Friday, February 24, 2006

Wikis, Blogs, & RSS...OH my!

There has been a ton of discussion lately about Wikis and Blog in the world of educational technology lately. While there are many things great obout these two tools, there are many things that also need to be considered before jumping head-first into using them with students.


I think the first step is to really understand the purpose of each of these devices.


NOTE: many of the links below might require a registration. Although I know this is a hastle, the resources from Technology and Learning and eSchoolNews are worth the trouble.


Wikis - these are web pages that can be edited by anyone viewing the page. The best example of Wikis come from Wikipedia, an online encyclopedia that is created by its users. It also provides a great definition of a Wiki.



For more information of Wikis, you can visit:


Think Outside the Blog


What is a Wiki?


High School Online Collaborative Writing


Wikibooks to offer free eTexts for education


Wikis test students' research skills


Study: Wikipedia as accurate as Britannica--at least on science


Blogs - the term blog is derived from the idea of Web Logs. In their very basic form, blogs are simply online diaries. In their most useful since, they are much more.



  • Politicians are using blogs to keep in touch with their constituents.



The Rebublican Party Blog


The Democratic Party Blog



  • The constituents are blogging to keep up with the politicians - http://www.watchblog.com/

  • Other people are blogging about nothing

  • I blog...but not real frequently



http://historyofeducation.blogspot.com



Blogging in education is a relatively recent idea. Teachers are beginning to use blogs as a very effective way to provide authentic feedback to students. Many students are publishing their writings to classroom blogs and receiving feedback from people all over the world. Some of these students actually continue to edit their work over summer vacation. Can you believe that? You can find out more about blogs in education by following the links below.


Educational Blogging:


Introduction to Blogs and Blogging


Education Web Logs


Mr. West's Class


In the Classroom, Web Logs Are the New Bulletin Boards


As these ideas and tools become more mainstream, their uses will become more widespread. It is imperitive to keep in mind...the more opportunities you provide for worldwide feedback, the more opportunities you provide for this feedback to be positive and unfortunately negative. Close scrutiny of any program that utilizes these technologies is a must.