Catholic Education system- On-line learning Management System: Myinternet

1. Catholic Education system- On-line learning Management System: Myinternet

2. Three sections: • Mydesktop • Mymail • Myclasses

3. Mydesktop What is mydesktop? Mydesktop is a personal portal/desktop designed to provide schools with intranet styled fucntions without the need for the school to purchase and maintain local software and hardware. mydesktop is personally customisable, web-based software that allows teachers and students to share school related content. It includes a set of tools and Properties for collaborating, communicating, organising, document storage, and information management. mydesktop is available anytime, anywhere, making home to school activities and school communications easier. How can teachers use mydesktop? Mydesktop makes it easy for teachers to communicate information to every group in the school, as well as create opportunities for collaboration. The most powerful aspect of mydesktop is the variety of education authority controlled, school controlled, or individual user controlled Properties.

4. mymail mymail is a web-based email application specially designed for school students and school based education staff. Web-based email is email that can be accessed from anywhere, provided you have a computer with an Internet connection. Features include: receiving, compose/sending and storage of messages, folder management and address book.

5. Myclasses • The ‘myclasses’ page is a virtual learning environment. • It provides a page for the storage and management of learning objects and other resources. • Myclasses enable teachers and students to ultilise the resources of the Internet to assist in on-line learning. • There are a number of ways to manage and use information within the myclasses page

6. The Class Foyer is the entry point to myclasses. The Class Foyer consists of:Welcome bannermenuOther Properties can be added to the Class Foyer desktop via the Property search (Properties > Search for a Property). The Class Foyer

7. Class Summary • The Class Summary lists all the classes you are a member of, including the classes you are: • a Student can participate in a class but not add or edit content • the Creator has full editing rights of the class • a maintainer although not the creator of the class has the same rights as the creator • In the Class Summary you can: • Openin student or maintainer mode • Status open or closed • Sortby subject or school

8. Creating a class page Class Pages are like online classrooms. Each class is represented by a desktop that provides a central point for all class members to conduct, interact, and collaborate on classroom activities. On each Class Page, one can completely customise the content for the class. What content can be placed on a class page? Like regular desktops, Class Pages contain Properties. Any previously created Property can be added to the page. When you first create a Class Page, a number of useful Properties, such as Calendars, Journals, and Notice Boards, are added to the page by default. Teachers can also add a special content management Property called an e-Learning Folio (eLF).

9. Steps to creating a new myclasses page Step 1 - Create a new class page Step 2 - Enter the class details Step 3 - Enter the class content Step 4 - Select the class members Step 4a - Select students Step 4b - Select Groups Step 4c - Select Maintainers Step 5 - Complete the Class Page

10. Myclasses pages scenario Mary, a Year 8 geography teacher, is teaching her class about the geography of coastal regions. She has created a class specifically for this topic so her students can learn more about coastal regions through photographs and other information from eLFs. She also encourages her students to visit coastal regions and take their own photographs. By using the Portfolio Viewer property her students are able to upload and display their photographs to the rest of class. Using the Student Journal, the students can discuss their findings.

11. Other uses • Teachers and students can be a member of more than one class. • Teachers can create classes for a whole class, small groups or specialised groups such as monitors and clubs. • Classes can be created for a particular class level or a specific reason such as for an inquiry topic. • Classes for teacher use only can be created: whole staff, leadership or curriculum groups, regional zone classes across a number of schools for particular networks: Principals, deputies, I.C.T. or Curriculum co-ordinators.

12. Resource Manager What is the Resource Manager? The Resource Manager allows you to find, create and manage resources (such as eLFs, files, and Properties) for your classes. My Resources contains links to your e-Learning Folios (eLFs), your personal files, and your Properties. Through My Resources you can manage your resources in a variety of ways. eLFs lists all the eLFs you have created and lists their Title, Description, and the names of any classes they are used in. Files is the central storage place for all your files. The files are broken up into five categories: Personal files, Property files, Class files, eLF files, and general files. The Personal files box stores all of your personal files. Your personal files are ones you upload yourself. Property files are the files you use in certain Property types. The Property types include Notice Boards, Text and Image Areas, Image Viewers, and File Viewers.

13. Searching for resources Overview Resources such as Properties, Files, Learning Objects, and Web links are valuable for enhancing classes and eLFs. Resources can be accessed by searching for them in the resource respositories available to one’s school. The repositories consist of resources from the school (such as mydesktop Properties and Files) and from external databases. The resource repositories available depend on what subscriptions the school or Education Authority have taken out. Resources found through the search can be directly added to your eLFs.

14. Available Repositories • Standard, Property and Local Files Searches- searches everything • The Learning Federation Learning Objects and Digital Resources Search • Learning Objects are chunks of digital material - for example graphics, text, audio, animation, interactive tools - specifically designed to engage and motivate student learning. • A Digital Resource consists of a single item, such as, a section of moving image footage; an image of a document, line drawing, painting, or map; a photograph; an audio file of a song or broadcast; or a set of items. Each digital resource typically includes a Description, an interpretation of its educational value and acknowledgement of its source. • EdNA Search • Google Search- need a google key • Education Channel Search- approved materialaccessible to students

15. eLF’s What is an e-Learning Folio? An e-Learning Folio (eLF) is a means of managing (collecting, organising and presenting) activities, lessons and resources that support varied approaches to teaching as well as the designated learning outcomes of a class project or unit of work. It provides educational context for learning objects provided by the teacher. What can I do with an e-Learning Folio? eLFs can be task oriented, scheduled, made available to selected groups, shared with other teachers, and may require students to submit components of their work on or offline. Your education authority can create eLF templates to share with all teachers in the school system. The eLF Search available in the Search menu displays a list of eLFs available for you to add to your Class Pages. They may be eLFs you have created or those that have been shared by other teachers.

16. Other properties Class files discussion room Events calendar FAQ Forum Text & Image Index Journal Vote for Notice board Files box Survey