Blogs & Wikis

1. Blogs & Wikis STAT21 & ESA2 September 29th, 2009 ESA Region 2

2. Learning Targets Learn K-12 applications for using blogs & wikis Create a blog & a wiki. Learn the basics of these applications. Be able to identify the differences between blogs & wikis. Know which application to use to support your instruction.

3. Did You Know 4.0

4. When it comes to technology…. “When you come to a fork in the road, take it.”

5. 21st Century Skills Communication and collaboration Creativity & innovation ICT Literacy (information, communication & technology)

6. Wikis The sum of human knowledge From Hawaiian wiki-wiki, which means “quick” First Wiki was created in 1995 A Website where anyone can edit anything anytime they want

7. What is a Wiki?

8. Wikipedia – what an inspiring project!

9. 2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake 76 word post on Wikipedia appeared 9 hours after the earthquake 24 hours later: 400 edits & 3000 words 48 hours later: 1200 edits & 6500 words 6 months later: 7000 edits & 7200 words The power of the collective human knowledge!

10. If anyone can change it, how can it be reliable? There are vastly more editors who want to make it right than those who want to make it wrong Alex Halavais experiment: 13 errors on various posts were all corrected within 2 hours (Halavais, 2004). Steve Jobs, the CEO of Apple, has called Wikipedia one of the most accurate encyclopedias in the world (http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Steve_Jobs).

11. Safety Issues – what about vandalism? Each page on a Wiki has a “history” tab Easily revert back to a previous page version You may want to monitor wiki entries as a group (Wikipedia) Giving students editorial control can instill a sense of responsibility and ownership Wiki projects typically work best when teachers let students manage the content on the site Some wiki sites feature password & login systems – edits may be restricted to “members only”

12. The Wiki Revolution Wikirecipes wikitravel wiktionary wikinews wikispecies wikiquotes And on, and on, and on

13. Why Wikis? Collaborative authoring tool (21st century skills) Web based, can be accessed from anywhere with an internet connection (web 2.0) May be student directed or teacher directed Peer editing and writing Eportfolios

14. The pedagogy of Wikis Students publish content, develop collaborative skills Students have to read critically to find areas where information is missing or disorganized Students negotiate with others to agree on correctness, meaning, relevance, and more Student begin to teach each other!

15. Collaboration Edutopia Video Even though the writing is not their own, they have to take it as their own because they have the ability to edit and make it better – this is a huge shift.

16. Wikis in the Classroom Online texts for curriculum Resource to showcase best practices Use amongst teachers or district to share information Students create their own wikipedia (future classes may edit) A multicultural cookbook

17. Wiki Examples Collaborative storytelling http://terrythetennisball.wikispaces.com/ Kids teaching supplemental information http://misterhale.wikispaces.com/Integrated+Math+-+4th+Block http://cwasse.wikispaces.com/4th+%26+5th+Grade+Reading http://technology-standards.wikispaces.com/

18. How might you use a Wiki? Discuss with a partner some ideas you have for using a Wiki in your classroom

19. The Wiki Prayer Please, grant me the serenity to accept the pages I cannot edit, The courage to edit the pages I can, And the wisdom to know the difference

20. Let’s get started! www.wikispaces.com www.pbwiki.com

21. Blogs Short for Weblog First blog(s) were created around 1997 (CNET, March 20, 2007) Two new blogs are now created every second You can create a blog in under a minute!

22. Blogs in Plain English

23. Why Blog? Students write better when they have a real audience Promote open dialogue where students share knowledge and reflect on a topic Combines the best of solitary reflection & social interaction Powerful medium for increasing access & exposure to quality information ELL Students blogging across content areas Communicate with parents using a blog

24. The pedagogy of Weblogs Truly a constructivist tool Can expand the walls of the classroom Blogs archive learning (facilitates reflection and metacognitive analysis) Democratic tool that supports different learning styles Enhances the development of expertise on a topic Teaches students new literacies (research, organize, synthesize)

25. Science experiments run concurrently with different sites around the globe (Epals) Language students (and Ell) can create conversations with native speakers Phys Ed can log and analyze their workouts/diets History students can construct sites for ancient civilization/conflict study Blogging across the curriculum

26. Examples of School Blogs Elementary school publishing http://www.grandviewlibrary.org/Fold/GrandviewNews.aspx Student journals http://sdstat21.edublogs.org/ Teachers Communicate with parents Daily chronicles of classroom Community activism http://montrose.communityblogs.us/

27. How one history teacher uses blogs

28. What ideas do you have for using blogs in your classroom? Find a partner – discuss how you would like to use a blog Test it out by placing your ideas on The following blog: http://esa2teachesblogs.blogspot.com/

29. Blogging is conversation Blogging Is… Blogging isn’t… Links with analysis Reflective, metacognitive writing on practice without links/commenting Links with analysis & synthesis that show a deep understanding of the content being linked to Extended analysis & synthesis over a long period of time (builds on previous posts & links) Posting assignments Journaling (this is what I did today) Posting links

30. Introducing blogs to students Elementary: (Teachers may need to do the writing) Ask authors, scientists, politicians, parents to join into conversations about ideas. Students can ask questions and reflect on answers. Middle School: Students as “experts” on topics – compare and reflect. Structure ways to include reader response High School: Extended studies and reflections upon a topic. Incorporate feedback from readers, synthesize information from a # of different sources, advance new interpretations of the topic

31. Evaluating Blogs Even the New York Times can get it wrong Bloggers will fact check your ____! (The Dan Rather incident) How do you tell what is reliable when essentially every source can be incorrect? Blogs are essentially unedited content

32. Evaluating Blogs Find out about the author Who owns the site? (internic.com) Technorati.com - type in URL , how many links? Take a look at the author’s blogroll (the list of blogs the blogger links to) Find out as much as you can about the blogger’s personal agenda (read through other posts) Do they seem credible? Is there an obvious political bias? Is something being bought or sold? Are others commenting?

33. Classroom uses of Weblogs (more ideas…) Reflective/Journal Blog Class Blogs Reflect upon your teaching experiences Keep a log of teacher training experiences Provide some teaching tips for other teachers Describe how you use a technology in your own class Explore important teaching and learning issues Write about something you learned from another teacher Post class-related information such as calendars, events, homework, etc. Communicate with parents Post prompts for writing Provide examples of classwork Create an online book club Publish examples of good student writing done in class

34. Blogging with Students Start by posting homework assignments and relevant links Get the students reading blogs Good blogging starts with good reading! Let the parents know you have created a site Models & examples Let students respond to posts Give each student his/her own blog

35. Technorati A search engine for media including blogs, photos, videos, and audio. If you want to create more visibility for your blog, you may submit your blog to the technorati database.

36. Twitter A microblogging site 140 char max Email or text messages to phone. Messages are sent to all who subscribe Messages are called “tweets”

37. Let’s Get Started! www.blogger.com www.edublogs.org http://classblogmeister.com

38. To Blog or To Wiki? Writing process: Blog Reflective communicative Cannot be edited by others Collaborative writing: wiki Can be edited by all Peer review Collective knowledge Changes are tracked

39. Safety & Privacy Create and Adhere to school technology policy Review the entire policy with staff, students and parents Communicate to parents what you are doing and why Teach ethical and legal behavior for social softwARE use

40. Melissa Goodwinmgoodwin@edec.org Thank You!www.edec.org/esa