Wow – What a World of Widgets!!

31 Jul 2010 1 Comment

by kayc28 in web 2.0 Tags: blogs, web2.0, widgets

It has been over three years since I last posted on this blog. In the time that has elapsed, I’ve completed a Masters in Education, been a teacher librarian, and am not the Education Officer for Digital Learning at ResourceLink, Brisbane Catholic Education’s information and resourcing service.

The first thing I am going to do now that I have rediscovered this blog is bring it into the 21st century. How… you might ask…

I’m going to widget-ify it!! Yes, when I began this blog, it was enough just to be able to publish online. Now we have access to a huge range of programs designed to inprove the effectiveness and quality of your blog, as well as make it fun and accessible.

Games, links, timers, animations – you name it, there’s a widget for it.

View this video for a brief overview:

So does this have any application to education? You bet it does! For classes/students/schools who maintain blogs, the right widget can not only enhance teaching and learning, it can also open a world of technology for more tech-savvy students, who may be challenged to build their own! So – widgets in education – here’s how…

Simple:

Countdown widgets – know how many days, hours and minutes until that assignment is due

Word of the Day widgets – increase your vocabulary, or revise new characters or words in a second language

Calculator widgets – solve your maths problems without leaving your blog!

(All available from Widgetbox or just Google ‘widgets’ to find heaps of great sources to explore!

Intermediate:

Voki and other voice widgets – animate yourself, add your voice and offer an audio description of tasks for those with weaker literacy skills

Widgenie – use plug ins to convert your excel spreadsheets or indeed any CSV files to display the figures in a smart visualisation on your blog – manage your own data, or get the students to upload their maths homework to a shared blog and compare!

TinEye – show your students that they can find the original publisher of images on the web – using TinEye’s ‘backward’ search, it matches your image with those that match it exactly that have been previously published online – embed the widget as a reminder to students to always cite images they use in their work!

Google Maps widgets – no more excuses about getting lost – access maps from within your online space, or set geography tasks with the click of a mouse

Advanced

Create a widget using a pre-created base, or use javascript to create one from scratch – on Widgetbox.

Another interesting creation tool is Sharendipity – create interactive widgets and other web apps without even knowing code.

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