Showing posts with label blogs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label blogs. Show all posts

Saturday, March 7, 2009

Wikis vs. Blogs in the Classroom

At GCACS yesterday in my presentation, Jazz Up Your Students' Writing, I showed teachers my wiki and we discussed the differences between wikis and blogs. Joy Fisk of Arborbrook Christian Academy has used both and shared the primary distinction between the two. She said that although both allow students to post writing which can be edited, as well as videos, audio, and pictures; wikis allow students to collaborate on a document or a project. When students write on a blog (either their own or their classroom's) they may contribute and comment on each other's work, but can't work together on a document or assignment. After Joy contributed that I thought, "Duh, why didn't I realize that?" One of the great things about teaching teachers is that they turn around and teach me too!


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Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Lessons from NWRESA


At NWRESA in Wilkesboro, NC this week, I taught a talented group of teachers how to create blogs, wikis, & podcasts to use in their classrooms. Here are some of their lessons which they agreed to share with you as long as you know these are all "works in progress":

April Robinson a fourth grade math teacher at Oak Hill Elementary created this clever math wiki.

Stacy Miller, an academic coach in Alexander County is working on a collaborative book of student stories on their wiki.

Christie Ruff, put Bloom's Taxonomy chart on her class blog.

Tracy Chapman, an instructional technology coach in Alexander county is putting together this wiki for her teachers.

Lauren Dean has already been working hard adding to her language arts blog for South Davie Middle.

The teachers enjoyed working together to learn these new technologies--which mirrors the type of learning that goes on in classroom when wikis and blogs are utilized. As Sarah Hunt-Barron wrote in the Fall 2008 issue of the South Carolina English Teacher in her article, "Teaching for the Future: The Art of Collaboration through Wikis": [Wikis]...made my classroom a more democratic environment, where students contributions were all valued and voices could be heard."
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THE NIGHT WAR: A MG Historical Novel Review

  By now you should have received an email from my new website about my review of THE NIGHT WAR by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley. (It'll com...