Science Alive!Workshop Content:

• Examine the technology behind Blogs, Wikis and other tools
• Look what are the current uses of this tool on the internet
• Look at the current uses of this tool in education
• Using and setting up a wiki
• Setting up a blog for information delivery

At the end of this workshop you will be able to:

• Define what Blogs and Wikis are and their educational use.
• Capacity to contribute to a Wiki
• Create your own blog and post an item

Blog Activity (Game)

What is a Blog?

' A blog (a contraction of the term weblog) is a type of website, usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in reverse-chronological order. "Blog" can also be used as a verb, meaning to maintain or add content to a blog'.from Wikipedia

A blog is a personal diary. A daily pulpit. A collaborative space. A political soapbox. A breaking-news outlet. A collection of links. Your own private thoughts. Memos to the world. Your blog is whatever you want it to be. There are millions of them, in all shapes and sizes, and there are no real rules. In simple terms, a blog is a web site, where you write stuff on an ongoing basis. New stuff shows up at the top, so your visitors can read what's new. Then they comment on it or link to it or email you. Or not.' from Blogger

This is a letter to a Blogger to their Mum explaining what a Blog is - I love it! from Dipping into the Blogpond

Watch this video on Blogs from In Plain English:




Uses for a Blog:

• Reflection
• Promotion (art, writing)
• Sharing (photos, thoughts)

There are many, many examples, here are some that I liked:

A group of six boys blog about the books they are currently reading in Boys Blogging Books

Teaching Tips.com has a great post on 50 Useful Blogging Tools

To make your Taxes less Taxing, check out Don't mess with Taxes


Uses for Blogs in Education:

The blog by J Black - Web 2.0 in the Classroom has an excellent post on Using Blogs to Promote Authentic Learning in the Classroom

Watch this video on using Web2.0 tools for students writing



The Department of Education and Training has some great information on their site for ideas of using blogs in the classroom.

How to use a blog to facilitate learning

Blogs for Teaching and Learning - Something more than just technology - Francesc Balague - University of Barcelona (www.blocdeblocs.net)





What is a Wiki?

Wiki Game (Activity)

What is a wiki - definition

'To make a long story short, wikis are simply websites that erase the boundaries between authors and readers. A wiki can be changed by anyone who bothers to change it. Just click EDIT and hammer away. Simple. Quick. Democratic. Wiki.' - from an article on Matt Barton's wiki Embrace the Wiki Way

A wiki is a page or collection of Web pages designed to enable anyone who accesses it to contribute or modify content, using a simplified markup language.[1][2] Wikis are often used to create collaborative websites and to power community websites. The collaborative encyclopedia Wikipedia is one of the best-known wikis.[2] Wikis are used in business to provide intranet and Knowledge Management systems. Ward Cunningham, the developer of the first wiki software, WikiWikiWeb, originally described it as "the simplest online database that could possibly work".[3] - from Wikipedia

'A wiki is web software designed for collaboration. Unlike a traditional website where pages can only be read, in a wiki everyone can edit, update and append pages with new information and without knowing HTML.' from Jotspot

Watch the 'Wikis - In Plain English' Video on You Tube



Watch the pbWiki - 'What is a Wiki' video on You Tube



Uses for a wiki:

Think of a situation that you want people to collaborate and share information and a wiki could be used. If you search for a topic, there is probably a wiki for it - below are some examples of the diverse range of uses for wikis:

Running a Presentation
Will's Wiki Will Richardson runs his presentations from his wiki which is a great idea (what I am doing today) people can access all the information afterwards if they want to go back to things. This could be how you run your class - off a wiki - store all your info in the one place.

Sharing/Gathering Intelligence
'Why does the CIA keep top secret intelligence in a wiki' article from 'Future Changes'

Fun
Wookieepedia - the 'Star Wars' wiki
The Young and the Restless Wiki had to put this one in !!

Staff Intranet
Our Intranet, the wiki: Case Study of a wiki changing an Enterprise - Janssen-Cilag is a research based pharmaceutical companies in Australia, this article talks about how they are using a wiki for their staff intranet.

A Community Registry
Bushfire Aid Wiki was set up to allow both donors and recipients to register their interest in a way that won't be a strain on the resources of the various authorities.

and, of course, wikis can be used in Education

Uses for a wiki in Education:

Embrace the Wiki Way - Matt Barton's article on how to "Embrace the Wiki Way' has some great ideas on what you might use a wiki for:

TeachersFirst has great wiki ideas for the classroom.

Wiki Collaboration Across the Curriculum a presentation at the K12 Online Conference 2008 by Victoria A Davis a teacher and technology administrator at Westwood Schools in Camilla, Georgia.

The Cool Cat Teacher Blog has ideas on using Wikis in the classroom - this is Vicki's blog (see presentation above)

How to use a wiki to facilitate learning is a wiki that dicusses ways to use wikis in Education, Pedagogical Potential, Problem Potential and Wiki Culture

Using Wikis to catalog protest songs is a lesson plan that incorporates the use of wikis

Examples of Wikis in Education

El Mundo Tarvin is a wiki for a History Class

Welkers Wikinomics is a wiki for students and teachers of Economics

Aquasquad A class wiki on a saving water project.

Digital Communication Wiki A class wiki with the Aim: To create a 'c-book' on what it means to be a digital citizen in the 21st century

Science Alive! We are students in two Middle School Grade 8 classes that have been working on a Science topic of our own choosing.

Rationale for Using Wikis and Blogs in the Classroom

Jason De Nys has a marvellous powerpoint on - a look at the rationale for using wikis and blogs in the classroom (Jason de Nys April, 2008)





When to use a Wiki Vs Blog

Lets watch JFK and Nixon debate Wiki's Vs Blogs




Wiki Activity


Let's Play !!

• Join Swinilearn Wiki at swinilearn.wetpaint.com
  
• Create a Blog (see activity sheet)
  

Summing Up

• Practice and play yourself before you use it with your class
• Talk to colleagues who are using them
• Read Blogs and Wikis by other educators
• Investigate the best wiki/blog hosts and the features you need before setting up