Introductory Blog

Hello, my name is Sheila and I am an EDES 501 student at the University of Alberta. It was with great surprise and a sense of trepidation that I discovered this course would involve plunging into the world of Web 2.0 through a constructivist approach. My initial assumption that EDES 501 would involve reading about the many Web 2.0 tools and then discussing through WebCT how these tools would impact my teaching was shattered when I read that I would be creating a blog to document my learning. As an introvert, publishing my thoughts to a global audience is quite intimidating. However, there really is no better way to learn about Web 2.0 than by trying it out myself. Also, as a teacher at a Middle School on Vancouver Island, it gives me insight on how my students may feel when I ask them to participate in a course through blogging.

Once committed to publishing globally, I was faced with what I thought would be the daunting task of determining which blog publishing tool I would use. I began by reading about blogs online and then asking colleagues, friends, and students whether they blogged and how they went about setting up their blogs. After much discussion and thought, I decided I needed some very basic step-by-step instructions. Therefore, I reread chapter 3 of Will Richardson’s book, “Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms” and followed his instructions for setting up a blog. I found these instructions to be easy to follow and had a great feeling of success once my blog was created. I am now looking forward to developing it as I learn and implement the many Web 2.0 tools that are currently available.