The Musings of Crystal Crozier

I've Got to Change the Most

2007-04-21T16:34:00.000-07:00

Several weeks ago, I pondered the usage of a wiki in my fifth grade classroom. I knew I wanted to use one, but I wasn't exactly sure how. Now, I have more ideas about how to actually implement the wiki, and I have learned many valuable lessons about wikis. Today, I discovered some more profound statements in a article in Distance Education Report entitled New Technologies Help Build Learning Communities. (I found it using the UF Library Remote Login.)

The article is essentially an interview between the journal and Dr. Norman Garrett, Professor in the School of Business at Eastern Illinois University. The interview discusses the "mini-revolution" that is going on right now with the use of blogs, wikis, podcasts and RSS feed. Garrett offers some simple and insightful ideas about RSS, blogs, and podcasts, but I--of course--paid close attention to the wiki portion of the interview.

When discussing the use of wikis in his college classroom, Garrett states, "The hardest part for the teacher is you have to keep your hands off of it, other than just to make sure that it stays organized. You can't comment on things or critique what they put on there in a public way cause if you do then it looks like you're running it. It's designed to be peer-to-peer." Now, the age of his students and mine may be over a decade, if not two apart, and yet, I find this idea very fitting for my own class. I think that this is going to be the hardest thing for to do. I hope that when I find misinformation in our classroom wiki, that I won't be quick to correct it. I hope like Garrett I can "sit and monitor", and hopefully, my "students will come in and say, no that's not right, and they'll fix it." That is the ultimate goal: "It's peer to peer collaboration, not the teacher feeding them what the teacher wants them to have."

Of course, I really want to use a wiki mainly for this peer collaboration that it affords, but I know I will have to change my ideals about instruction. I am going to have to realize that I can't tell them they have something wrong, and "Go fix it!" I think my students are going to adapt to this new way of learning easily. I'm the one who is going to have to change the most.

Yep, More Mader

2007-04-20T05:19:00.000-07:00

*Everytime I use the blockquote HTML code, it somehow messes up the alignment. Sorry.

Once again, I would like to examine the work of Stewart Mader. Today we will delve into his wikibook Using Wiki in Education. It is password protected, but there are some chapters that are available for free. I am discussing The New Learning Landscape, ch. 11, found at http://wikiineducation.com/display/ikiw/The+New+Learning+Landscape.

Mader begins by discussing how technology has, or could change, the standard classroom. With a shift from textbooks to networks, students will be able to gain more knowledge, and teachers will become facilitators of learning, rather than relayers of information.

Of course, Mader soon moves on to the wiki. This statement got me to thinking:

The first step is to overcome fear of new tools like Wikipedia, and explore
them with an open minded approach that considers how they could be used
effectively. Students already do this, and that's why they embraced Wikipedia a
(relatively) long time ago. When we teachers respond negatively to students'
mention of Wikipedia in class, or citation of it in their papers, we only make
ourselves look clueless and unwilling to advance our own thinking beyond the
resources we were told were acceptable when we were students.

Of course, I am a big proponent of wikis and their use in the classroom , or at least I think I am. Wait until next school year, and then ask me again. (Smile!) However, when I first read this statement, I wasn't entirely sure I agreed with it. We've discussed taking information found on wikis, especially Wikipedia, at face value, and we've even discussed how it might not be the best citation for a research paper. Then, I stopped pondering Mader's idea, and I read more. According to Mader, using wikis like Wikipedia opens doors to other learning activities. We should teach our students how to basically research their research. We should be:

[helping] them learn to back-up any information they find in Wikipedia by
checking secondary sources. for that matter, checking secondary sources needn't
be an arduous task; presented the right way to students it can be a fascinating
adventure, and finding either contradicting information or more detailed
supporting information can make a research paper or presentation all the more
interesting and engaging.

Mader goes on to discuss the benefits of social collaboration when using a wiki:

Using a wiki reduces the instances of students working in isolation and
provides a good foundation for a learning community. It also makes the
knowledge construction process much more transparent, and offers a teacher
many more points of assessment and guidance than only seeing a student's or
group's final paper or presentation.

I really do think that the history page gives teachers a true picture of what students are actually learning. We can see right on the page what errors and misinformation they have corrected. This also allows students to start thinking about their thinking. This metacognitive process is outstanding, and I absolutely can't wait to start using a wiki in my classroom.

Stewart Mader Interview

2007-04-19T08:19:00.002-07:00

First of all, I would like to thank Stewart Mader for allowing me access to his wikibook Using Wiki in Education. I plan on examining parts of it this week, but I would first like to discuss an interview between Mader and Débora Batello of Contos da Escola (Stories of the School). It can be located on his blog at the following link: http://www.ikiw.org/2007/04/11/7-questions-about-education-in-the-digital-era/.

