EdNA Online is a non-profit government funded service that provides information (including a Developers' Kit) and communication services. Its tools are free to Australian educators.
The Communities section of EdNA Online supplies a range of online tools and services that support communication, collaboration and cooperation.
To create a group you need to email the administrators and send information about the group and its purpose so that they can set up the group.
Features
EdNA Online groups use Moodle and are web based so there are no downloads. You do need to become a member of the site. Each group receives a space in which they can choose from a range of tools to facilitate communication and collaboration. Features include web forums and live chats, shared web-links, files and images, you can create web pages and wikis, poll or survey members. Groups can be public (open to all) or private (invitation only). They also have a dead easy ‘add an RSS feed’ component.
The discussion boards have a subscription feature (so can have automatic emails). There’s a limit of 5 Mb per file upload.
Cost
Free to Australian educators including RTOs.
What it's used for
As a general discussion area and to upload files and create courses.
Why it's good
It’s free, reliable, located in a safe resource site, so it's a good place to encourage people to be. Once set up it’s very easy to use and add/edit content and layout (within set boundaries).
Problems/downside
Need to go through the site administrators to set up. Tends to use older versions of Moodle - stable but lack newer features. To use an EdNA Online community tool, your organisation must be not-for-profit and non-commercial but RTOs are eligible.
Examples to check out (places to play are marked with an *)
Pelion Consulting site * - http://www.pelion.com.au/moodle/ Come in for a safe discussion board spot just to play and learn the ropes.
EdNA Networks Community Moodle Sandpit Area to play and experiment and share your learning with others.
Alternatives
Yahoo provides a free community site with many of the same features.
Criteria/factors re tools and processes – EdNA Online
| Criteria | Comment | |
|---|---|---|
| User friendly |
Yes | Initial site is busy but once discussions are located it’s relatively easy to read and post. |
| push or pull in kind |
Push and Pull | Features both, for some things you need to go to the site to get the information. |
| low or high interaction with participants/facilitators |
High | Can have rich discussions among participants/facilitators. |
| synchronous or asynchronous activity, |
Asynchronous* | Discussion board postings can be sent and read independent of time or location.*There is a chat feature which can be used synchronously. |
| facilitator skills of a low or high level |
Medium to high | Need some knowledge of setting up community space (or prepared to have a go!) to get the most out of the community space. Need some knowledge of facilitating online communities to get the most out of the discussion board. |
| Participant skills of a low or high level |
Low | Novice users can get on board relatively quickly with some assistance. |