WIKIs: setting your Notifications and posting a Discussion

Following on from that exciting 'Advanced' WIKI webinar in which nothing seemed to go right, I decided to produce a screencast on the topic of setting your Notifications to receive emails when someone posts a Discussion.

Notifications are a powerful feature that makes your wiki interactive: everyone can follow the latest addition of content and discuss these collaboratively.

At CNLC when a new member joins the Staffroom I advocate that the Notifications are set so that the new person can join in to group activities effectively. However, we've fallen behind with such aspirations lately as competing priorities invariably push wiki PD to the side so now there's a screencast which hopefully anyone can follow to change their Notifications independently.



It's been almost two years since I've produced a screencast using Screencastomatic so I was pleased to see that I remembered most of the key features (although I could've set up the title screen - forgot to do that) and I like the Add Notes feature, allowing the viewer to head straight to a later section of the screencast if they wish.

I'd be interested to know if you've used the screencast successfully to manage your Notifications. You can reply here or send us an email.

E-learning livens up at Lalor

It's probably time to profile one or two e-projects and their early progress. The other day I took the opportunity to visit Assunta and Carmela at Lalor to assist them with their first e-project and to review some of the resources available for their e-learning and networking generally.

Neither of the two e-leaders are teachers of ICT yet they are targeting their first project to beginner ESL students entering the computer room for the first time: developing an enhanced Powerpoint presie showing how to sit, use a mouse and log on to the computers, an e-learning 'object' that can be played whenever needed by students in the computer room. It will have photos, captions and audio narration.

The Ten Step Wiki Plan

Now that we've nearly finished our round of initial site visits to the 11 centres involved in the E-mentor project in 2011, it seems that the Ten Step Wiki Plan originally developed for staff at Carlton Neighbourhood Learning Centre (CNLC) last year to identify component e-skills has universal and immediate application for a number of centres.

If you're thinking of starting and developing a wiki for students or for staff, or even generally building people's e-skills for producing internet-ready teaching resources, then this stepped plan will be useful to you.

I've uploaded it to Google docs now so that any changes will be 'live', that is, you can access them too. Also as I'm learning about the features of Google docs, you can now comment on the doc and I can incorporate any feedback or improvements suggested by you. I like the idea of an evolving document - a truly collaborative effort. So let me know what you think of it for application in your centre: either by replying here or in the doc itself (of course, if you haven't already got a 'google identity' you might not be able to comment in the doc - not sure about that...)

Just in! ***Wiki Training Camp*** 

I found this new resource at the wikispaces blog and it looks really easy to follow. Print Training Camp worksheet pdf as a 'takeaway' to study on the tram.

September 15 and 23 Induction sessions: ideas for possible projects

Jill starts: 

I really enjoyed meeting the new project participants today, and, of course, seeing a few who are continuing from last year.

In the short time available to brainstorm the vast realm of everything 'e', we mapped our different students and contexts, identifying immediate needs and a range of 'wish list' skills and possible projects.

Centres and course covered: vocational and pre-vocational certificates, VCAL, ESL Certificates and a range of short courses (too numerous to mention). Needs included:

• communication technology for web conferencing (online staff meetings, verification meetings, VCE holiday intensives, PD drop-in, skill-focused workshop)
• some sort of course management system (CMS) for secure e-lodgement of assessments (eg. Moodle, Wikispace with custom permissions,

E-projects in 2010: 'North West Cafe' opens for business

Just to give an idea of what happened last year, the following organisations participated:

ACE NING North west Cafe Group

• Olympic Adult Education (OAE)
• Australian Vietnamese Women's Association (AVWA)
• Carlton Neighbourhood Learning Centre (CNLC)
• Span Community House (in Thornbury)
• Yooralla (Flinders Lane, City of Melbourne)
• Thornbury Women's Neighbourhood House (TWNH)
• Diamond Valley Learning Centre (DVLC)

Participants explored a number of tools via the Victoria-wide web conferencing workshops that we conducted on: wiki for content management, Moodle course management, voice technologies and Flip video. We also arranged some site visits to come out and discuss projects and assist with specific tasks. We had a group in the ACE NING, a virtual meeting place like this, but with a Forum and a few other additional features.