Batello asked Mader some very thought-provoking questions, and Mader had very insightful answers. When asked about the teacher's role in the Digital Era, Mader responded, "the teachers’ role has changed from being the source of a limited amount of information to guiding students in their use of all the information on a particular subject that’s available." I couldn't agree more. Do you remember your childhood teachers? I do. He/she was limited to the information in my classroom textbooks. At the time, I thought they were brilliant, and they probably were, but in today's society, there is more information widely available and it is the responsibility of steering students in the direction of discovering this information.

Of course, I was more interested in the wiki specific questions. Mader did address the differences between wikis and blogs, and as I have stated many of the wikis I have found are not taking full advantage of the wiki's capablilities and are using it as a blog. I do not discount the use of blogs. I obviously value its importance. I have gained so much valuable information just by using it, but as Mader states, "Using a wiki is good for collaborating on group projects, having a student write a paper that the teacher can read and edit as a student writes it, instead of after they turn in a final draft. It’s also good for building a persistent record of what students have done in a course. "

Mader addresses the biggest issue with technology related projects in the classroom:

The biggest failure I’ve seen is to use technology as an after-thought, or “in addition” to the traditional ways of teaching a course. For it to be successful, it needs to be integrated fully into the course, and assignments have to count for course credit.

Now, imagine giving your class an assignment and making them spend lots of valuable classroom time on it, and then saying, "Ah, this doesn't really count." As a student, I would feel robbed, especially if I had put a lot of time and effort in to the project.

Once again, however, I am led back to the assessment issue. I know it is important to give credit for the wiki, but just how should I do this? Is the wiki rubric I posted earlier sufficient?

Wiki=Media=Real Life

2007-04-15T18:00:00.000-07:00

I remember watching The Muppet Babies every Saturday morning as a child. I loved seeing the antics of baby Kermit and baby Piggy. I also loved seeing Nanny, clad in her two-tone green stockings, yet, I could never see her face. Nanny was always protrayed in her socks and purple sweater, but you could never see her face. I do remember going to the television and trying to look up, perhaps catching a glimpse of her face. I never did. Now, I realize I could have never seen her beautiful face, but at the time I didn't know that.

Byron and Nass (1996) examine issues just like this in Chapter 1 of The Media Equation. In fact, they examined this very idea, stating, "Children often take television literally. They'll soon be older, and will be wise enough to know better" (p. 3). As I stated, I did become older and wiser, and so I realize that Nanny's face was never meant to be seen, no matter how hard I strained my neck upwards. Sadly, I do know adults who still seem to equate television with real life. My mother gets upset when watching The Young and the Restless. "Don't kiss him. He is sleeping with your best friend." You get it. Now, I know she doesn't think that the character can hear her, but she gets so involved she forgets it isn't real. This interaction my mother is having with her television is "fundamentally social and natural" (p. 5). Byron and Nass equate that media does in fact equal real life. Of course, we know it really doesn't, but we do react to it as if it does.

"People respond socially and naturally to media even though they believe it is not responsible to do so, and even though they don't these responses characterize themselves" (p. 7).

How does this relate to the wiki world? Consider these two scenarios, both relaying Wikipedia falsehoods:

Comedian Sinbad was erroneously reported dead by Wikipedia just a few weeks ago(azstarnet.com). Many mourners called and gave their sympathy, but surprisingly his own daughter called as well. Wouldn't she have known of her dad's death before Wikipedia? Media, including wikis, have become so profound, that she believed his death before actually hearing it from any real family members.

Journalist John Seigenthaler was stated in Wikipedia, References, and Answers entries to have been involved in the killings of John F. and Robert Kennedy, and surprisingly people believed it. Seighenthaler retaliated by threatening legal recourse and writing an editorial about it. I am sure that most people know that Lee Harvey Oswald was determined to be JFK's killer, and although there are thousands of conspiracy theories, I have never even heard of Seigenthaler. His life was turned upside down because there are so many people that believe everything they read on the internet, including a wiki, is true.

Now, I am sure there are many more inaccuracies floating around on all wikis, not just Wikipedia. It would also seem that consumers are taking all the information on the wiki at face-value. If someone took the time to write it, it must be true. Right? After all, as Byron and Nass exclaim, "The automatic response is to accept what seems to be real as in fact real" (p. 8).

