Scootle is another fabulous resources for students and teachers..and best of all it’s Australian! I was introduced to some of the Learning Federation object a few years ago through the ESL teachers network and was impressed by the interactive, creative nature of the tools. I’ve have found them very effective to use with ESL students. It was great to see that access to many more of these resources is available through Scootle and I will definitely be exploring this further.
I have been a member of Facebook for a couple of years and find it a useful way to keep in touch with friends who are overseas. As mentioned in the module, it is not appropriate for primary students and I think it is essential that both students and teachers are aware of the privacy settings of social networks.
I’ve not yet been tempted to use Twitter….I sometimes wonder why people need to let people know that they are having a coffee or going to sleep?? I do see the benefits, however in the way it can allow people to participate in public forums like the ABCs Q and A show, where the audience can tweet in their comments…it can make the discussion more interesting. Another benefit educationally, is that it could possibly motivate reluctant writers.
As for Second Life...I was initially not very open to this as I think having enough time for just one life seems more than enough so I can’t see myself using it personally. The educational purposes however outlined in the video link, made me open to the potential of it in the classroom. Its interactive nature would definitely appeal to students and I can see how it could bring to life places that would be impossible and impractical for them to visit. eg going inside a Dell computer or a Van Gogh painting. I like the way it also has a language translator, which could be very useful for New Arrival students. It may be worth a go!
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