Over the past few days I've been customising my e.journal. Today I added a 'gadget' in the form of a Sudoku game. You will find the game towards the bottom of my sidebar on the right, so please feel free to give it whirl and break up your blog following!
After discovering the various gadgets available online, I started considering how various ICTs, gadgets (be it a Sudoku game or a virtual pet) and plug-ins (such ‘voki’), can be used by students to express themselves and feel a sense of ownership.
The ability for students to personalise their blog or wiki for example (with different 'gadgets,' layouts, colours and the like), enables them to be creative and inject some of their own personality into their work, which would in-turn foster a sense of ownership. Moreover, the hands-on and customisable nature of digital tools such as blogs, enables students to become more invested in the learning process through active participation.
As I will discuss in a future post, vokis are one plug-in available to students to personalise web pages or emails, stamping their own personality on their work.
The video below explains how blogger account users can add gadgets.