Wiki Rubric

2007-04-14T19:16:00.000-07:00

In an effort to find some way to assess a classroom wiki, I did find this rubric located at http://www.readwritethink.org/lesson_images/lesson979/WikiRubric.pdf. I am not certain, but it seems to be a general rubric to assess any rubric.

The rubric is divided into five categories. They are:

Content
Organization
Attractiveness
Contribution to the Group and
Accuracy.

Each of these categories is given ratings between 4 and 1 with 4 being the highest score possible. As would be expected, the score decreases as the quality of the material decreases.

All of these categories seem like important categories to assess; however, when I begin implementation of my classroom wiki, I don't know if I should have so many criteria to assess. Maybe I should start off choosing three? If I did, I already know which three I would choose: content, organization, and contribution to the group.

I would choose these three categories because they seem to be the "meat and potatoes" of all wiki practice. Content and organization are necessary to the whole structure of wiki and contributing to the group assure that true collaboration is taking place.

Now, does this mean I think attractiveness and accuracy are unnecessary? Absolutely not! I just think that attractiveness will come with time. After my students have become more proficient in actual wiki usage, I think they will naturally want to make the wiki look better. Once this natural progression starts to take place, I will add attractiveness to the rubric.

As for accuracy, I definitely think accuracy is a must, but if my fifth graders are misspelling a word here or there, I am not going to freak. I know that I have students who are better spellers and have better grammar, and I also know they are the students who will revise another student's shortcomings. Right now, I am primarily concerned with the content. This particuliar rubric does address HTML, but I am not going to require my students to know any HTML code. I plan on using a wiki that does not require any HTML code.

These are my ideas right now. I hope to find another rubric to compare. Of course, I will have to devise my own rubric for my wiki, but this is a good start.

Wikis for Assessment...Still Need Assessment for Wikis!

2007-04-12T10:46:00.000-07:00

Ann's comment drove me to look for more ways to assess wikis, and while my efforts (and hers) haven't proved fruitful, I did find a site about using wikis to assess. It can be located at http://www.futurelab.org.uk/viewpoint/art96.htm.

McAlpine states, "the key transition periods of upper secondary and further education, groupwork tends to be less common. One of the main reasons for this is the difficulty of awarding individual qualifications on the basis of group work." I realize it may be difficult to award group work scores for higher grade levels including graduate school; after all, this is the reason Dr. Ferdig has us use the discussion forum when working on group projects. This allows him to see who has contributed what and how often. I also think that this idea could be used in the lower grades as well. When my students are completing group assignments, I do walk around and try my best to analyze who is doing what and how much; however, it is not always a simple task.

The author goes on to state, "Difficulties in assessing groupwork have contributed to an assessment culture which dismisses groupwork as a supplementary activity, rather than a core learning experience to be valued." To me, group work is wonderful. I have seen low-performing students excel when in a group, and not just because they were with the "smart kids" but because they were genuinely interested in working together and learning. In this class, I have gained more insight from my group than any professor could ever give me. They have opened my eyes to things I would never think of.

The wiki affords the teacher the ability to assess individuals within a group setting. McAlpine lists the attributes we are allowed to assess:

who did the majority of the work
who provided the main ideas behind the document
who evaluated the document as it went along
who was unhelpful or obstructive
who acted as peacemaker and ensured that people were kept on task
the existence of conflict among participants about the direction of the document
the methods of conflict resolution that were employed.

All of these items can be applied to the elementary school classroom.

"The wiki environment encourages cooperation between the team members, because everyone can see the joint effort - both in terms of products and also in terms of what each of the members is contributing. This makes it harder for people either to 'freeload' or to take over." This is another quote by the author that I feel is very important. When I give group assignments in class, there are the occassional students who want to lay around and do nothing, and there are the overachievers who have to have everything perfect, and--therefore--they must do it all on their own. If I assign a wiki group project, students would be more mindful of their's and others' contributions.

In the end, the author concludes, as do I that using a wiki allows group work to follow with its true nature and be collaborative. Because of this collaboration, it allows the wiki to become a valid assessment tool.

Common Goals

2007-04-11T15:39:00.001-07:00

If you google "wiki in eduation" the name Stewart Mader comes up quite a it. Apparently, he has written a wiki book, Using Wiki in Education, but as I am a mother, a teacher, and a graduate student, I just can't shell out the nineteen bucks for it right now. Maybe at the end of the month...as I only get paid one time a month. Yikes, but diapers come first!

Today, I actually visited his blog and this entry http://blogs.atlassian.com/news/2007/04/building_the_ri.html. While short, it had one statement that I whole-heartedly agreed with, "Successful wiki communities need focus and a common goal to attract the right people, and the brilliant simplicity of the wiki to build, nurture, and grow their shared knowledge."

