Week 1 : Introduction to Blogs and Inspirations

Our first workshop required us to set up our own blogs using http://www.blogger.com/. This was the first time I had been exposed to the phenomenon of ‘web logging’. My introduction to blogging did not go as smoothly as expected given I was the unlikely one that experienced a ‘tech failure’. My registration worked however my blog was nowhere to be seen. I had another attempt following the workshop and this time, success!


Yes, I facebook, tweet, You Tube and My Space however I am a novice blogger. I have never had my own blog nor have I viewed a blog before. I was therefore curious as to how they can be beneficial in an educational setting. I discovered a wealth of benefits. A professional blog in an educational setting can be set up by a student, a whole class, faculty or Institution. It allows students, teachers and educational professionals to question, reflect and share thoughts, views and experiences as means to communicate and collaborate. What strikes me as most powerful about this form of technology and its use within education is that it provides a new form of interaction and connection to people not only in the community but also globally. It has an enormous space in which students can share their thoughts and ideas; I can imagine this would be a useful tool to use with students who are reluctant or shy about expressing thoughts and ideas in a traditional forum (in front of the class); and a fantastic way to get them ‘thinking’. I also like the way in which parents are able to become involved in their child’s learning and gives students, teachers and parents a sense of being a part of the whole schooling community.


The introduction to the Inspirations software (http://www.inspiration.com/) was amazing. We were able to explore the various functions that the software offered in this first workshop and created an entry based on an idea that we enjoyed (see below).I can certainly see how beneficial its use will be in a classroom not only as a teaching tool by using mind-mapping to present information, idea maps, process flows and other diagrams for thinking; but also as a means to enhance the learning experience of students by encouraging critical thinking, creativity and communication. Students are able to add hyperlinks to specific webpage’s, include videos and record and play sound in various diagrams as well as upload images. Students are then able to export their work as a jpeg file and insert it into their blog. I can certainly see the benefits of these technologies in the classroom and eagerly wait what new technology we will be exploring in the next workshop.

My attempts at the software 'Inspirations'

'Australian Rules Football'

'The five  Food Groups'