http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_4kC2M2ly4

Wikis

On to the next adventure in technology, Wikis. I knew nothing this technology prior to this class. I had heard of Wikipedia and had been on it, but only got the "pedia" part of it, which I guess I'm not alone in, seeing that Will Richardson points this out in his book. I still couldn't wrap my head around what to do with them in the classroom until I read his chapter on wikis; now I can't wait to be apart of it! I really love the idea of the discussion piece to wikis, allowing students to see people working out the details, and deciding what information needs to be included. What a fantastic opportunity to teach children about collaboration! Now if only I could get the song out of my head...wiki wiki wiki, come on you '80s people, Dance!

The boys on PhotoPeach

More on Weblogs

I have continued to play with blogging and have found myself really enjoying it! I keep checking to see if anyone has visited or commented on my blog. One of my blogs has had hits from all over the world! My last entry on this blog mentioned the book I'm reading about technology in the classroom, and the author commented on it...how exciting is that?? I can remember being thrilled over the concept of a pen pal when I was little; how exciting it was to get a response to your letter from a complete stranger from a different part of the world. Blogging makes that process so much easier to obtain! Waiting for a letter took forever and unfortunately most pen pal experiences ended after only a few correspondences. Blogging is far more accessible and therefore more likely to be "kept up". I believe this is a great tool for the classroom and my only real concern is with the safety of using the Internet with children. Continuing to read Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms by Will Richardson has helped to reassure me that it's possible, so long as you are careful about security. We need to be sure safety measures are in place before introducing this technology to our students. Clearly we will need to invest the time to thoroughly examine any site or program before using it with our students. Equally as important,we will need to have conversations with them regarding safety so that they are aware of potential dangers.
We can't however, let fear stop us from utilizing this resource. We hear over & over in news horror stories of preditors on the internet harming our children, however there are far more stories of students making a positive impact using the internet to connect and improve their world. On his blog Mr. Richardson speaks about an 11 yr old girl who is connecting the world and teaching us all about community involvement. When used responsibly, the possibilities for positive impacts are endless.