LMS - Making a website

Today I looked on the LMS for some information on building my website.... I went to technology toolbox and had a look at "the worlds worst website" as a example of what not to do! The colours were jarring and the page was overcrowded, with moving gifs distracting from the "content". I looked up a few other examples like this one at loungelizard, some of them legitimate and others (hopefully) jokes.  Blogs like this provide a medium for social learning as they encourage comments and interaction on the internet. I also looked at website design tips which had information about keeping people viewing the site interested and not overwhelmed by what is on the page.

At first I chose Jimdo as my medium to create a website. It seemed functional, had a built in Blog and it was one of the websites recommended in LMS. I began by writing in a bio and Home page and choosing the Layout. However, I found the style clunky and not aesthetically pleasing and the presence of an irremovable add on the right hand side made me look elsewhere.
I finally settled with The web builder Zoho for a number of reasons. Firstly it was extremely easy to use! The drag and drop function allowed me to fully customize the appearance and functionality of the site, dragging text and other elements where I wanted them. Zoho is also an ad free service even for free membership and provides a tour before sign up. 

The process of creating a website was surprisingly easy and I know now the number of free website creating and hosting programs available on the web and can make use of this in the future. As a teacher, the education system is ever changing and as time progresses, more and more of what I teach will have to target students in a way which effectively generates interest and gets across to the new generations. This is why technology is increasingly becoming a part of the education system and the ability to present information through a technological means is important. I read an interesting article on this website which reflected many of the technological changes which is taking place in the classroom.

This is what my website looks like at the moment...Still a long way to go!

First post!

After a few false starts, I've finally started my blog. This blog will be used to record my learning processes, problems encountered during the assessment "Social learner" and the ways in which I've overcome them as well as thoughts on the subject of social learning. 

 It took a while to select the blogging platform I wanted to use and I finally selected Blogger because it is well known, easy to use and is recommended in the LMS. I was happy to realize that I can edit posts after I have written and submitted them and later on in the course I will probably come back to add extra information, links and media to my blog. I chose from a number of pre available templates for my blog and eventually settled on the one I have now. I like this design because it is simple and balanced and does not draw the eye away. A blog is an important social tool and in the future can be used to present ideas to students and to map my progress. I plan to use the knowledge and skills obtained from the process of creating a  blog to map my learning journey and as a place to store and record ideas.

(Inserting links, images and movie clips on blogger is simple and easy!)

Before starting I watched the LMS overview to go over how to use the LMS site and how to submit assignments and access different aspects of the course online.

LMS overview

I felt a bit confused about this unit at first and didn't quite understand what was wanted, At the moment I am still getting used to the idea of taking control of my own learning and find the transition hard, uni lacks the after school tutorials and help from teachers that I received in High School. In other ways however, this is a great opportunity to develop study skills that will certainly be needed later on in my education and the chance to submit work early by means of a peer review is good news for me. 

 
 (Sourced from the Murdoch LMS site)

 I'm also still getting used to the idea of having part of my units online, with homework, assignments and unit information on the LMS site. However, the site is very helpful and provides a social learning experience outside the classroom in its forums and to some extent the chat room. Yesterday was the first class of the unit and many people were not sure what to do, so it was a good thing for students to be able to ask questions on the forum and have them answered by staff and other students. I learned a lot from the forum (Though I should probably try and ask some of my own questions instead of just lurking and waiting for someone else to ask the same thing). For the first part of the task we are also thinking about creating a Facebook group for the people on our table so that we can share our ideas. 

 And finally, a site available on LMS, technology toolbox is a great tool with information on website building, creating blogs, creative commons and image license information. Really recommended!