Meredith Farkas & Michelle Boule (http://michellemeredith.pbwiki.com/Learning%20with%20Blogs%20and%20Wikis)
- What is a blog
- frequently updated page with posts presented in reverse-chronological order
- What’s cool about them
- don’t need to know HTML
- easy to update
- don’t need server space
- outputs RSS
- How are blogs used in education?
- Course management system
- faculty communication w/ students
- class news
- course reflection
- reflective learning
- space for dialog & feedback
- language/writing practice
- alternative to discussion forum
- [examples shown available on presentation URL above]
- What is a wiki
- a web site anyone in a group can create and edit w/o HTML
- What’s cool about it?
- don’t need HTML
- quick updating
- everyone can add their 2 cents
- view page history and track changes
- How can wikis be used in education?
- course management system
- stimulate class discussion
- group projects
- student space to build identity and portfolio of work
- Blogs / Wikis cage match
- b: more structured w: less structured
- b: ownership w: egalitarian
- b: best for chronological order w: knowledgebases, documents, directories
- b: lends itself to reflective writing w: great for working in groups
- b: more pressure to post w: have to trust your students
- Five Weeks to a Social Library
- “The first free, grassroots, completely online course devoted to
teaching librarians about social software and how to use it in their
libraries.” - Model
- 40 participants
- small group weekly chats
- sync & async presentations
- weekly activities
- participants blog & coment
- final project: implement one tool in your library
- Why?
- continuing education needed
- conference attendance dificult
- One-day workshop not enough
- many online classes require expensive tools
- Drupal
- allowed each student to have a blog
- each post listed on central page
- add-ons like chat rooms
- Drupal creators have control over the site
- many RSS options
- Blogging to reflect on learning
- blogging to get feedback
- blogging to create a record
- Media Wiki
- runs wikipedia
- common in libraries
- lots of documentation
- wikis for directories
- wikis for quick collaborative pages
- wikis for building a personal space
- Steal this idea
- don’t have to teach in 5 weeks
- don’t have to use the same tools
- don’t have to cover the same topics
- do need to provide for reflection of experiment
- do need to allow for many conversations
- do need to use tools that are easy
- do need to be flexible
- do need to hve an open process
- do need multiple modes of learning (audio, video, etc)
- What participants said…
- Tips for blogs in education
- provide documentation and/or training
- keep comments open
- blog to start dialogues
- don’t try to control discussions
- allow for unpopular views
- be willing to change based on feedback
- remember that some people are uncomfortable w/ public writing
- Tips for wikis in education
- training often required
- create a sandbox for experimentation
- wikis can get messy
- don’t control too much
