Using Cloudworks in K802 (2011J)

What is Cloudworks?

Cloudworks is a social-networking site for finding, sharing and discussing ideas and resources for teaching, learning, research and practice.

Why are we using Cloudworks?

As a student on K802, you are part of a community of students drawn from (or soon to be joining) one of many different service and professional contexts. You are likely to have wide-ranging professional and research interests. Cloudworks enables you to connect with others with similar interests and affiliations, while keeping abreast of developments in related areas.

Work with children and young people is a rapidly changing field. New policy developments, new research and new challenges appear constantly. Advanced practitioners need up-to-date news about these developments, and they need access to the information and resources necessary to build critical understanding of the changes in their areas. And they must enable others to become similarly aware and informed as critical and reflective practitioners. By enabling you to find and share the latest ideas and resources from a wide variety of fields, and to connect with your fellow student-practitioners, Cloudworks is a powerful tool in your development.

OK. So how do I make a start?

You will find some links ('Clouds') below, to essential information about using Cloudworks. They will be available throughout your studies for you to refer to when you need to. You can browse these Clouds without signing up for an account, but you will need an account in order to add Clouds of your own, or to add to or comment on Clouds by others, including the K802 Team.

Signing up

Click on ‘Sign up’ to create your Cloudworks account (or follow the guidance on creating an account). You will need your username and password each time you log in to Cloudworks, so remember to make a separate note of these details. (You may give the Open University as your institution, or you can leave this field blank if you prefer.)

Once you have signed up, please return to the K802 website and proceed with the next activity.

Sharing

Throughout the module you can share links and resources with other K802 students and the community by posting them on the Resources Cloudscape. And if you are a Twitter user, add the #K802 hashtag to your tweets.

Help

Help is at hand. For additional information, please see our More on using Cloudworks for K802 Cloud. Should you need further support, please post a message in the Help with Cloudworks thread of the K802 Module-wide forum.