TACCLE Teachers’ Aids on Creating Content for Learning Environments The E-learning Handbook for Classroom Teachers 2TACCLE handbook TACCLE Teachers’ Aids on Creating Content for Learning Environments The E-learning Handbook for Classroom Teachers Jenny Hughes, Editor Jens Vermeersch, Project coordinator Graham Attwell, Serena Canu, Kylene De Angelis, Koen DePryck, Fabio Giglietto, Silvia Grillitsch, Manuel Jesús Rubia Mateos, Sébastián Lopéz Ojeda, Lorenzo Sommaruga, Narciso Jáimez Toro TACCLE handbook3 TACCLE THE E-LEARNING HANDBOOK FOR CLASSROOM TEACHERS BRUSSELS GO! ONDERWIJS VAN DE VLAAMSE GEMEENSCHAP 2009 IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS REGARDING THIS BOOK OR THE PROJECT FROM WHICH IT ORIGINATED: VEERLE DE TROYER AND JENS VERMEERSCH HET GO! ONDERWIJS VAN DE VLAAMSE GEMEENSCHAP - INTERNATIONALISATION DEPARTMENT EMILE JACQMAINLAAN 20 • B -1000 BRUSSEL TELEPHONE: +32 02 790 95 98 • E-MAIL: [email protected] JENNY HUGHES [ED.] 132 PP. –29,7 CM. D/2009/8479/001 ISBN 9789078398004 THE EDITING OF THIS BOOK WAS FINISHED ON THE 29TH OF MAY 2009. COVER-DESIGN AND LAYOUT: BART VLIEGEN (WWW.WATCHITPRODUCTIONS.BE) PROJECT WEBSITE: WWW.TACCLE.EU THIS COMENIUS MULTILATERAL PROJECT HAS BEEN FUNDED WITH SUPPORT FROM THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION PROJECT NUMBER: 133863-LLP-1-2007-1-BE-COMENIUS-CMP. THIS BOOK REFLECTS THE VIEWS ONLY OF THE AUTHORS, AND THE COMMISSION CANNOT BE HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY USE THAT MAY BE MADE OF THE INFORMATION CONTAINED THEREIN. PROJECT COORDINATION: JENS VERMEERSCH WITH THE HELP OF VEERLE DE TROYER AND HANNELORE AUDENAERT TACCLE BY JENNY HUGHES, GRAHAM ATTWELL, SERENA CANU, KYLENE DE ANGELIS, KOEN DEPRYCK, FABIO GIGLIETTO, SILVIA GRILLITSCH, MANUEL JESÚS RUBIA MATEOS, SÉBASTIÁN LOPÉZ OJEDA, LORENZO SOMMARUGA, NARCISO JÁIMEZ TORO, JENS VERMEERSCH IS LICENSED UNDER A CREATIVE COMMONS ATTRIBUTION-NON-COMMERCIAL-SHARE ALIKE 2.0 BELGIUM LICENSE. 4TACCLE handbook TABLE OF CONTENTS Preface Introduction SECTION 1: GETTING STARTED Chapter 1:2: What is e-learning? Tools that are useful for communicating and creating e-learning content Chapter3: Weblogs Chapter4: Wikis Chapter 5: Podcasting Chapter 6: Video sharing web sites: YouTube Chapter 7: Presentation sharing software Chapter 8: Social bookmarking Chapter 9: Digital conversations/ Group audio blog/ Voicethread Chapter 10: RSS reader for newsfeeds Chapter 11: Image sharing Chapter 12: Taxonomies, folksonomies and metadata SECTION 2: THE PEDAGOGY OF E-LEARNING Chapter 13: Different sorts of e-learning Chapter 14: The role of the teacher in e-learning Chapter 15: Target groups Chapter 16: Assessment Chapter 17: Trends and directions in e-learning pedagogy: social software and web 2.0 SECTION 3: LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS Chapter 18: Learning Management Systems Chapter 19: Personal Learning Environments SECTION 4: CREATING DIGITAL LEARNING OBJECTS Chapter 20: Learning objects Chapter 21: Designing Learning Objects Chapter 22: Creating text-based content for digital learning objects Chapter 23: Creating pictures, graphics and animations for digital learning objects Chapter 24: Creating cartoons and comics Chapter 25: Publishing digital learning objects Chapter 26: Authoring software Chapter 27: Copyright, Copyleft and Open Educational Resources SECTION 5: NETWORKS AND COMMUNITIES Chapter 28: Networked Space Chapter 29: Communities of sharing GLOSSARY TACCLE handbook5 PREFACE Information and Communication Technologies are being increasingly used to create richer learning environments. In all sectors of education from primary schools to adult education, in schools for pupils with special education needs and in colleges and universities, technologies are being used across the curriculum to enhance students’ experi ences. However, technology is not enough. The creation of high quality content is essential if the potential of ‘e-learning’ is to be realised in a way that stimulates and fosters Life Long Learning. It is important to train teachers how to design and develop their own content and generate learning materials that can help their own students and can also be ex changed freely with others. This handbook has been produced by the TACCLE project partners in six different European countries. The TACCLE project is part funded by the European Commission’s Comenius programme. Its aim is to train teachers to create e-learning materials and raise their awareness of e-learning in general in order to establish a culture of innovation in the schools in which they work. It has been written by teachers forteachers and caters forthose with only basic computer skills and limited technical support. Of course it might seem a little strange and old fashioned producing a printed handbook about the use of new technologies. But, as Jenny Hughes says in her introduction to the handbook, “we felt that the very teachers for whom this book is written are probably in the