Of course, his entry explores the seemingly failures of big name wikis like the LA Times Wikitorial and Amazon's Amapedia project, but I began to think of this statement in terms of my fifth graders. I obviously can't get a wiki space and tell them to have fun. I have to give them goals--common goals. Starting simply, I might just have them wiki about ONE particuliar topic in a unit, and not a whole unit. So, back to that classification unit...

I could have my students begin wiking about the five kingdoms of living things. After a period of time, I would add goals. Let's break those kingdoms down into phylums, etc., etc. This would add a little more structure but at the same time allow for creative collaboration.

This blog entry also gave very useful links, including a link to Mader's wikipatterns, a look at increasing the traffic on your wiki by examining the patterns that wiki creators create. This is interesting, and I am not entirely sure I understand it well, but I intend to delve further into it soon.

Wiki as a Mindtool

2007-04-07T22:06:00.000-07:00

First a disclaimer...I normally like to have my blog postings done before now, but this week has been the week from hell. My daughter reached a sky-rocketing temperature of 105.9 and so Tuesday, we spent the night in the hospital. Fortunately, her temperature was related to a bad case of strep of which she has already recovered. Unfortunately, I have fallen a little behind.

A few blog postings ago, Richard mentioned this site: http://www.profetic.org/dossiers/dossier_imprimer.php3?id_rubrique=110. For the most part, it is just a general wiki overview, much like Richard explained; however, it did have a few quotes that really spoke to me.

"For the most part, wikis are in a constant state of flux. Entries are often unpolished, and creators may deliberately leave gaps open, hoping that somebody else will come along to fill them in. " After reading this, my mind started racing. The possibilities of using this idea in a classroom are limitless. What if instead of having my students wiki about everything they knew about a particuliar subject, I had them purposefully leave out information so that their other classmates were required to collaborate and edit the wiki? Doesn't that afford countless learning opportunites?

"Wikis become objects to think with (James, 2004b), for others, wikis can help build an understanding of a community’s shared knowledge." This statement immediately brought me back to Instructional Computing I and the idea of computers as mindtools. Jonassen, Carr, and Yueh discuss this idea at
http://tiger.coe.missouri.edu/~jonassen/Mindtools.pdf. Essentially using computers as mintools requires students to learn with the technology. Examining it further, I notice that a wiki can actually fall into several categories of mindtools.

A wiki is a semantic organizer for in a wiki, there must be some way to organize and display information. Generally speaking, this ivolves the framework of which the wiki resolves--the organizational structure.

A wiki can also be an information interpretation tool, for it can allow students to make sense of what they are finding when researching. The wiki can help them compare and contrast it with other information presented across the web, or even in textbooks and other traditional prints.

Wikis can be visual tools. Text is the easiest thing to add to a wiki, but simple WYSIWYG interfaces allow pcitures to be placed in the wiki as well. (Okay, so now all the Visual Literacy is coming in to play too! Wow!)

A wiki is most definitely a knowledge construction tool and conversation tool. It relies on information created by self and others and creates an infrastructure where students are "socially negotiating meaning, not by being taught"(p.11).

Hmm...its all suddenly starting to make more sense.

Wiki while you learn (Insert whistling sound here)

2007-04-05T18:11:00.000-07:00

So, with Laine and Ann's suggestion for the following blog link by Jeff Utecht, I visited this entry today: http://www.thethinkingstick.com/?p=461.

Utecht discusses the value of using wikis in the classroom. As I have mentioned before, and so does Utecht, wikipedia is often the first hit on a search. "The problem", Utecht states, "is we view Wikipedia as a research site, rather than a site waiting to be edited. If you view Wikipedia and Wikibooks as a place to write the text rather than read the text, we change the Wikipedia from a place you go to gather information, to a place you go to write about, evaluate, and add information." What a powerful statement! If students are allowed to edit wikis in an effort to compare and contract knowledge from many different arenas, imagine all the valid learning opportunities this affords.

Utecht mentions that traditional textbooks are quickly outdated. In an effort to make his point, he discusses Pluto. Most science textbooks still have Pluto defined as a planet, although NASA officially downgraded it to a dwarf planet in August 2006 (see http://sse.jpl.nasa.gov/planets/profile.cfm?Object=Pluto). My Science textbook is three years old, so it obviously still lists Pluto as an official planet; however, I pulled up NASA's site and explained to my students that it wasn't really a planet anymore; it's a dwarf planet. We then discussed the differences between official planets and dwarf planets (http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/profile.cfm?Object=Dwarf). At the time of this lesson, I was relatively unaware of wikis, but had I known, we could have compared and contrasted our textbook with various wikis, even editing them if we saw the need to.

