Ten most important learnings

1. Weblog
I have heard of weblog before. In the past, I only learnt that people used weblog to express their feelings, just like writing diary. But now, I am amazed it can be used for study too. I can reflect on topics, issues and discuss on weblog. I can also use it to document my personal growth in my learning. I also learn how to add photo and hyperlinks in weblog. If one is well versed in writing web pages, one may find that weblog is not as good as web pages.

2. Wiki
A great challenge to use the SeedWIKI to build a web site for the group project! Since this is the first time I use this tool, I need to learn how to manipulate the web site. It is a very hard time to learn how to use it in a very short time. But the process is enjoyable.

3. Hong Kong 334 Curriculum Reform
Education system is going to change drastically in Hong Kong in 2009 in terms of its structure and the number of subjects taken by students. And the reform will also allow students to enter university earlier than before. The reform has 3 main changes. They are in the areas of SBA, Project Learning and Liberal Studies.

School Based Assessment will be implemented throughout the reform. Students will need to do school-based assessment. This will cultivate generic skills and attitudes, because these cannot be assessed by conventional examination. This is a better tool to truly reflect students’ learning motivation and attitude.

A number of learning hours is allocated for project learning for most subjects. Students are encouraged to work in collaboration and solve problems on their own. This will put more emphasis on hands-on experience which could be covered by examination. It will build higher order thinking skills and will develop their life-long learning skills and attitude.

Liberal Studies is introduced. This subject is very difficult to have textbooks and it is a very dynamic subject where topics are built on daily events. It may be too board and too flexible for students. On the other hand, students can make the good use of the Internet to search relevant information to enhance learning.

4. Flexible learning
Flexible learning expands choice on what, when, where and how people learn. It supports different styles of learning, including e-learning. In Hong Kong, a number of publishers have developed their own online platform for the liberal studies. This paves a road for the coming of this subject in the 334 curriculum reform. Teachers and students can make use of these platforms to explore the possibility of flexible learning. They need time to adapt and adopt this mode of teaching and learning.

5. Public exam and ICT learning
To enhance ICT in teaching and learning, Hong Kong must do away with public exams, and universities must look into other ways to screen students' admission. The paper-and-pen examination only focuses on how much students have learnt. However, in the information age, students should acquire necessary skills, knowledge and high order thinking for lifelong learning. The growth of the learning process should be stressed.

6. Pedagogies, resources, delivery strategies
These three critical areas are very important for online setting. Pedagogies are related to learning activities which underpin the online setting. Resources are related to the content and information provided for the learners. Delivery strategies are related to how the online setting is delivered to the learners. I need to check these areas in order to develop quality learning materials. I think I can also employ these areas when I design multimedia product in my workplace.

7. Paradigm shift
ICT is a catalyst to create a paradigm shift moving from instructivism to constructivism. The use of technology has already been changing our lives and will continue to increase in the future to impact globally. Learning will become interactive and have more fun. Students will have more chances to use different ICT tools to enhance knowledge building. They do not only depend on the information provided in textbooks.

8. Six dimensions of change in classroom practices involving ICT
The different degrees of innovative provide a checklist for me to see where my workplace is now and what my work place needs to do for the next step. To get ready for the classroom of the future, different stages under different dimensions provide a clear guideline for me to follow in order to be the most innovative.

9. Online survey tool
MY3Q.COM is a free online surveying tool. It has been used to collect the opinions in my group wiki. Instead of preparing hardcopy questionnaires, I can now use this surveying tool to conduct survey. It is very easy to use. It also makes survey more fun.

10. YackPack
Besides using Weblog and Wiki for learning in this module, I also learn I can use YackPack to communicate in audio form for learning. Unlike posting messages on Weblog or knowledge forum, I can now just speak. This makes learning more fun and interesting. I am very surprised that learning can take place in this form.