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Multiliteracies for Collaborative Learning Environments

Event Cycle 1

Getting to know one another:
setting up the mechanics of a community

Monday, Sept 11 through Sept 13, 2006

Learn about our course Moodle and other web spaces:

The course moodle is a product of collaboration among Webheads in Action. Webheads is a community of educators who have been helping each other understand multiliteracy and its applications to and impacts on our profession since 1998. The Moodle is hosted by Venny Su, a longtime Webheads collaborator from Taiwan. The Moodle is open source software and is set up on a server that Venny runs from his workplace, as he has described it in his recent article in TESL-EJ: "An Open Source Portal for Educators" http://tesl-ej.org/ej33/int.html

What you should do:

• Visit http://www.opensource.idv.tw/moodle/course/view.php?id=23 and enroll in the course Moodle.
  1. First time here? Create a new account
  2. Fill out the form. Give correct first name and surname please, and a valid email address.
  3. Submit the form, check your email, and click on the link.
  4. Enroll in the course. If you're a paid participant, find the key at Desire to Learn
• Find the forum called Introductions for 2006 and post your introduction to it. Make sure you read others' introductions and respond to any that interest you.
• Update your Profile. Upload a picture (100 pixels by 100 pixels) to your Profile. Edit your profile so that it has information about you that you would like to share with other members of the community.

Learn about multiliteracies:

• View the materials indicated in the Moodle under Course Topics for Sept 11 and 12, 2006
• Do a Google (or any search engine) search on the term 'multiliteracies'. Find at least one article that speaks to you on the topic. Comment on that article (be sure to give its URL) in the discussion forum at our Moodle under the question "What is multiliteracy?"

Record your observations in your personal web 2.0 spaces

• Start a blog or wiki: You can keep notes (or write essays) on what you are learning and links you find valuable that you might want to preserve for future reference in your own blog or wiki postings. We can link to these blogs from this portal, and you can refer to them in your forum postings.
  
  Here are some of my references on blogs:
  • I am compiling what I know about blogs here: http://www.vancestevens.com/blogs.htm
  • Blogger at http://www.blogger.com - one of the most widely known and most reliable blog sites. I have created instructions here:
    • How to start a blog at Blogger: http://www.homestead.com/prosites-vstevens/files/efi/blogger_tutorial.htm (these instructions have been updated and I need to alter this link accordingly)
    • How to insert links and pictures in the template: http://www.homestead.com/prosites-vstevens/files/pi/computing2/blogwork/blog_template.htm
  • Buzznet at http://www.buzznet.com - this blog is intuitive to use and allows you to upload photos
  • There are many more such resources. I have created a PB Wiki space where we can record information about ourselves and the course, http://pp107-2006.pbwiki.com, and sent you the password through the Moodle - please create and update your page there. Link it to your blogs, above.
• Create an account at http://del.icio.us/doc/about. Put its address and that of your wiki entry above in the sidebar of your own blog or wiki.

Events in Event Cycle 1

• Check http://www.vancestevens.com/online_events.htm for activities at this time

©opyright 2006 by Vance Stevens