel I can actually say something about, being an ex-student. I remember the old blockers on the school net. I also remember that the blocks themselves actually became fun challenges and something to overcome in lessons. In which case, they ended up being more of a distraction than a safekeeper. Students aren't going to really realise why they're in place and unless there's rigorous overseeing, any computer centered lesson suddenly becomes a 'Slack Off' lesson. And that's a waste of time for everyone concerned.<br /><br />I definitely believe that if teachers know more about the social networking sites and such that kids are into, then that's a huge hurdle overcome in terms of understanding the students. Perhaps more importantly getting them to understand where the teachers and rules are coming from. I'm not sure where it'd go from there, but it's a start, and a good one at that.<br /><br />I spend a good (bad?) amount of time on the net, and haven't really met with bad things, people or bullying. If teachers are really worried about such things, then it's clearly pretty important to know more about *all* of it, like facebook, bebo etc, so that you can protect the students against it. Having blocks on the schools computers doesn't stop it happening at home, and who's going to protect or teach them proper internet safety there? There may be brief internet safety talks here and there, but looking at the papers shows that it obviously isn't enough.<br /><br />You have to ask whether it's more important to protect the school from lawsuits or about the student. Hopefully in spending more time teaching the students instead of cutting them off, you can achieve both. I really can't emphasise enough how much of a difference it could make if teachers knew more about what was going on on the old world wide web.<br /><br />I'd be pretty interested to see safety research on Youtube and Facebook as well. They may be huge public sites, but they're also pretty big companies that are diligent about making it safe to use. I've never worried about it before now. It's the small websites that I worry about. Like scorpion claws...the smaller they are, the worse the sting.<br /><br />Lastly, it was a pretty new thing to have teachers try and reach out on the internet, through email mostly, while I was at school. It was cool, if a bit unnerving. But that's because it was like school seeping into home life and the computer. But then again, that's the way things are headed. Naturally, I think having a student seek you out on Facebook is odd, as at that age students are probably up to more mischief than anything else. And really, although it may be easier in some ways, we've survived how many years without student-teacher net connections? Seems more trouble than it's worth, to me.<br /><br />In any case, that's my jar full of two cents.Bryony B.T.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2548684498947841162.post-39376186672845655652010-02-24T00:06:50.127+00:002010-02-24T00:06:50.127+00:00Collaboration is a really interesting idea to play...Collaboration is a really interesting idea to play with. Last year, my group experimented with writing a collaborative piece of fiction - ten authors telling the narrative from ten different points of view. We got really excited by it and had a great time planning out a novella in about nine chapters, each broken down into individually narrated bits. We managed to write the first chapter, and to create something rather special - but then came the exams, and that was that. The logistics and the context brought that idea down - but the process we went through was rewarding in itself.<br /><br />Theatrically, the only time I've been involved in a devised piece was the show we took to NSDF in '91. It was based on zen short stories, and it was very arty - but it didn't really come together for us as a group of performers until the very end of the process, when we kind of got rid of the director and took full ownership of it ourselves. No one else understood it, mind.<br /><br />So does that all suggest that collaboration and devising are great for the experience of the process for the writers or performers, but not so good for an end product for an audience or reader?G.R.Evanshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06565671709370397746noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2548684498947841162.post-17674633406474716172010-02-23T10:43:54.245+00:002010-02-23T10:43:54.245+00:00One thing that's always interested me is the c...One thing that's always interested me is the concept of devising or collaboration... And how do we ensure that the piece still has the strong voice. <br /><br />There is a growing emphasis of "we don't need a WRITER for our theatre piece (play)" and often I feel these things fail because they don't have one strong voice... like a scrap book but without any glue. Lots of nice things on the floor at your feet.Monkey Editionhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07095199931282904999noreply@blogger.com