WIKIS+AND+BLOGS


 * WIKIS**:

A quick way to collaborate on a webpage, and the designer controls who sees and who posts! Content and multimedia friendly, blending text, links, images, video and other multimedia easily for an enjoyable, almost intuitive learning experience. Perfect for digital natives, who live to click and absorb in small bites.

IMPORTANT: only one member may edit a page at a time, so for simultaneous class work be sure students work in discussion pages, where they can react together to the content already posted and add their own. For big projects you can allow each student to design their own page.

My bias: "WIKISPACES" has served me well, and is always mentioned among the best. I haven't used the others.

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CLICK HERE to visit an award winning wiki from a 4th grade classroom.
This is a Wikispaces blog about award winning wikis: http://blog.wikispaces.com/2011/01/best-educational-wikis-of-2010.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+wikispaces+%28Wikispaces+Blog%29

This link takes you to a page in my 20th C. Film wiki about how to add content to a wiki: http://ahsfilm.wikispaces.com/Customizing+Wiki+Pages And this one informs Art I and Drawing and Painting classes about making pages and adding content to a wiki: http://artinspirations.wikispaces.com/Adding+to+the+Wiki

https://sites.google.com/site/classtemplate_en/ Google sites is a newer tool that allows you to easily create a wiki-style class website. I feel it combines the best of wikis and blogging, blurring the lines between the two.

BLOGS: Like a wiki because they are easy, user friendly, and controlled by the designer. Excellent for sharing text info that may be punctuated by some images and then inviting commentary from those who are invited to view and contribute.

Different from a wiki because they are a writing tool mainly, often used as a diary, journal or log. In education they may be shared and collaborative, but globally they are most often written by individuals on a subject of choice from politics to pets.

Microblogging: new and wildly popular because they are forcibly succinct, a great example is Twitter. They limit every blog post to under 140 characters, keeping it to the point! You can add a feed from your Twitter account to your blog to connect all your posts together.

[|CLICK HERE] for a description of the top 20 Teacher Blogs, including a mix of adult and student writing.

[|CLICK HERE] to see a blogspot listing tech lesson plans in many areas and grade levels as well as a plethora of tips, suggestions and advice.

This list from the Washington Post gives intriguing glimpses into adult educators' blogs: http://voices.washingtonpost.com/class-struggle/2010/01/best_education_blogs_for_2010_1.html

Wordpress and Blogger are the two that seem to come up the most. These are great sites for adults to blog and connect with other like-minded people. The latest buzz favors Wordpress. Here is my wordpress blog I've just created:

http://clcain66.wordpress.com/2012/08/16/hello-world/?trashed=1&ids=1

The following link teaches you how to get started in Wordpress: http://learn.wordpress.com/

[|CLICK HERE] to start your own Wordpress blog.



After you've practiced blogging for yourself, you may want to start a blog for your classes. Once you and your students are comfortable accessing a class blog regularly, you may decide to let students blog for themselves. [|Edublogs] is a perfect blogging host for educational ventures because they allow no adult content! Check it out!

http://blog.classroomteacher.ca/4/6-reasons-to-get-your-students-blogging/

[|CLICK HERE] for a well-written article connecting blogging to learning and outlining how to get started with your students.

https://sites.google.com/site/mrlangleysroom/home This high school English and Photography teacher has a digital classroom with student work submitted by blogging and cyber-portfolio.

==="Medium" is a new tool still in beta form from the makers of Twitter. It is for people like me, more inclined to read than to write, and not inclined to create an amazing blog for others to read on any subject. Writing is good, but it's not how I naturally spend my time. Check it out, it is the easiest website you'll ever join. Remember it's still in it's infancy, so keep an eye on it!=== https://medium.com/