Great points, Afrodite. So making sure that the blogs remain on topic...like responding to journals in more conventional settings.
I agree with the boundaries comment. Students can go far astray without them. Wikis do encourage participation in information at the peer level as well as the expert who can help steer the edit process.
Wikis and Blogs can be used as a great active learning and particiapting tools for students who are taking Blended or Online corses. The inputs as well as feedbacks from students from different geographical locations also enhance the Blended and Online learning with more collaborative methods.
However, students must be made aware about using the Wikipeadia as a learning source and it is not acceptable as academic resource. I have seen lot of my student tried to use Wikipedia as a source of information and I had to remind the group several times.
Anwar
Houston, Texas
Great points, Anwar. Your examples continue to support the idea that instructional technology does not replace the importance of the instructor and the need for instructors to guide the learning process.
Wikis become a clearing house of information that students can add to as they learn, then make it accessible to others. It's informational and "objective".
Blogs are an online diary that's reflective. (subjective)
Both disseminate information and are examples of process learning.
gg
Great insights, Gil. Do you have some examples of how you have used either effectively with students?
Via Wikis and Blogs students can become producers of their own knowledge because they are applying what they have learned to something of their own. I recently had a class where I seperated several of the topics we had covered in courses past and had the students prepair a presentation on each of them for the class. I noticed that they really retain the information if they are able to teach each other. It was also a good review for them. With wikis and blogs students have the oportunities to present the information in their own way and presenting it to others helps them retain the information and using it outside the classroom helps to give them that "real world" application of the knowledge which is so important.
So Ben, you have raised a few important points here - peer tutoring / self publication / reinforcement of content / real world application / new knowledge development. Which specifically can be supported by the use of Wikis and Blogs and what other technology can you use with students to provide some of these learning opportunities?
By using the wiki or blog as an instruction device requires the students to really think through the information they are providing. The true test of ones knowledge is the ability to explain a concept to someone else.
Great point, Jamie. Teachers must constantly check for understanding and having students re-tell or explain in their own words is a great way to do this. These new tools simply make the process more accessible and also "captured" for others to read/observe.
I am not really sure how these can be used. I don't know much about them, and think I would like to learn more.
Andrea, I would encourage you to search and read something of these tools as each one can truly benefit students in the learning process. Blogs help students find individual voice so well and wikis help to build knowledge bases and resources collaboratively.
The generation that we teach really doesn't have a problem talking about their life experiences but they do have problems writing it down in a form that others can understand. Some basic English counseling and keeping the Student focused on the subject they are writing about would help them represent themselves well with others and give validity to what they are writing about
Yes, Jack, just because students enjoy texting and communicating thoughts and ideas to each other does not mean that they have developing literacy skills - these still must be taught.
Wikis and blogs are great tools for group projects. For example, a wiki could be used by students when they are discussing the details of the group project with their group members. This is extremely helpful in online classes where the students may not even be located in the same state! On the other hand, a blog could be used by the group to present their finished project to the class. Wikis and blogs can be very useful in the workplace as well and some employers might like to have an employee who is comfortable using wikis and blogs.
Use of wikis and blogs can act as a tool of empowerment for the student. The student has the opportunity to present their own areas of discussion on course content and outcomes.
Good ideas, Salena. Again, the importance is in using the tool that best meets the learning outcomes of the course.
Wikis and blogs both give the student the opportunity for publication and peer review. This is in contrast to a traditional assignment where the student shows knowledge and does not necessarily produce it and where only the instructor gives feedback.
Excellent points, Carissa. In my experience, blogs really help students to find their own "voice" in their own learning process.
I believe they give students a venue to express themselves about beliefs/ideas that is "safer" than that face to face interaction. I have often observed that things discussed on my discussion boards leads to further discussion in the classroom. I do believe that without that initial conversation on the discussion board I would not see as much interaction between students.
