Week 3 - Reflection on Websites

Technical Aspects: An Overview

Websites are a powerful platform as they possess the ability to display and present information in an easy to use interface. They can support a variety of embedded content and materials such as text, audio, video, images, links, files and documents. Websites are traditionally a Web 1.0 tool. This means that information and content remains static and restricted until manipulated by the owner or webmaster of a website. This means that there is no possibility for multi-authoring, as outside parties cannot edit, manipulate or contribute content to a website without adequate permissions. However, in recent times, websites are now bridging into Web 2.0 tools as they can now contain interactive elements – forums and discussion boards, quizzes and polls. In the past, writing and embedding HTML code into the fabric of the internet made constructing a website a difficult endeavor. However, online website builders such as Weebly, Web.com, Wix and WebsiteBuilder.com makes creating and developing a website relatively simple and easy with no extensive prior experience necessary to operate or use them. The settings tab in website builders such as Weebly also allows the author to alter the privacy settings by adding members to the website. Websites are also beneficial as they allow the author to design and customize the space in a variety of different ways. For example, the website building service, Weebly, allows authors to customize the background theme and colours of a website, format headers and footers and format spacing and layout.

Application of Websites in a Classroom Context

What learning outcomes can websites support in a classroom?

Websites can be utilized as a powerful tool in a classroom context, supporting a variety of learning outcomes, including:

• The ability to develop students’ competency in using ICT and digital literacy skills
• Develops students’ capacity to complete independent and individual learning activities
• Developing students’ ability to learn through a mode other than face-to-face teaching and communication
• Developing students’ ability to comprehend, analyze and evaluate resources and information
• Fostering students’ creativity and ability to create, locate, arrange and organize information
• Ability for collaboration via forums and discussions with some websites comprising Web 2.0 technologies

What sorts of materials/activities can websites support?

A website can have the potential to revolutionize students’ learning in a classroom with the ability to support a range of materials and resources including:

• Text – relevant information such as textbook notes or passages from readings
• Audio and video – such as YouTube clips to aid student understanding on a particular topic
• Images – photographs, diagrams, mind maps or flow charts
• Links to other related websites
• Links to download important files and documents – handouts, assignment task sheets or criteria sheets

Furthermore, this digital platform can in turn help students to complete activities such as:

• Planning and completing assessment tasks or helping to facilitate exam revision
• Analyzing and evaluating information to complete in-class activities or handouts
• Creating their own online spaces to present, arrange and organize information

How can websites be applied to my pedagogy and used within a classroom?

Within my teaching context, in either an Accounting or English classroom, the integration of the websites as technological tool would significantly change and modify my pedagogy. The SAMR model below shows how I would best utilize the technological tool of websites at each level of the spectrum to enhance students’ learning experiences and outcomes within my classroom.

The SAMR Model:

Level	Description
Substitution	Websites are used only as a substitute for traditional teaching methods – to display basic hard-copy content such as textbook pages or handouts.
Augmentation	Websites are used to support students’ learning as an interactive medium where teachers can share and students can access additional resources – documents, web links and embedded images and videos, which were previously not obtainable without the implementation of ICT.
Modification	Websites are used to enhance students’ learning by allowing teachers to redesign learning experiences through the implementation of ICT to assign tasks to students. With the support of emerging Web 2.0 technologies, this may include assigning discussion and reflection questions or the completion of online quizzes or polls.
Redefinition	Websites are used to transform students’ learning with the ability for teachers to create new tasks previously inconceivable before the emergence of digital website technology. This could be achieved by allowing students’ to arrange, evaluate, arrange and organize information and foster their creative skills by creating their own websites for the completion of an assessment task.

Evidence of Technical Proficiency: Model of a Website

Please find below the link to a website I have created for the context of a Year 11 Accounting class.

11 Accounting Website