School blogs are effective in allowing children to share their work with others and also reflect on learning that has taken place. For example, Sir John Lillie Primary School did blog about their History trip to France. 

This was good as on a daily basis a blog would be posted about their trip and what they have been learning, with lots of images also being posted.

Other methods of blogging include quad blogging, this is becoming increasingly popular in schools. It allows schools from all around the world to link together on one platform, sharing ideas and communicating with each other. It allows more learning and more communication as children are conversing with other countries and cultures. Furthermore, the 100 word challenge is another form of blogging where children create work and thereafter other children can comment and respond.

Encouraging children to use these various learning platforms is essential in building confidence, communication skills and relationships with others. It also allows responses from a wide range of audience where children will feel more encouraged. However, the safety aspect of these learning platforms is something to consider, this is why they need to be informed about this and security options must be used.

The first two sites that came into my mind were Seven Kings High School and ChristChurch Primary School, my secondary school and my primary school. Both sites are examples of well-designed sites, this is clearly evident. I used to regularly use my secondary school school to site to access my work during my GCSE’s and A levels and I would easily be able to navigate and use the site without any problems. Both sites have a clear and structured format allowing people to easily navigate around the site. The colour scheme of both sites represent the branding and logo of the school, this is vital.

Downsend Primary school is a private school I came across which is an example of a poorly designed site in my opinion. The structure of the site is not very clear and the lack of colour does not reflect the values of a Primary school, but instead a business site of some sort. There is no evidence of children’s work, celebration of children’s work, or even a positive learning environment evident on their site. To me, this is an example of a poorly designed site.

What makes a good school website:

• Good structure: this is important and should allow parents and students to easily navigate around the website without any problems.
• Modern design: ensuring the image of the website reflects the values of a primary school and the primary school itself. It should be eye catching and aesthetically pleasing.
• VLE: this is slowly becoming more popular within schools to allow children and parents to access work from home and consolidate learning that is being taught in lessons.
• Updated information: this includes timetables, term dates, school dinner menus, exam timetables etc. all which should be updated regularly.

After comparing both websites and highlighting what makes a good website, I now understand why it is important for school websites to be well designed. This quote by Paula Hundley “School websites supports community outreach and help families establish home environments to support their children as students” (http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ989780.pdf) highlights how a school website can help build strong relationships with home communities. Parents often access their child’s school site for various reasons and it is vital that they feel part of a school community just by browsing. This can be done through well designed sites which show a sense of community, celebration of pupil’s work and structure.

Barrs and Harrocks in their article discuss the importance of blogging and how it should be used in Primary schools in order for pupils to get the most out of them. According to their research, blogs by students in the past are seen to be too vague with not much detail or effort being put into them, thus highlighting the importance of teachers putting forward particular questions that needs to be answered and giving more guidance. Furthermore, comments are vital in getting pupils to think further and expand their thinking but can also motivate them.

Moreover, Barrs and Harrocks discuss the importance of making blogging fun, engaging but also inclusive for all students, and this is where the role of the teacher is key. They go on to discuss how blogging can be done at home which is important as blogs can be improved and developed when pupils have more time. However, this could be a problem as not all pupils have access to the internet.

There are implications of learning communities in primary education from the perspective of teachers and pupils:

Teachers:

• They can monitor the progress of their pupils and make comments
• They can run reports about which pupils are participating and which are not
• Information is easily accessible and can be archived, thus being easily manageable
• Teachers across the globe can share lesson plans, for example, websites such as TES allows teachers to share resources. However, it can be argued that due to the fact that resources are easily accessible it has led to a ‘wood from the trees’ situation where it becomes harder for teachers to improve their teaching.

Pupils:

• Increase student engagement through unique learning environments and experiences, for example: moodle, VLE etc.
• increase the depth of student learning through experiences requiring the application of knowledge
• Can share knowledge and information through learning communities, especially if pupils need help with  a particular area of work
• Easily accessible for pupils – only a password is needed and access to internet and thereafter work can be accessed at anytime
• Some pupils may find it difficult to access e- learning platforms due to lack of internet access

These are only a few implications from online communities in primary schools and overall. They are a powerful tool that can only be improved and developed and can only become more important in primary schools. As Ernest Boyer’s (1995) research suggested, a successful school is that of connection, where pupils and teachers can communicate with one other. After discussing these benefits, I would definitely integrate a platform for my e-learning resource where teachers and pupils can communicate.

ICT has been used to link schools together in Northern Island and the Republic of Ireland where historically there has been a divide and conflict between Protestants and Catholics. There has been a lot of efforts to build community cohesion but has been very difficult among the different communities. ICT was used to link different schools together, this was done through the VLE Fronter. This allowed students to work together and develop their ICT skills and relationships with students. Some problems such as lack of internet connectivity did occur but overall it was a success.

This investigation supports the fact that ICT does support community cohesion. The VLE’s allowed children to communicate with each other and share their ideas with people around the world. This strengthens links and communication skills as they may not have worked with these people before, but also allows them to develop other ideas.

Overall, ICT has helped with social cohesion and community integration.

I have always grown up with the internet around me, positively influencing me and supporting me with my education from a young age. The internet is a very strong tool that can be used for different purposes, for example, for communication, education, as a source of information etc. Bernes-Lees discusses in his article how the web is a strong tool for communication. Social networking sites are forever increasing in popularity and is one of the strongest ways of communicating with others around the world.

Furthermore, there are also educational social networking platforms such as the ‘student room’. This has always been a helpful site for me as it allowed me to ask other students who were doing the same subjects as me questions. Bitesize is another popular site which supported me throughout my high school years. It allowed me to test and consolidate my understanding after i learnt something at school. There were also fun games to play to test understanding which made the site even more engaging. Both examples illustrate formal learning experiences.

Overall, the web has always played a positive impact on my life, whether that be educationally or allowing me to communicate with my friends and family around the world through social networking sites.