The knowledge I acquired in 2002 during the HNC I studied in Multimedia, has enabled me to design, produce, publish and share learning materials with students and colleagues across the world. The Internet offers a multitude of possibilities to create, learn and develop - nowadays, knowledge and creativity have no limits.
There are some free or affordable resources for educators as well as trial versions which typically can be downloaded and used for a month. During the Multimedia course I completed in 2002, I designed materials using trial versions from Adobe: Photoshop, Premiere, & Illustrator, and, the then, Macromedia: Dreamweaver and Flash. I have used free software such as:
Over the last two years I have used Google Sites and I have found it an easy and quick way to create and publish webpages: free and widely available to all Gmail users. The downside is that Google does not make your websites searchable straightaway, so your target users will need the link to access them even though you might have them ‘public’. However, when appropriate, users and their privileges can be easily managed which is a very practical feature when students work collaboratively. In the portfolio website that I designed for the TANGO students, everyone could view each others’ sections and contributions but students could only edit their own space.
Recently I have started using Weebly and Padlet. I have been exploring them, discovering their possibilities and assessing their scope. Trying to become familiar with Padlet I’ve decided to create an online portfolio showcasing some of my work. Padlet offers a very simple and quick way to create a great variety of online portfolios to allow our students - and ourselves - to share resources and keep track of work.
I have decided to publish my CMALT portfolio using Weebly as, in my opinion, it offers a more professional finished product than Google Sites. So far, in my experience of Weebly and Google Sites, both as a user and a as designer, Weebly is a better option for organisations, to disseminate their work and vision, and for business websites, to advertise and sell products. Also, Weebly sites are automatically optimised for mobile browsers and search engines. However, Google Sites seems to provide more scope for interaction and it is more user friendly - creating and organising a website was simpler, more intuitive.
There are some free or affordable resources for educators as well as trial versions which typically can be downloaded and used for a month. During the Multimedia course I completed in 2002, I designed materials using trial versions from Adobe: Photoshop, Premiere, & Illustrator, and, the then, Macromedia: Dreamweaver and Flash. I have used free software such as:
- Hot Potatoes and Dreamweaver: click here to access a website I designed in 2004 using the aforementioned freeware. I also used Flash to create the website the play/ pause and stop buttons which unfortunately, no longer work.
- In 2013/14 I started to use Google Sites and Google Docs.
- Since 2004 I have written and designed language learning resources at home using my computer, a microphone and free sound editing software. I have tried Audacity and WavePad Sound Editor. I prefer the latter as I have found it more user friendly, offering a much better interface as the screen does not appear so cluttered, the colours are more pleasant and it is easier to use. Moreover, the free version for educational purposes gives you everything needed to produce good quality audio materials for foreign language students.
Over the last two years I have used Google Sites and I have found it an easy and quick way to create and publish webpages: free and widely available to all Gmail users. The downside is that Google does not make your websites searchable straightaway, so your target users will need the link to access them even though you might have them ‘public’. However, when appropriate, users and their privileges can be easily managed which is a very practical feature when students work collaboratively. In the portfolio website that I designed for the TANGO students, everyone could view each others’ sections and contributions but students could only edit their own space.
Recently I have started using Weebly and Padlet. I have been exploring them, discovering their possibilities and assessing their scope. Trying to become familiar with Padlet I’ve decided to create an online portfolio showcasing some of my work. Padlet offers a very simple and quick way to create a great variety of online portfolios to allow our students - and ourselves - to share resources and keep track of work.
I have decided to publish my CMALT portfolio using Weebly as, in my opinion, it offers a more professional finished product than Google Sites. So far, in my experience of Weebly and Google Sites, both as a user and a as designer, Weebly is a better option for organisations, to disseminate their work and vision, and for business websites, to advertise and sell products. Also, Weebly sites are automatically optimised for mobile browsers and search engines. However, Google Sites seems to provide more scope for interaction and it is more user friendly - creating and organising a website was simpler, more intuitive.