What’s a Wiki??

Wikis are tools for group authoring.  Often group members collaborate on a document by emailing each group member a file that each person edits on their computer, and then some attempt is made to coordinate the edits so that everyone’s work is equally represented.  Using a wiki pulls the group members together and enables them to build and edit the document on a single wiki page.  Wikis are designed for collaborative authoring by everyone.    Possible uses of wikis include:  students can use a wiki to develop research projects, with the wiki serving as ongoing documentation of their work; students can add summaries of their thoughts from the prescribed readings, building a collaborative annotated bibliography on a wiki; a wiki can be used for publishing course resources like syllabi and handouts, and students can edit and comment on these directly for all to see; teachers can use wikis to share reflections and thoughts regarding topics; wikis can be used for brainstorming, and editing a given wiki topic can produce a linked network of resources.

• Is there a particular example of a classroom wiki which inspired you? No, just having to use them in a couple online courses that I have taken has opened my eyes to the ability to use wikis in a classroom setting.  I have seen the value in them and have tried a couple of times with some of the teachers in my building to use them with their classes.  We have used them in a Government class where the students used a wiki to collaborate on an election campaign project.  I have also used them with U.S. History teacher.  The students were collaborating about their Civil War projects.
• What was most challenging about creating a wiki together as a group in
  Activity 4-C-1?  One challenging part of the project was trying to find good sources for the topic that we were assigned.  Even though there is plenty of information on the topic, evaluating which sites would be useful to use to educate our students took longer than I expected.  I had two excellent partners to work with and we all chipped in to make the group experience a good one.
• What did you learn from the group wiki project? I think that I reinforced my belief that using wikis with the students can be very valuable and it adds substance to the topic being taught. The students can benefit greatly from making connections like this and by working collaboratively with each other. They are able to share their findings and learn from each other while completing their projects.
• Has your opinion of Wikipedia changed at all this week?  No, not really.  I think it can be used effectively in the classroom if the students understand how to use the site and teachers need to make them realize that the site should not be used as a primary resource.  Again, I think the use of wikis with students who are collaborating on group projects can enhance the project very much.
• Are you encountering resistance to using wikis in your class, either from others or from yourself? If so, how do you plan to respond?  No, I think there are teachers in my building that would definitely continue to use wikis with their students, but there is a small population, like with everything else, you must make them feel comfortable with using the tool themselves before they want to use it in class with the students.  I think it is a good tool to be used with the students and possibly with other teachers who would want to collaborate on curriculum writing or for other professional use.

Blogical Discussion: What Do You Think?

Today’s technology has provided students with instant access to information by clicking a few buttons and it is readily available to them.  It is everywhere it today’s society and the younger generation has a need to use it constantly.  It is their main form of communication.  I think that people learn in different ways.  Teachers need to accept technology and learn how it can enhance their curriculum and improve student learning at the same time.  Today’s students have different learning styles.  Today’s generation of students have grown up with technology all around them and have absorbed information using these technologies.  The result of this constant contact with technology has caused the younger generation to think and learn differently from the older generations.  This generation of learners is digitally stimulated and learns in different ways.  It is our responsibility as educators to realize that if our students know, use, and learn with this technology, we should be implementing it into our classrooms. 

I think about how the use of technology in school classrooms has evolved throughout the years, and has become revolutionary in changing the way we teach and learn.  Our classrooms should no longer be confined to four walls and a few teachers who are considered to be experts in knowledge.  Our classrooms need to keep up with a changing society and a new world that is dependent on technology.  A school needs to offer the latest technological resources and training to enhance the classroom experience.

I don’t think that the technology should drive the curriculum, but it should complement and enhance it.  Technology is such a big part of the students' world that we as educators need to inspire them to use these technologies to learn.  We shouldn't be afraid to change the way we teach.  Not that they can't learn the traditional way, but they are so dependent on technology that we should use that to teach them.

All of our schools probably have technology and use some technology to teach the students, but we may not be reaching everyone unless we adapt to how the students learn the best.  It is difficult because how can we teach 30 different ways to a class of 30?  I would think that there are more changes to come in the near future for education - ones that we haven't even thought of yet!  What do you think about the role of technology in schools today?

Here are a couple of articles discussing similar topics:

“Effects of Technology on Classrooms and Students”:  http://www2.ed.gov/pubs/EdReformStudies/EdTech/effectsstudents.html

Using the Technology of Today, In the Classroom Today”:  http://education.mit.edu/papers/GamesSimsSocNets_EdArcade.pdf

Social Bookmarking Lesson - In-Service Day Training

Here is my plan to offer a training session to our staff on an upcoming in-sesrvice day.

Chris Lloyd – Adding bookmarks to del.icio.us Lesson Plan – 3-D-2

Professional Staff – In-service Day Training Session – Using Del.icio.us.com

Objectives: The staff will use their prior knowledge of the internet and websites in their content area to:  use the online bookmarking tool, del.icio.us; understand how to add bookmarks using a del.icio.us account and add a description, note, and tags to the bookmarks.

