I'm still up in the air this week about this whole blogging thing. I can see the purpose and the advantages, but it seems very unfriendly to use. It seems to that if these blogs could be connected in similar ways as other social networking sites like myface or spacebook, it would be easier to navigate from page to page. I'm trying to hang in there and give this thing a chance though.
Throughout the week, I dabbled in a little of this and a little of that, but really was struggling with purpose of some of these things. Over the past few years, I've got my "stuff" down to a system that works great for me. Then I started the exploring the wikis. In the past, nearly every wiki I have seen was horrible. The person that made it thought it was fantastic, but everyone who had to use it hated it. Then I had the idea of creating a simple, organized wiki containing many of the links, video clips, etc of resources I've used in my classroom. This would be a convenient, easy to access, easy to use resource I could open to other science teachers, even if only teachers within my content area, district, etc. Everything could be in one place and I wouldn't have to dig through hundreds of saved emails to find that one thing I was looking for. Others could add new, worthwhile resources, any I could even find a way to sort out those things based on their qualities. I'm still brainstorming what I would like this to look like, and have only tinkered with the wiki itself, but I will be sure to share what I come up with when I feel I have something respectable. Signing off.
Oh my gosh, I completely agree about the wiki! In fact, I was just in a SAMS training this week, and decided that, because of this class, I wanted to know more about the use of wikis in my classroom, I would go to the workshop highlighting wikis. What a colossal waste of time--yes, the presenter knew her wiki inside and out, and yes, she thought it was the best invention since the wheel, but beyond that, it was a TERRIBLE presentation. My thought is that, if folks unfamiliar with wikis and their uses within the classroom are exposed to the type of "training" that I was, then pretty soon, NO ONE new will be using them! Now, I consider myself fairly open-minded and willing to try new things, but my experience left me feeling rather blasé about the whole wiki thing and hoping someone else out there can help!
ReplyDeleteI started a wiki this year for each of my classes- actually one wiki with 3 classes on it. Everytime we started a new chapter I put a new page in that class and posted all the material for that chapter on the wiki. I found this to be very helpful for me- if I wanted to show a video clip to the class- I posted it there. I posted notes there, and reminders, study guides, lab tips, links to online quizzes etc. It helped me because I knew the material for the class would be on the wiki, and I wouldn't have to hunt for a video in one place on my computer, and a test or notes in another place. So even though it took a little time figuring out how to make a wiki, in the end it was worth it- especially in classes where I used a lot of video clips, photos or presentations. I did not always stay in the same classroom, so I could pull up my resources from any computer in the building when I put it all on the wiki.
ReplyDeleteI think wikis are challenging to use well in the classroom. I'm using one as the "hub" for this class, but it is used more as a website, not as a true collaborative space (although anyone can add to it if they want).
ReplyDeleteBlogs work well for reflective posting or showcasing thinking, but they are not ideal for carrying on communication. If you are looking for one place to start for your class, I would suggest that you do some online discussions with your students (using Edmodo or Collaborize). Generally, students like it because they can get past their awkwardness - it actually can lead to better participation in normal face-to-face activities!