Thing 23

I signed up for 23 Things because I wanted to become more familiar with Web 2.0 tools that I was already using and learn how to use the ones that I wasn't using. I can say that I have been able to reach those goals.

I do plan to continue to use this blog to go back and refresh my memory in the tools that I have been using this summer. My hope is to incorporate a few tools at a time into my classroom. I do plan on sharing these ideas with other teachers and hope that they will learn to use them with their students. My thoughts now are to work with some of the newer teachers to get them started with one or two tools and then branch out from there. I will also be using the same tools with my elementary students, 4th and 5th graders mostly, while the HS teachers are working with their students and I collaborate with them. I don't want to overwhelm them with all of these ideas and have them not use any. We'll focus on the ones that will benefit them most.

The ones that I see my teachers understanding and being willing to use most will be blogging, RSS feeds, and Google Docs. All can be used very easily and academically. From there, we might enter the world of wikis for collaboration between teachers and students or just student/student. Baby steps for now. I do see podcasting becoming a great way for students to enhance their learning both in listening to them and in making them. I have recorded podcasts before and feel pretty comfortable in showing students how to do it. It's getting the teachers to want to explore that as an option. The good thing is that we are all looking for ways in which to differentiate our instruction and what better way that with Web 2.0 tools!

CR

Thing 22

Here is my latest creation, my wiki. I am hoping to keep it up, but with so many new tools, I am going to have to choose which ones to use the most and which ones others will find helpful.

In general, I like to blog or use Facebook better than use the wiki. However, I can see the many possibilities with a wiki. I hesitate to use a wiki with high schoolers, even though they would love it. There is the chance that they will erase what others write just out of spite or like I said in my earlier post, to be "funny." For my elementary kids, I could find it quite useful, but I would need to make sure they all could remember the password, etc for editing purposes. Keeping parents involved is of course essential, as with all technology.

With my blog, I am the one writing and editing. With a wiki, anyone that is invited to share, may edit it. That's OK as long as the use is not lost in the writing. It would be more appropriate to use a wiki when collaborating on a project. It is better to use a blog when just wanting a discussion situation. I prefer for students to use the blog because they can't edit what someone else has said. The wiki would work well for projects as long as students were using it in a positive way. Students, in general, will like both using a blog and a wiki. It's using technology in the classroom and they are all for that.

CR

Thing 21

Wiki is a term that I first heard during graduate school. I remember joining a pbwiki site through a class, but never really getting the hang of it. I found it to be confusing. I'm not sure if that was me, the professor, or pbwiki.

In looking at the examples, these are some very comprehensive wiki sites. I was impressed with them all, really. Many people have spent quite a bit of time working on them. The one that I like the best was the educational wiki site. I was able to dig through some and this is a wiki that I could recommend to other teachers to use as a reference when trying to figure out the wiki world.

Some hurdles that I can think of off hand would be access to students. If I were to create a wiki for my students to add to and work on, I would need to trust them. Also, there would be the chance that others who shouldn't have access, would gain access from students. It would need to be monitored very closely. There is also the fact that many wiki sites are blocked at school and that is a hurdle that I may not be able to jump. I would need to prove its necessity and I don't know that I could justify a wiki over another tool.

There is also the problem of students posting inappropriate things on a wiki, more monitoring. It just seems very time constraining. Absolutely, guide lines would be set up, but there are always those kids who like to be "funny."

Under the best of situations, this could work, but I'm not sure that the hassles are worth the fight when there are other tools to use.

CR