In the book Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms, Will Richardson explains how Web 2.0 resources can be used in the classroom to enhance, engage, and support student learning. Specifically, Richardson states, “without question, our ability to easy publish content online and to connect to vast networks of passionate learners will force us to rethink the way we communicate with our constituents, the way we deliver our curriculum, and the expectations we have for our students" (6). This being said, I intend to rethink the way I deliver my curriculum by adding some of the key Web 2.0 technologies discussed in Richardson’s book. All of these resources have pro’s and con’s for use in the classroom and I will discuss these points below. Most importantly, just as Rome was not built in a day, I will implement these tools over time with great planning to ensure their success as content support tools in my Business Law, International Business, and Desktop Publishing I courses.
The first Web 2.0 resource I would like to discuss is the use of blogs in my classroom. A blog “is an online chronological collection of personal commentary and links” (1) (http://www.educause.edu/ELI/7ThingsYouShouldKnowAboutBlogs/156809). Advantages to using blogs in the classroom include it’s a tool that is easy to implement, needing only a computer, Internet connection, and your opinion. Also, there are many resources out there to publish your blog (Web site) online, and often times these are free. Asking students to blog on curriculum that is deemed important in my classroom will allow me to see students deeper level thoughts/ideas, opinions, and questions. For example, I could post an article that I wanted all of my International Business students to read on business ethics. Students could then go to their blogs, which we setup together, and write their opinions, ideas, and questions about international business ethics based off of this article. Finally, as Common Craft states in their tutorial on blogging, “bloggers often work together. In addition to comments you will read each other’s posts, quote each other, and link your blogs together. This creates communities of bloggers that inspire and motivate each other” (http://www.commoncraft.com/video/blogs)*. I can’t think of a better way for students to turn content into knowledge then through inspiration and motivation from each other.
Disadvantages to blogging include that it will be hard to monitor students’ participation. I will need to also create a blogger account and subscribe to their feeds. Also, I will need to create clear guidelines and expectations for the proper uses of a blog. As stated on the Online EDU Blog, “regular writing may give rise to slangs and sloppy way of writing spoiling the quality of proper usage of language” (http://www.onlineedublog.com/blogs/). I will need to take care to explicitly define what a good blog consists of for my students, including writing, language, and opinion. Finally, I will need to create a clear database of support resources for the students to utilize while designing and writing their blogs, monitoring their blogs, and maintaining them.
The next Web 2.0 resource I will try to implement into my classroom is a class Wiki. Much like the Wiki Professor May Bennett created for TEC 950 at Fresno Pacific University, I could use the Wiki as an easy collaboration tool for my students. Wiki’s are “described as a composition system, a discussion medium, and a repository, wikis support asynchronous communication and group collaboration online” (2) (http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ELI7004.pdf). I can’t imagine a better way for students in my business law class to discuss a case study that we just completed than to post research backed opinions and links onto a collaboration site like a wiki. Richardson states about wiki’s that, “giving students editorial control can imbue in them a sense of responsibility and ownership for the site” (61). I think that giving students editorial control can both give them a sense of responsibility for the wiki site, but also for the content knowledge. Just like blogs, when you empower students to embrace the technology, while combining it with the relevant class curriculum (in the case above business law) it inspires students to engage in their own learning process. So not only will students be engaged and inspired, but they already have the requisite skills to be successful at creating a wiki.
Disadvantages to using Wikis in the classroom, as stated by Richardson, include “someone anonymously going onto a class-run wiki and vandalizing it by erasing content or by adding profanities” (60). However to counteract this risk, he states, “if it is used as a group collaboration site a la Wikipedia, the class as a whole could monitor the content that is added to make the necessary edits and revisions” (60). This privilege of monitoring and being held accountable for the sites content can help the students to take responsibility for the class site. However, along with a wiki comes the responsibility for me to create clear guidelines and expectations for students to follow. I will also need to make a daily and weekly schedule for myself to follow in monitoring the wiki’s content.
RSS feeds are another tool that I plan to teach my students to utilize this year. RSS or Real Simple Syndication, “is a protocol that lets users subscribe to online content using a "reader" or "aggregator." RSS allows users to create a list of those sources in an application that automatically retrieves updates, saving users considerable time and effort” (2) (http://www.educause.edu/ELI/7ThingsYouShouldKnowAboutRSS/156827). Teaching students in my business law and international business class how to setup an RSS feed aggregator; will allow our class the ability to have necessary content come to us. I can chose sites I want students to subscribe to, and then we all can read the same recent news headlines, case studies, or articles. Students will also be able to add feeds that interest them personally, once again with all of the information coming to them. Just as Common Craft states in their video tutorial on RSS feeds,” it is the new efficient way to keep up with all of the cool stuff happening on the Internet” (http://www.commoncraft.com/video/rss).
To be honest I can’t think of many disadvantages to using RSS feeds. In fact I am a bit frustrated that I haven’t been using them for years. The biggest issue with setting up RSS aggregators as a class will be the time that I have to put in finding relevant, valuable feeds that I want the students to subscribe to. My plan will then be for students to use these feeds to complete article reviews and post the reviews on their personal class blogs.
Flickr is the final major Web 2.0 resource which Richardson talks about that I plan to implement in my classroom this fall. My desktop publishing I course is a perfect example of needing a credible resource to source photos which are listed in the Creative Commons. In desktop publishing I we work in Adobe InDesign and Photoshop. We are always using photos for placement and enhancement of our projects. Just as Educase’s review of Flickr states, “the site provides the tools, but the value derives from the contributions of the user community -- photos, comments, ratings, and organization -- and the connections that the site facilitates between individuals. In this way, Flickr embodies what has come to be known as Web 2.0 technology” (1) (http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ELI7034.pdf ). In this sense, my desktop publishing I students will use Flickr to find photos which were placed online and were meant for sharing. We will use Flickr to find photos for our projects because it is easy to search the site using keywords and tags. Also, using Flickr is a safe way to talk to students about the value of online photo sharing, commenting, and communities in the correct manner (using the copyrights granted and doing so in a safe manner). Again, to prove the value of using Flickr, Educase says, “the students who are engaged with content demonstrate better learning outcomes, and the immediacy of visual media facilitates that sense of connection to subject material” (1). I hope that using Flickr in my classroom will result in the higher engagement and success rate of my students.
The disadvantages of Flickr are hard to find. It is easy and free to setup an account. The only negatives that I can see would come into play if you wanted to post photos and videos (which we won’t be doing in desktop publishing I). These disadvantages include the amount of megabytes available for free members (you have to pay to get more space) and that you have to be a paid member to upload video. Beyond this Flickr is a thumbs up.
While Richardson takes a large amount of time in his book talking about social bookmarking, podcasting, and social networking I think I will save these technologies for implementation in following semesters. As a request, I am putting in a proposal for the necessary technical equipment to create daily podcasts for my classes. My hope for this will be that it will serve as a support tool for students who missed a class or who are confused about a topic and want to hear the class explanation again. I have already setup a Web site with our school where I can store these files along with my other classroom files for student access. Beyond this, I want to start implementing the Web 2.0 resources of blogging, a class wiki, RSS feeds, and Flickr successfully before I add to both my own and my students digital information overload.
Overall, Richardson and Professor Bennett have helped me to see the value in these new emerging technologies. Before, I was almost overwhelmed with the amount of technology and information out there. Now, through readings and class projects, I see these technologies as manageable, helpful, and exciting! I can’t wait to share them with my students.
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