Materials and equipment needed for the instruction session:

• del.icio.us account (free to set up)
• Computer lab with access to the internet (wireless, if laptops are being used)
• Reference/Instruction Sheet

Lesson Plan:

1. Introduction - The presentation will consist of a short lecture, a demonstration, practice time for the staff (adding and tagging web resources), and a little time for questions and clarification.
1. What is del.icio.us? It's an online tool that lets you bookmark, tag and describe links.
2. Show my Delicious account as an example
3. Create a Delicious account – walk the staff through creating a username and password and accessing their account.
4. Give general overview and brief tour of the del.icio.us screen.
5. Model adding a link to the Delicious account.
2. Adding links
1. Learn how to add links. There are two ways to bookmark links.
1. (Buttons)
1. One of them involves a shortcut button that you can have added to your internet browser.
2. The checkered button takes you to your account.
3. The one that says tag adds the site you are currently looking at.
2. (With-in the account)
1. Open account
2. Explain steps on how to create a link from within their account.
2. Explain tags and description options when bookmarking a site.
3. Pass out Handout.
4. Questions – on procedure or the website.
3. Class Time
1. Allow staff to add links of their own – use sites that you would use with your students or for teaching your content.
1. For each bookmark, make sure that you add a description/title, notes (brief), and at least one tag.
4. Closing
   At the conclusion of the training session, make sure everyone can use the website del.icio.us.  Indicate that the instruction sheet will be posted on my district website as well as the Methacton Technology Blog.  Allow the remainder of the time for questions and assisting the staff with bookmarking sites – possibly provide some content-specific sites for each person depending on the size of the group.

MHS Protopage

I just created this great resource page for a PLS course that I am taking.  The website is called Protopage and it allows you to add "widgets" to personalize your page.  I think it's awesome and can't wait to pass it along to our staff soon.  Here is my Protopage:

http://www.protopage.com/mhstechnology#Untitled/Home

Learning Via RSS

I feel that RSS feeds can be a very useful way to learn about new information and gather additional resources for use in the classroom.  I am always searching for different websites, resources, and other material to pass along to teachers in my building.  I subscribe to several websites and blogs that help me create different lesson ideas for the teachers in my building.  Subscribing to RSS feeds is a way to check for updates to these websites, without having to visit each site individually.  It save so much time to just go to one location and search the specific posts that come to me rather than typing in different URLs and visiting all of the those sites one at a time.  I think that it allows me to stay informed of new posts and other information from these sites/blogs which I consider useful to me.  It really does save time not needing to visit each site and allows me to be more efficient and productive with other aspects of my job.

Persuasive Writing - Student Projects

Here is a link to the student's projects -look for the Bracket Regions at the top of the page:  http://write2persuade.blogspot.com/  There are some great ideas/projects by the students.  I think this is an awesome idea. 

http://write2persuade.blogspot.com/2011/04/welcome-to-elite-8.html?showComment=1331985543527#c3097435424247825861

Persuasive Writing with Your Brackets

I came across this lesson for Persuasive Writing and I thought it is the perfect time of year to try this with your English Classes or tweek it a litle to fit your class.  I think that this blogging assignment is a great way to have the students not only improve their creative writing, but it also promotes a little competition in the classroom, which I like.  I’m sure the students got extremely engrossed in this project and now would be a perfect time to start this because the NCAA tournament just started.  It could be a yearly project around this time of year.  I think blogs provide an opportunity for students to express what they are thinking and to interact with people around the world.  It can be a very useful educational tool.

http://www.engagingeducators.com/blog/2011/03/29/student-blogging-project/

Here is a link to the student's projects -look for the Bracket Regions at the top of the page:  http://write2persuade.blogspot.com/

My Thoughts About Web 2.0

One of my goals is to bring technology into all of the classrooms at my school so it can benefit the students with what they are learning.  I feel that there are so many resources out there and we have to choose which ones can benefit our students the best.  I would like to see all of our teachers have a professional Twitter account and possibly their own classroom blog, so they can communicate more with their students and colleagues.

I don’t believe that the technology should drive the curriculum, but it should be a complement to enhance the learning process.  I enjoy using technology to enhance what is being taught to the students.  I think there are so many great tools out there to bring into the classroom that can help the students learn and allow them to experience so many different things.  I believe that the existing Web 2.0 technologies will have a great impact on student learning and the way we teach them than other improved technologies have in the past.  I think that we can’t even imagine the changes that are going to take place in education due to this collaborative interaction via the internet.  Students are going to be publishing work, be exposed to endless amounts of information, and will have the ability to participate and collaborate during the learning process.  These powerful technologies can positively affect student performance and achievement, motivate students to learn, and increase communication between the teachers and students as well as their parents.