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Software and Liveware

The document discusses software and tools that can be used for online courses, including virtual learning environments (VLEs), social networking sites, wikis, and discussion forums that can serve as a central course site. It also covers synchronous tools like text and video chat and asynchronous tools. Various activity tools are mentioned that can be used for specific activities, including wikis for group projects to create and share information. Liveware and online etiquette are also briefly addressed.

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75 views

Software and Liveware

The document discusses software and tools that can be used for online courses, including virtual learning environments (VLEs), social networking sites, wikis, and discussion forums that can serve as a central course site. It also covers synchronous tools like text and video chat and asynchronous tools. Various activity tools are mentioned that can be used for specific activities, including wikis for group projects to create and share information. Liveware and online etiquette are also briefly addressed.

Uploaded by

Rocio
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Software and liveware. Activity tools.

In this lesson, we'll discuss:

 Software: availabilty, uses, advantages.


 Course site tools: VLE, social networking sites, wikis, discussion gr
 Synchronic and asynchronic tools
 Activity tools
 Liveware and netiquette.

1. Initial decisions and planning

One of the first things you will need to decide is where you will keep your online
course content:

• Where will you give your learners instructions for tasks and add documents, audio
files or videos?
• Where will your learners interact online, using text, audio or video?
• Where will you keep grades or provide feedback on their work?

We suggest that you set up a dedicated space, or course site, online. Think of this
as a central hub where learners and teachers can meet and/or exchange
information online. Here are some of the things that you can do in a course site:

Teachers Students
 Find instructions for tasks
 Give instructions for tasks  Post answers to tasks
 Read students’ work  Read feedback on individual and
 Give feedback on work/assignments group work/assignments
 Discuss issues with learners  Discuss issues with learners and teacher
 Pick up messages from learners  Pick up messages from teacher
 Leave messages for learners  Leave messages for teacher or other learners
 Leave a list of useful links  Find useful links
 Leave audio and video files  Listen to audio and watch video
 Hold text and video chats  Attend text and video chat with teacher and
 Create quizzes and polls learners
 Manage student grades  Do quizzes and polls
 Access grades privately
What exactly does a course site consist of?

If you work in a large school or institution - such as a university - there may already
be an official online space, such as a Virtual Learning Environment, for you to use.
If you are starting a course from scratch and work on your
own, you may not have access to an institutional VLE and will have to create a
course site yourself. The good news is that nowadays this is much easier than
before, and it’s free.

The tools listed below can each serve as a course site and the ones we
recommend as ‘Our favourites’ are free at the time of writing.

We start with VLEs, then take a look at social networking sites, then at wikis, and
finally at online discussion groups. You could run your online course using any of
these tools as a central hub or course site. Bear in mind:

 VLEs offer the most complete solution for online courses, as they can
do all of the things we outlined above.
 Some social networking sites can do most of the things outlined, wikis can
do many, and online discussion groups can do some of the things we
mentioned.
So when deciding which tool to use as your course site, your order of
preference should be:

1. a VLE
2. a social networking site
3. a wiki
4. and, your final choice, an online discussion group.

Activity tools

Many of the tools are known as ‘Web 2.0’ tools. This simply means that they are
tools that allow users to contribute materials easily Think of the difference between
a ‘static’ website - to which the casual visitor or user cannot contribute - and a wiki,
which anybody with permission can contribute to. A wiki is an example of a Web
2.0 tool.

Another feature of Web 2.0 tools is that they have multi-functionality. To take our
example:
• A wiki does not have to consist only of text.
• It can include videos, audio, a calendar, embedded documents, an area for
learners to upload assignments, automatic translation or glossary tools, a guest
map - to name a few of the extras you can integrate.
So when we suggest that you do an activity with your learners using text chat, you
probably use a tool that combines text chat with audio and/or video-conferencing
capabilities, as well as a shared whiteboard!

Note: Be aware that Web 2.0 tools appear and disappear, and new applications
and tools are constantly appearing.
Once you have your course online (or part of your course, if you doing a blended
option) you may still wish to use other web-based tools to do various activities.
Some of these may already exist in your course site, especially if you are using a
VLE, but for others you will merely have to send your learners the link for them to
use it. Some of these tools require users to register. The information they require is
minimum.

 We advise you to create a separate email address to coordinate everything


relating to your course, and register for any extra sites using that address.
 It’s also a good idea to use the same username and password for your
courserelated registrations (easier to remember!) or to keep a safe record of
all your usernames and passwords.

Look at the chart and see all the options we have:

Class activity:

1- Wiki: in groups of three we are going to create a Wiki about these activity tools.
In the forum, write the names of the members of your group (one per group).
Complete the group names for Monday so we can start working on the wiki on
Tuesday.
2- Reading about course site tools, activity tools, and liveware. (book available in
Archivos)

Let's read each other.

Bibliography:

Hockly, Nicky. Teaching Online. Part A pages 19-30. Delta Teacher Developement
Series.

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