Blogs and wikis in the classroom
Elaine Plybon, Dallas Educational Technology Examiner

Over the last few years, more and more educators have begun using blogs and wikis in the classroom. This article will discuss what blogs and wikis are, some of their uses in the classroom, and provide resources for teachers who are hoping to begin using blogs and/or wikis this year.

Blogs
Blogs, short for “web logs” have become popular through all social circles. Blogs give an author or authors an opportunity to share information with large groups of people via the web in a very easy-to-use format. Readers of articles are able to post comments to them, which makes each blog a dynamic work-in-progress. Often used as a distribution point for information, news, and updates, many companies, newspapers, and individuals have experienced benefits from starting a blog.

In the classroom, blogs can be used as a place for students to talk about what they have learned, discuss perspectives on a news item, or provide information to individuals who have an interest in the class. There are multiple sources for free blogs. Visit the “For more information” section of this article to find a few.

Wikis
Wikis are another dynamic tool for use in the classroom. Wiki means “quickly” in Hawaiian. Whether that is how they were named or if it is an acronym for “What I Know Is”, using wikis is a way to create webpages without having any knowledge of the software programming languages required to write web pages. Wikis can be edited by several people, making them a useful tool for collaborative projects. Wikis also give students an opportunity to reveal what they have learned, begin conversations about topics they are researching, and display projects or other products from the classroom. Wikis are very easy to edit. Usually it only takes clicking an “Edit” button and a user will be given the opportunity to add their own content in a what-you-see-is-what-you-get (WYSIWYG) format. One example of a very popular wiki is Wikipedia.

True for both blogs and wikis:
Adding graphics and files for download are fairly easy. Teachers can use either format as a source of information for parents, including homework assignments, classroom calendars, and contact information. It is also very important when using blogs or wikis that students be reminded about following copyright laws at all times. The temptation to use images and other information they find on the internet can be difficult to overcome in a copy-and-paste society.

There are some classrooms that use both blogs and wikis. However, in my opinion a teacher should determine which one is right for his/her own classroom use. In my science classroom, for example, we will use a wiki this year to showcase what we’ve learned, create a word wall, and work on group projects. Other classrooms might lend themselves more towards a blog – as a place for students to comment on each other’s ideas and information.

It is important, as with any technology in the classroom, to make sure that what is used is relevant and the right tool for each classroom. Deciding to teach students how to use every technology tool just because it is a cool tool and has a use in some classrooms is not good practice. A teacher must thoughtfully consider what each classroom needs and give students the information they need to be able to use the tool efficiently and effectively.

Read the full article at the link below…

Link: http://www.examiner.com/x-12200-Dallas-Educational-T…

Are Wikis on the Way Out?
TL Infobits

“Have wikis lost their mojo? Were they before their (Internet) time? Or have they been co-opted by the newer, shinier social networks?”

In “Whither Wikis? The State of Collaborative Web Publishing” (LINUX INSIDER, April 29, 2009) Renay San Miguel asks if the usefulness of wikis has run its course. He speculates that the tool is too “nerdy,” takes too much work, and requires too much oversight.

In response to San Miguel’s argument, THE CHRONICLE OF HIGHER EDUCATION asked the question “Have Wikis Run Out of Steam?” (April 30, 2009). The resulting reader comments indicate that many college and university Instructors still continue to find wikis beneficial for their courses and students.

Sample comments:

“I use them as course reference repositories and extend them on to new sessions for students to use and continue to build. I think they are a great way to build communal knowledge.”

“At Penn State Press we have been using a wiki to distribute information about books proposed for acceptance to our faculty editorial board for a year now, and this has been a huge success, appreciated by the faculty for its ease of use 24/7 and by the staff because, among other things, it saves a ton of photocopying paper and hence is a boon to the environment.”

TL Infobits is an electronic service of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill ITS Teaching and Learning division. Each month the ITS-TL’s Academic Outreach Consultant monitors and selects from a number of information and instructional technology sources that come to her attention and provides brief notes for electronic dissemination to educators.

Link: https://its.unc.edu/TeachingAndLearning/publications/tlinfobits/CCM3_007214#2

The Read-Write Matrix of Web 2.0 Tools for Learning
Paul Left

The horizontal axis shows who can read the published documents, the vertical axis who can write to them. In each case the mid-point relates to the group of peers – eg learners within a single course. A wider group (ie between the mid-point and the ‘world’) could include members of a broader community of practice, or the local community or family.
The plotted points could be exemplified by:

1. A personal reflective journal with no audience
2. A personal wiki or blog which other learners can read
3. A personal wiki or blog which a wider group can read
4. A personal wiki or blog which is publicly available on the web
5. A collaborative wiki for a sub-group of learners
6. A collaborative wiki for the course
7. A collaborative wiki for the course which a wider group can read
8. A collaborative wiki for the course which is publicly available
9. A collaborative wiki for learners and a wider group
10. A collaborative wiki which is fully open – publicly readable and writable.

