Professional Learning Resources

Professional Learning Resources - As a teacher, you may not always have access to a learning management system (LMS) such as Angel, Desire2Learn, or WebCT. If you were to design online learning for your students without access to a LMS, which Web 2.0 (i.e. GoogleSites, Weebly, Blogger, or WikiSpaces) would you use to organize your content for students to use? Why would you use this tool? What would be the advantages or disadvantages over using this Web 2.0 tool instead of a LMS?

As a teacher, the Web 2.0 tool I would use to design an online learning class is WikiSpaces.  WikiSpaces have a feature just for the classroom.  The students are able to have discussions.  WikiSpaces have different pages you can create for different assignments and projects in my classroom.   As a teacher, I am able to control the page and able to check on the students progress with their work.  With WikiSpaces, my students have to request for access to join.  It allows me to control who is able to access my classroom.

Some advantages of using a Web 2.0 tool are they are free with great exposure.  The sign-up process is quick and easy.  The web pages are normally easy to navigate.  They have free templates that cater to the education field.  They are user-friendly. You can access some of the Web 2.0 tool via a mobile phone. If you need to make quick changes you don’t have to always be logged in at a computer.

Some disadvantages of using a Web 2.0 are it is backed by the Internet.  Even though some of the sights have privacy features, I am still concerned with the privacy of my students.  Sometimes the Internet is unreliable.  As a teacher, I do not own that site so at any time the site administrator can shut the site down without a notice.  This could be bad if it is in the middle of the class.  I would have to find a back-up system. Also, the technical support isn’t easily accessible.  

A Learning Management System is more reliable than a Web 2.0 tool.  The LMS are backed by schools with technical support.  They are more secure because they have to sign in with a valid school login identification.  Students can’t access the class unless they are registered for the class.  This protects the privacy of the students.  Some of the LMSs are not as user-friendly, they are more difficult to navigate.  Sometimes there is a learning curve to use the Learning Management Systems.