1. Web Spaces: Blogs

1. Exploration of Web Spaces: Blogs - Functionality & Potential in a Secondary Classroom

Overview: Blogs

So we begin my journey of exploration! As I discussed in my 'Welcome!' blog post, I believe I have proficient knowledge and skills in digital literacy and ICT uses in educational contexts. However, my challenge will be reflecting on alternative uses of ICT and digital technologies in terms of expanding students learning beyond teaching uses.

Web spaces are a multi-faceted universe that sucks you into a hole of exploration and curiosity whether you like it or not (I have fallen into this many times)! In an educational context, web spaces offer a multitude of galaxies and discovery pathways for both students and teachers as I've learnt so far...

• Wider access to alternative and open resources globally - expert knowledge beyond teacher knowledge and teachers not the core source of teaching-learning, simply a facilitator.
• Ability to collect, store, embed and share these resources on students personalised web platform - the teacher can take a look into  the individual thought processes of each student.
• Seamless sequencing of students ideas at their own pace of learning (recognising no two students have the same core knowledge).
• Learner-centered responsibility of learning, authenticity, collaboration and flexibility is not linear or singular - personalised.
• Learners = creators, publishers, bending presentation of learning/research, multi-medium communicators, networkers, local experts...no longer a consumer of knowledge but an astronaut of web spaces.

(Hobdell, 2021)

I have had some experience with creating blogs as a webspace so I feel confident reflecting on this. In particular, my focus and interest in this reflection will be using Abobe Spark Page! 

 Blogs: Looking at Adobe Spark Page...

Miss Forsaith - Adobe Spark Blog

Blog Settings

In my creation of a Textile Technology page with Adobe spark, I took the approach of playing around with the features and settings to establish an aesthetic that would best suit my content and my style - teaching Textile Technology in secondary education. 

In general, the settings of blogs allow you to link from another web space such as websites or social media using the link tool. In delving deeper into the unit learning materials on web spaces I found this interesting about blogs..."linking is the key feature that makes the blogs so interactive (Hobdell, 2021)." The settings of Adobe Spark allow you to embed tiles that act as a place holder for an external link. For example, my blog included links to my social media, a Pinterest board that visualised a mood board and pedagogical inspirations.

Looking deeper, I found a setting that both confused and interested me - 'Google Analytics Tracking ID'. I like to think I am a proficient user of ICT, digital programs and technology in general (especially as a Gen Z) however, this particular function was interesting to discover - "Google Analytics Tracking ID (aka Property ID) is the unique identifier of a GA property. It allows Analytics and other apps to distinguish your property from other properties. This allows data to be sent specifically to your property, which can be later viewed in your Analytics account (Hill, 2020)." From this, I learnt this setting allows you to track and understand your audience's (students) behaviour, user experience, online content, device functionality and more.

Additionally, Adobe Spark Page offers multiple sharing options. The one I found particularly useful is the option to send it to Google Drive. Considering a classroom is set up with Google programs, this allows for cohesive storage for students and ease of access for teachers and other students. 

Generally, only the author of the blog can edit information and visitors can, respond and post comments which will set up a dialogue between students encouraging collaboration and interaction. However, using Adobe Spark page, you can either set up a class blog and add all of your students to a single blog OR you can invite students to be editors and they can add content and therefore ideas. 

In my opinion, the appeal of blogs is often customising the space to express the philosophy and ideology of the content being shared. In using Adobe Spark as an example of my own exploration of blogs as web spaces, 

I found that the critical elements of a successful blog space include...

1. Structure/Layout

2. Visual Content

3. Clear Focus

4. Regular Content

5. Internal Linking

Keeping these in mind, I built a blog space that allowed me to personalise the experience of scrolling down my blog. For instance, I am able to insert an image as a block and alter the direction, movement and focal point. 

Using this feature, I created topic headings use Adobe Spark Post (this also allowed for ease of transfer to my blog using an affiliated program and ensured image clarity) and this was done intentionally to guide the reader through my content. In customising the space, I was able to alter the way images were embedded into the blog using the edit grid function. 

In further customising the space, Adobe Spark Page allows me to share different types of media however not all types of digital artefacts such as files/documents (unless as links) and audio clips. However, there are ways to do this by using the external link tool and publishing these on another online platform.

   

In writing content and blog posts the text settings are fairly standard. Personally, I enjoy a range of font options and heading styles to emphasise or reflect the content however Adobe Spark only offers two headings styles. It does however offer a range of font styles. 

Above are examples of how I have created external content for instance using 'PowToon' then uploading that onto YouTube to then embed that link into my blog and 'Canva' to create a thumbnail for a 'Prezi' presentation.

Below I have used my digital literacy skills to create an infographic of my understanding of the Australian Curriculum General Capabilities and linking the source beneath it.