group least likely to use or feel confident about using web-based ma terials. A book is comfortable and familiar and that is exactly how we would like teachers to feel about e-learning.” Although the handbook is geared to the needs of the classroom teacher, teacher trainers, ICT support staff and re- source centre staff may find it useful too. It provides both practical support for teachers who want a hands-on expe rience and help and information forteachers who just want to find out about e-learning. Technologies are changing very fast. When we originally applied for a grant from the European Commission, we an ticipated the main focus of the handbook would be the use of Learning Management Systems - systems that help to organise and administer learning programmes for students and store and organise learning materials. At the time, this seemed to be the most important technology for creating and managing content. But since then, we have seen an explosion in the use of social networking applications like blogs and wikis, as part of what has been called Web 2.0. These are tools that make it very easy for people to create their own content in different forms – text, pictures, audio and video. These technologies make it simple not just for teachers but for students to produce and publish materials them selves and are increasingly being used in the classroom mixing traditional teaching methods with some e-learning methods in what is called Blended Learning. Therefore, we have shifted the main focus of the handbook to provide a hands on guide to the use of such tools in the classroom. We hope you will enjoy reading the handbook and above all will find it of practical use in your classroom. As the Taccle project coordinator I want to thank everyone who contributed to the handbook. It is based on the collaborative effort of all the project partners but the credit for producing a well-written and coherent text, useful and comprehen sive for teachers, is to a very large extent due to our editor Jenny Hughes. Jens Vermeersch 6TACCLE handbook INTRODUCTION This book is written for classroom teachers who want to know more about e-learning and who would like to experi ment with designing e-learning material to use in their own classrooms. It is primarily targeted at secondary teach ers but there is no reason why primary school teachers or teachers in adult education should not find it useful too. The other group we had in mind were those of you still undertaking initial teacher training. Although there are some exemplary courses, a depressing number of trainee teachers continue to arrive in the classroom having barely heard the words ‘e-learning’, still less have hands on experience of it. Some people have made the obvious point that a book about e-learning is rather a contradiction in terms and felt that it would have been more appropriate to have produced an on-line version with all of the obvious advantages of easy updating. However, we felt that the very teachers for whom this book is written are probably the group least likely to use or feel confident about using web-based materials. A book is comfortable and familiarand that is exactly how we would like teachers to feel about e-learning. It is both a reference book and a practical handbook. Some teachers will use it to find out about e-learning, others will be keen to actually get involved and start producing materials. One of our greatest difficulties has been trying to identify just who is the ‘average’ classroom teacher. Before we un dertook the planning of the book we carried out a survey in 6 countries to see if we could answer this question. This book is foryou if: You are interested in e-learning (or think you should be!) You are increasingly feeling that much of the stuff you are reading and hearing about e-learning is way beyond ‘or dinary’ teachers like you You are computer literate but not a computer expert. (That is, you can happily use word processing software, email or the occasional spreadsheet but not a lot more) You would like to be a bit more creative than producing the occasional ‘Powerpoint’ presentation You do NOT need to be an IT specialist! Having said that, we are very conscious that levels of knowledge will vary enormously, as will exposure to the tech nology. We have tried to explain every term we use, as it is introduced, so some of the sections may be more about ‘knowing’ than ‘doing’. They provide a useful reference but you can easily skip these chapters and move onto more practical things. Because this book is intended as a handbook to dip into rather than a book to be read from cover to cover, the chap ters need to stand alone and be complete in themselves. This is another reason why we have tried to explain briefly the basic concepts as we go along. However, further chapters may explore these ideas in more detail, either because we think they are particularly important, or because we are aware that some teachers may need a fuller explanation.