BLOGS AND WIKIS BUILDING A CYBER CLASSROOM

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BLOGS AND WIKIS BUILDING A CYBER CLASSROOM

• Jill Steinmetz
• Maryville High School Language Arts
• October 4, 2008

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Step 1 Identify yourself Fill in your screen nam
e (first name, last initial)
Step 3 Comment Respond, question
Step 2 Post Think about the first time you used
some new form of communication. (It may be old
and outdated now, but it was the hottest new
thing then!) Describe the experience and how you
felt about it.
Step 4 Comment Again! Respond to original post a
s well as the previous comment
Step 5 The Final Word Reflect, respond to questi
ons
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DISCUSSION

• How did it feel to hand your paper over?
• How did it feel to read the comments on your
  post?
  
• What do we already know about blogs and wikis?

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WHAT THE HECK IS A BLOG?!

• Blogging is the posting of journal-like pages to
  a website. Its basically an online diary.
  
• Web log blog (Get it?)

Blogs in Plain English http//www.commoncraft.com
/blogs
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NOT ALL BLOGS ARE BAD!

• Social Networking

• Educational Blogs

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SO THEN WHAT IS A WIKI?!?!
A wiki is a page or collection of Web pages
designed to enable anyone who accesses it to
contribute or modify content. Wikis are often
used to create collaborative websites and to
power community websites.
Wikis in Plain English
http//www.commoncraft.com/video-wikis-plainenglis
h
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Building a Cyber Classroom
Start small.
Miss Steinmetzs Language Arts Blog
Keep adding on.
1st Hour
Miss Steinmetzs Language Arts Blog
5th Hour
7th Hour
Expand with endless possibilities.
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About Me
Maryville Homepage
SIS Online Gradebook
Teacher Website http//steinmetzenglish.blogspot.
com
Yearbook Homepage
English Honors II Homepage
2nd Hour Wiki
2nd Hour Blog
Yearbook Avenue
6th Hour Wiki
Newspaper Homepage
3rd Hour Wiki
5th Hour Wiki
3rd Hour Blog
Rachelle
Ally
6th Hour Blog
Libby
Wiki Frontpage
5th Hour Blog
John
Robert
Kealey
Jake
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HOW IVE USED BLOGGING

• Teacher website
• Literature response
• DI activities
• Share writing poems, essays, songs, etc.
• Book reviews
• Current events- provide links to online articles
  and have students respond
  
• Post homework assignments and handouts
• Share questions/ideas about upcoming projects
• Polls
• Class Photos
• Sub Plans

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HOW IVE USED WIKIS

• Collaborative papers
• Research projects
• Journalism
• Peer Revision
• Teacher Revision
• Online Student Conferencing

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RESEARCH

• Students take real-world writing more seriously
  when it is done on the web, where it might
  actually be seen and used.
  
• Students begin to take responsibility
  for/ownership of what they have to say rather
  than handing directly over to a
  teacher-reader-grader.
• The traditional solitude of writers is so
  different from the companionship of blogs
  Blogging stimulates debate and motivates
  students to do close reading of the text.
• Frequent blogging reduces anxiety about writing
  publicly.
  
• (Lowe, Moving to the Public Weblogs in the
  Writing Classroom)

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WHAT DOES BLOGGING DO FOR THE STUDENT?

• Helps them find a voice
• Creates enthusiasm for writing and
  communications
  
• Engages students in conversation and learning
• Provides an opportunity to teach about
  responsible journalism
  
• Empowers students
• (From www.supportblogging.com)

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BEFORE YOU GET STARTED

• Make sure you have your principals go-ahead
• Create cyber classroom rules, expectations, and
  consequences just like you would in your regular
  classroom
  
• Have parents and students sign a blog/wiki
  permission slip with rules on it
  
• For upper levels, get a list of e-mail addresses
  
  
• For lower levels, create gaggle e-mail accounts
  (if necessary)

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SAFETY, SAFETY, SAFETY

• Use a closed blog that only approved authors may
  read and write on for posting student
  work/photos
  
• Main pages and assignment pages with no
  identifying information may be left open.
  
• Make students aware of what subject matter is
  appropriate and permissible
  
• Remember that with risk comes growth and
  learning. (www.educationworld.com)
  

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HOW DO I GRADE THIS?

• Critical Thinking- stress upper level thinking,
  not just idle chit-chat
  
• Applications and Personal Examples- Make
  connections to the class topic
  
• Conventions- No distracting errors, no texting
  shorthand
  
• Journalistic Responsibility- Respectful, mature,
  helpful comments
  
• Timeliness- Comments are posted by deadlines
• (Adapted from www.masters.ab.ca/bdyck/Blog)

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OTHER THINGS TO THINK ABOUT

• Not all students will have internet access. Give
  them time to use school computers or allow them
  to hand in paper blogs (but still expect them to
  post within 1-2 days).
• Give advanced deadlines, so students have time to
  get to a computer.
  
• Be careful that your blog/wiki doesnt turn into
  a chat room.
  
• Dont worry about others changing a students
  wiki content without permission. History pages
  can recover everything in its original form!
  

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BENEFITS TO THE TEACHER!

• No more hauling notebooks home to grade!
• Easy organization
• No decoding messy handwriting
• Stay connected with students during breaks,
  illness, etc.
  
• Blogging holds students that dont try if its
  not graded accountable
  
• Allows students to share their work without
  taking up days of class time

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HELPFUL ADVICE

• Keep it simple- no fancy screen names, just first
  name, last initial
  
• Gaggle e-mail accounts for lower grade levels
• Keep a list of their passwords and make them show
  you that they work
  
• Students who are more socially motivated than
  academically motivated try harder when they
  know their friends will be reading their work.