Thursday, December 14, 2006
Thursday, December 07, 2006
Online Learning Tools
As part of the second mosule on my Ultracversity course I have to examine the relative merits of different online learning tools.
A learning tool is a program that facilitates learning.
I intend to add to this post as time goes on.
Initiall, MSN messenger as it is the medium that I am most familiar with.
Messenger is a way of chatting to contacts / friends online. It is possible to use
webcams to see the other person and even to have voice and video conversations. It is also possible to exchange files though this can be a little slow.
The pros to it are that it is generally a very informal, friendly way of communicating. You can decide who you talk to and when, and likewise people can decide if they want to talk to you.
The cons are that is is very easy to drift off subject, you can only chat to people that have you in there address book and are online at the same time as you.
I organise my msn contacts into groups to make it easier to see who is online.
First Class
First class is an expansive piece of software that is extensively used by Ultraversity. It combines many tools into one cohesive piece of software.
Not the easiest of things to get to grips with as it doesn't always follow normal Windows protocol.
There are two main methods of direct communication within FC.
The cohort6 message board is a sprawling mass of posts.
It is an open forum for people to discuss any issues that they are facing with the current module. When we wher first introduced to FC it was intened that it would be as a less intensive work area. Plone (see below) was going to be the main area of discussion for module related chat.
First Class has however become dominated by module chat and, in my opinion, a few individuals.
I know that they mean well and are very helpful but I feel that they are to a bit ott. I find the dictatorial style of one person in particular quite a barrier to me interacting fully in this arena. Perhaps I am being oversensitive.
I will prefer the message board side of FC when we are split into smaller groups.
Currently with 80 or so researchers posting it is very difficult to establish any kind of relationship.
A learning tool is a program that facilitates learning.
I intend to add to this post as time goes on.
Initiall, MSN messenger as it is the medium that I am most familiar with.
Messenger is a way of chatting to contacts / friends online. It is possible to use
webcams to see the other person and even to have voice and video conversations. It is also possible to exchange files though this can be a little slow.
The pros to it are that it is generally a very informal, friendly way of communicating. You can decide who you talk to and when, and likewise people can decide if they want to talk to you.
The cons are that is is very easy to drift off subject, you can only chat to people that have you in there address book and are online at the same time as you.
I organise my msn contacts into groups to make it easier to see who is online.
First Class
First class is an expansive piece of software that is extensively used by Ultraversity. It combines many tools into one cohesive piece of software.
Not the easiest of things to get to grips with as it doesn't always follow normal Windows protocol.
There are two main methods of direct communication within FC.
The cohort6 message board is a sprawling mass of posts.
It is an open forum for people to discuss any issues that they are facing with the current module. When we wher first introduced to FC it was intened that it would be as a less intensive work area. Plone (see below) was going to be the main area of discussion for module related chat.
First Class has however become dominated by module chat and, in my opinion, a few individuals.
I know that they mean well and are very helpful but I feel that they are to a bit ott. I find the dictatorial style of one person in particular quite a barrier to me interacting fully in this arena. Perhaps I am being oversensitive.
I will prefer the message board side of FC when we are split into smaller groups.
Currently with 80 or so researchers posting it is very difficult to establish any kind of relationship.
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