Help & Advice
Each of the project’s central websites is accessible via its own URL and all videos and downloadable material linked to each of the sites should be accessible to share with students. Each site is linked to its partner social networking forums. There is a detailed description of each site in the Project Overview section with quick links to the project’s hub site so you can easily assess its use in your classroom. However if you are experiencing difficulties accessing the site because of access restrictions use the following tips and hints to help you:
- Use free programmes such as http://zamzar.co and http://edublogs.tv. These programmes allow you to upload your own videos. Download videos from the any of the project sites in an unrestricted environment, then upload in your classroom using one of the above and share with students. Edublogs in particular circumnavigates filters and garden walls as it is a designated educational site
- Negotiate access to a project’s central hub with your institution’s network manager. Each of the educational activities accompanying each project recommends using many of the videos or the downloadable material such as the Slabovian Sex Guide, Workplace Guides and The Campaigner’s Handbook. Constructing a unit of work around use of the home site and in conjunction with the educational activities will strengthen requests for access to specific sites
- Use the extension, project and family activities to allow students to gain access to all the projects’ online presences as part of their wider learning outside school/college
- Do you know what your centre’s E-Safety policy is? What do your learners know about safety and the World Wide Web? Getting involved in the projects is an ideal opportunity to review issues surrounding e-safety and looking at how Web 2.0 applications such as social networking sites, wikis, blogs, data, audio and image file-sharing, online publishing, emerging new browsers, RSS feeds, Skype and pod casting can be effectively managed and utilised as educational tools. If your centre does not have an e-safety policy, work with your students to create one.
- Start using other web 2.0 tools as suggested in the activities. Use the downloadable tool kit to get you started