I have found using Adobe Spark Page to have a lot of 'dead space' that can't be modified in certain layouts or themes. Compared to other blogging sites, the range of customising the space itself is limited however it is simple and effective and would be a great tool for junior secondary students in particular.

Blogs: Legal, Safe and Ethical Protocols 

If I'm honest, this aspect of using ICT and digital technologies was not common knowledge and did not come easy in understanding how to consider these in my classroom. Upon my own reflections and readings (see my blog post 'Nature of Digital Pedagogy'), I have discovered that when working with blogs as a teaching-learning tool, there are four key aspects to addressing this outlined in the ICT Learning Continuum on ACARA...

1. Recognise intellectual property.

2. Apply digital information security practices.

3. Apply personal security protocols.

4. Identify the impacts of ICT in society.

Teaching my students to be digital citizens can be tricky as their level of understanding, especially as Gen Z learners, can be varied from novice to experts and everything in between. My approach would be to use real-life contexts and examples of cyber safe practices, reporting procedures of offensive or inappropriate content, using others ideas or work (plagiarism and referencing) and do this in engaging ways (e.g. training modules) such as 'BrainPOP'. This allows me to see my students understanding of the four aspects of safe and ethical blogging protocols and can be augmented to suit other ICT and technology use in the classroom.

In terms of working legally with blogging the classroom, this depends on the blogging site itself. Most blogging sites have specific guidelines and in line with Adobe Spark Community Guidelines, their web space should be used and interacted by...

• Being Respectful: Because we have users of all ages and across multiple geographies, we don’t allow you to upload content containing nudity, vulgar language, graphic violence, or content that promotes illegal activity, hatred or self-harm. Although we are all for free expression and tolerate a variety of opinions, language or media that demean an individual or group based on race, ethnic origin, religion, disability, gender, age, or sexual orientation isn’t welcome on the Spark platform.
• Being Safe: School-age users, please do not use Spark to share your personal information (like full name, home address, phone number, email address, or anything else that would let someone locate or contact you in the real world). 

Educators and administrators can learn more about best practices for leveraging Adobe Spark for Education by clicking the link called Guide for Schools and Educators in the guidelines page (this is very useful and important!).

 Teaching-Learning with Blogs: Adobe Spark

Benefits

In considering my personal teaching context in junior secondary English and Home Economics, there are several pedagogical benefits (drawn from the unit learning materials) of working with blogs in the classroom...

• Learning traditional & developing new digital literacies & ICT skills
• Cross-curricular links
• Fostering creativity, curiosity, reflection, inspiration & innovation - students having a voice!
• Home-school-community connections - local & global
• Developing digital citizenship & creating digital footprints
• Fostering social skills, identity, communication & confidence
• Facilitating classroom community & inclusivity - an online hub
• Purposeful, personalised and productive - owning your content!

(Hobdell, 2021)

Student & Teacher Use

Contemporary learners, particularly Gen Z, care about their self-image and how they are perceived by others. With this, the idea of being able to create, build and showcase themselves on any online platform presents an opportunity for an audience. This alone creates a sense of purpose and interest that allows students to use blogs as a way to express themselves and their ideas (it is proven that Gen Z's are passionate, global opinionmakers).

Personally, I really do see the value that blogs provide the teacher, with the opportunity to see inside the thought process of their students and even more so the students can gain perspective on their peers in terms of different ways of learning the same subject. Additionally, in such a digital society, students have become very visual consumers of information and tend to respond to a graphic or engaging form of communication, thus making them not only a blog host but a creator, publisher and presenter of their learning to an audience.

Creation, Building & Constructing

Students ability to create, build and construct an online and public platform, presents the opportunity to critically think about how they can do this form their own learning, problem solve in terms of setting up a web space (i.e. a blog) and communicate concise and clear information that expresses their idea's in a creative and engaging way = a blog...

• Personal blogs for teachers
• Student blogs
• ePortfolios
• Blogging platforms for assignments, homework, and announcements
• Classroom blogs for collaboration and discussion

(Wallagher, 2015)

For instance, in my teaching context, Home Economics is a multi-faceted subject presenting innovative and REAL-WORLD ways to address key issues in the food and textile industries. Students understanding of these concepts can be explored through connecting with like-minded home economists, experts in the field and local and global communities....

In my first professional practice, I experienced a grade 10 textile technology class during a service-learning unit. The teacher organised an excursion to a local youth shelter who were in need of some textiles. Students were using traditional resources to complete an investigation of what the shelter needed to then take this research and use the design process to generate ideas including tea towels, shopping bags, pillow cases, curtains etc. In looking through a digital lens, I would love to see this kind of assessment in the form of blog. Imagine students showing their collection of evidence through videos and images, writing journal entries that can be accessed by not only the teacher but be shared with the shelter and the local community. This sense of purpose gave students a real initiative to get this right. Using a blog as a process journal as they work through the design process gives insight into each individual creative process in each step - investigation, generation, production and evaluation.