Note: These are typical examples only – the matrix is intended to relate to other tools in addition to blogs and wikis.

Read Extending Read-Write Matrix
View Presentation

Link: http://www.verso.co.nz/mw/index.php?title=The_Read-Write_Matrix

3 Challenges to Wiki Use in Instruction
Ruth Reynard

How can the instructional uses of a wiki be maximized to ensure this higher level of engagement with students?

1. Creating Meaningful Assignments: Motivation
   • The Assignments Is Moving and Not Closed (Dynamic, Not Static)
   • The Assignment Requires Participation
   • The Assignment Uses the Participation To Move Forward
2. Grade Value for Constructed Input: Affirmation
   • Working with and Building on Existing Information
   • Inputting new information
   • Synthesis of Ideas and Relevant Use
3. Collective Knowledge Use: Learning
   • Complex Problems
   • Non-Preset Solutions
   • Adequate Time Allowed for Process

Read more at the link below!

Link: http://campustechnology.com/Articles/2009/02/11/3-Challenges-to-Wiki-Use-in-Instruction.aspx

Wiki as a Teaching Tool
Kevin R. Parker and Joseph T. Chao

Wikis are one of many Web 2.0 components that can be used to enhance the learning process. A wiki is a web communication and collaboration tool that can be used to engage students in learning with others within a collaborative environment. This paper explains wiki usage, investigates its contribution to various learning paradigms, examines the current literature on wiki use in education, and suggests additional uses in teaching software engineering.

Link: http://www.educause.edu/node/154604

A Wetpaint website is built on the power of collaborative thinking. Here, you can create websites that mix all the best features of wikis, blogs, forums and social networks into a rich, user-generated community based around the whatever-it-is that rocks your socks. A social website that’s so easy to use, anyone can participate.

The Wetpaint name comes from our natural sense of curiosity. The urge to touch something when we see a “Wet paint” sign. The urge to leave our mark. This curiosity and the surprising results that occur from collaboration are all part of Wetpaint.

Link: http://www.wetpaint.com

Just call her Wikipedia wonk: UWB prof in spotlight for guiding students through online editing process
Peter Kelley / University Week

Maybe you’ve read about Martha Groom. An associate professor of Interdisciplinary Arts at UW Bothell, she won some media attention recently for involving her students with Wikipedia, the publicly edited online encyclopedia. Get to know this interesting teacher.

Link: http://uwnews.org/uweek/uweekarticle.asp?articleID=38236

Using Wikipedia to Reenvision the Term Paper
Martha Groom and Andreas Brockhaus

The structure of the traditional term paper can limit its educational value. To make the assignment more meaningful, students published their papers in Wikipedia. This session will examine how publishing for a large online community motivated students to do better work and deal with issues of voice, knowledge, and community.

Link: http://www.educause.edu/node/162770

Faculty Ideas about Technology: Wikis
Kimberly Arnold and David Eisert

Wikis are an increasingly popular trend sweeping through educational institutions around the world. Although they were originally viewed as another technological trend serving as a stopgap, wikis have firmly planted themselves among the most asked about emerging technologies. As Web 2.0 becomes more prevalent in today’s tech savvy culture, instructors in higher education are increasingly turning to wikis to provide collaborative environments for their students.

Link: http://web.ics.purdue.edu/~eisertd/FIT/FIT_Wiki_9-07.pdf

Wikis and Podcasts and Blogs! Oh, My! What Is a Faculty Member Supposed to Do?
Patricia McGee and Veronica Diaz

Kim ponders: What is a faculty member supposed to do? She concludes that if today’s ninth-graders are using the same technologies that her current students are using, there will be even newer technologies for her to learn about soon. Although that thought is daunting, she would rather actively participate in the decisions being made regarding the institutional selection and support of emerging technologies than scramble to catch up after a new initiative has been implemented. In her last e-mail of the day, she asks her department chair: “What can we do today to ensure that decisions about technologies represent what students and faculty need and what best supports teaching and learning?”

Full PDF: http://www.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ERM0751.pdf
Link: http://www.educause.edu/library/erm0751