Week 3 Weebly site

Well the last task for week three about the learning tools was to create an online site through Weebly.
I have done this and the link to view is: http://amydmanaginge-learning.weebly.com/

So far I have done the home page and weeks 1 to 3. I essentially copied the information I have written in my Wikispace and added some different picture and some extra text. I did this just so I could learn how to used Weebly and to see if it would be a good resource in a classroom environment without having to spend alot of time on new content on the same subject.

It has been an easy tool to use and gives the creator alot of freedom to enter different mediums into the pages. I have included pictures, video and text so far. The Weebly site also allows for comments to be left at the bottom of the page, however, this is only an option that the site creator must include if wanted.

The Weebly site would be a valuable tool in a classroom for students to use. It has a slightly more professional feel to it than Wikispaces.

However, to use this site for multiple entries from many sources is hard to do. This is because the Weebly site can be created by one person with no option to change the sites content given to whoever views it like in Wikispaces. If content is to be changed by other people beside the creator it would take some work to add these people especially if it is a whole class. There is a section where this is able to be done on Weebly but, is requires individually adding each persons details into the authorised editors page. This could be time consuming if large classes or different schools and/or professional contributors are involved. It could also cause some problems within the class in choosing who is to be the website developers. Although it may be possible to turn it into an opportunity to allow the class to learn about team management and job allocation and specifications to create an end product.

The site is a great resource to create a more professional looking site with researched information. The site would have to be created by the teacher or a couple of selected students who then add new material gathered from their fellow students research.

Also Weebly allows the creator to choose a domain for the site to be a part of. I choose to be under the weebly.com domain, but if the students were learning about the Internet and its capabilities then the site to be created could be made under the .com domain. This would also allow a more professional look and sound to the site since it has its own .com and is not listed under another company's domain.

The Weebly site like the Wikispaces site could be used to create a place to add content on a topic that has an ongoing nature in the classroom. It would allow teachers, parents and outside parties to view the material the students have contributed to the site.

I was going to list the many ways that this site can be used however, once again I find it is easier to say; 'the options for its' use are limitless'. The teacher can think of many uses or ask the students to contribute ideas, also peers and Internet searches can be done  to find more ideas. I think now before we even start the next lot of work in the weeks to come -on tools that can be used in classrooms for digital learning-, will be an endless list with endless possibilities.

My SWOT analysis on Weebly in the classroom is at:http://www.wikiswot.com/SWOT/4_/Amy_s_Managing_E_Learning_on_p.html