Source - Cult of Pedagogy

Access

Both students and teachers can gain access to a wide range of information and knowledge to other blogs and web spaces that can inspire different perspectives on the same topic or idea. Given blogs are often reflective, this gives students access to other perspectives and opinions that can influence their own view's. For example, English teachers are able to connect with authors, publishers, poets and media outlets through expert blogs, to collect a series of classroom resources that can be augmented into a digitally creative learning experience such as an interactive research portfolio where students record audio's of poetry readings, videos/clips of their favourite poets, journal entries about the emotions they will express in their poetry and visual depictions of their thought processes.

Collaboration & Sharing 

In terms of students sharing their blogs, they are able to present this as multimodal presentation to the class (Adobe Spark Page has a 'presentation mode' for this purpose!). This can be an effective way of students presenting their learning and idea's, building upon their communication skills. This also allows for other students and the teacher to ask questions and collaborate on these ideas. For instance in an English class, a student may be presenting their poetry analysis blog and discussing the ways in which the poet conveys ethos. As the student is presenting, students can make comments on the blog post or content to interact with the blog itself but also be part of collaborative engagement in the classroom. The teacher can then use this as a record of peer assessment to aid in their own assessing of the students understanding and record the presentation to then be uploaded to their blog. The teacher may also set up a space where students can drop their blog links for other students and teachers to access however in this particular poetry analysis unit, could be shared in a local poetry publication or library, thus connecting with community and finding global connections - using digital tools and blogs, especially, work in a cycle of interaction, collaboration and connection within a classroom but extends beyond this.

As discussed and reflected upon, the use of blogs in the classroom can promote both lower order and higher order thinking in line with Blooms Taxonomy and the SAMR model. My understanding is best demonstrated in an infographic I've created on a poetry analysis unit in junior secondary English...

Linking an English Poetry Analysis Assessment to SAMR & Blooms Taxonomy....(...in Miss F's brain)

My understanding from the unit learning materials, that I need to consider is the "hypothetical boundary between low-end pedagogy (substitution and augmentation) and high-end pedagogy (modification and redefinition)" (Hobdell, 2021). In summarising Hobdell (2021) into my own reflection...

By shifting from teacher-centered classrooms to learn-centered - allowing students to take control, being able to interact with experts beyond the teacher. Looking at myself as a redefined teacher in that I am facilitating and observing the learning and exploration as a mentor and advisor (almost like I'm sitting in a space hub, the physical limitations of the classroom dissolve, watching my students float around exploring the universe as astronauts...i am space control for their resources, troubleshooting and base communication).

This hypothetical boundary enables connections and collaboration between students to problem solve, be each others space partners in this journey of discovery. They are no longer sitting on earth, consuming knowledge about space, they are IN IT. They have taken their training from home base (a.k.a the teacher) and have been rocketed up into space (the learning experience) to use their skills and become creators of new knowledge to radio back to earth.

Continuing with this theme, students can log their discoveries and learning through reflective practices with the use of blogs, to engage in the process of analysis, evaluation and creation (higher order thinking). Therefore, in asking my students to journal in a blog, I am able to use my unique teaching style and perspective to implement thinking tools and specific question sequences to guide them to the learning goals.

This kind of thinking routine becomes students oxygen when they are floating around up there and need a toolkit to rely on...the process of remembering their training/skills/knowledge for their journey to then understanding HOW they can use these up in space, once they get up there, they need to apply what they have learnt to the mission, analyse the situation by asking themselves questions to keep the mission moving and troubleshoot any mishaps along the way, now they need to evaluate the best solution through reflective practices (will this work? what could go wrong? how effective is this strategy?) and finally creating the solution...

References

Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA). (2015). Learning Continuum of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Capability. Retrieved from https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/f-10-curriculum/general-capabilities/information-and-communication-technology-ict-capability/learning-continuum/?element=Applying+social+and+ethical+protocols+and+practices+when+using+ICT&page=2 

Hill, C. (2020). How to find your Google Analytics property tracking ID. analyticsHelp.io. Retrieved from https://analyticshelp.io/blog/google-analytics-property-tracking-id/

Hobdell, G. (2021). Week 3: Digital Tools 1 - Web Spaces. Moodle Learning Materials. EDSE12024: Digital Pedagogies in Secondary Schools, CQUniversity e-units. Retrieved from https://moodle.cqu.edu.au/mod/book/view.php?id=1686859&chapterid=136922 

Wallagher, M. (2015). How Blogging is Being Used in the Classroom Today: Research Results. EmergingEdTech. Retrieved from https://www.emergingedtech.com/2015/09/the-state-of-blogging-in-the-classroom/