In the end, we must view wikis as a way for students to construct their own knowledge. This brings me back to the Citizendium topic. I wonder if my fifth grade students, or any student in elementary, middle, or high, may not be given the opportunity to contribute to the wiki. Probably not! They have no credentials, and in reality, I wouldn't want them revealing their
REAL name. This becomes a security issue.

While waiting for my email, I will still contribute to Wikipedia

2007-04-04T08:39:00.000-07:00

Today, I look at an interesting new piece: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07092/772696-96.stm. This piece deals with two of the main criticisms of wikis--contribution and vandalism.

Wikipedia is probably the world's most known wiki. In fact, many students across the country are citing it in research papers (not entirely certain I believe in that concept), but could there be something better? Larry Sanger, who has been with Wikipedia since its creation, and largely thought to be its co-founder, thinks so. Sanger unveiled what could soon be Wikipedia's greatest rival--Citizendium.

Like Wikipedia, Citizendium can be edited; however, there are stricter criteria. Not just anyone can edit. Contributors must create a biography and provide their REAL names in order to be allowed this feature. This will supposedly lead to untruths on the wiki and prevent vandalism. I wonder something, though. With Wikipedia, we know that the authors can be anonymous. This sometimes leads to spamming and untruths, but for the most part Wikipedia is often reliable. Of course, there have been several widely publicized incidents when it wasn't, but I don't think Wikipedia can never be trusted. Think of all the other web sites on the internet that provide false information. I think the factual information that Wikipedia has makes up for that. As for Citizendium, I began to ask myself just how well it will perform background checks. Of course, my inquisitive nature got the best of me. I decided to check it out.

Arriving at the main page of Citizendium (http://en.citizendium.org/wiki/Main_Page) I was immediately reminded that Wikipedia is more attractive; although, I was also reminded that most wikis I have found are quite unappealing to the eyes. I suppose it must be because wikis are simple and require little or no HTML knowledge. Back to the task at hand, I quickly read the About page: "The Citizendium (sit-ih-ZEN-dee-um), a "citizens' compendium of everything," is an open wiki project aimed at creating an enormous, free, and reliable encyclopedia. The project, started by a founder of Wikipedia, aims to improve on the Wikipedia model by adding "gentle expert oversight" and requiring contributors to use their real names." I had one HUGE question: could they be certain I was using my REAL name? I set out to join and see.

Well, I thought joining would be simple. I'll post a few tidbits, and someone in cyberspace will hit "approve". Not so much. Apparently, there was an automated system much like this, but vandalism has already occurred, causing them to require you to email quite a bit of information to them. (See http://www.citizendium.org/cfa.html). I did submit my qualifications, and yes, I used my REAL name. (Maybe I also created a fake name as well, but I will never tell!)

Now, I am led to ask this question. If I am approved, just because they have my REAL name and some minute qualifications, does that mean EVERYTHING I post will be factual? Well, apparently Citizendium has editors, who are supposed experts in their fields, and they will be critiquing my information for errors, but are experts always right? What about subjective cases, or opinionated findings? Who is to say that they will be more RIGHT than I am? While I have the utmost respect for my professors with PhDs, I have had times when I disagreed with them. (Maybe not so publicly, but disagreed none the less...and for all my UFL professors, I am merely referring to my undergraduate professors. Obviously! Smile!) Just because they have the well deserved title doesn't mean that I am WRONG for feeling a certain way. So, I wonder how reliable this "not an encyclopedia" will be if we leave little room for true collaboration and discussion. This is not to say that it doesn't allow for any collaboration and discussion, because it does, although it appears highly moderated.

I understand the criticisms of not having any known contributors, but couldn't having too many known contributors be a problem as well? It is like the concept of a true philanthropist. If a millionaire donates tons of money to a charity and tells every journalist what he did, who did he really do it for? But, if he gives it to the charity anonymously, his heart is in the right place. Could this roll over into the wiki world as well?

Criticisms of Wikis Resolved

2007-03-31T08:41:00.000-07:00

Joe posed these questions to me, "What do you think is the connection between the core concept of a wiki (giving control to the reader) and criticism of wikis? Is it a case of irreconcilable differences?"

You know, I will be honest. I am so quick to jump on the wiki band-wagon that I really hadn't thought about the connection. Sure, I've researched wiki vandalism, but I hadn't really thought about the critics. So, in doing so, I've found out a pretty general truth. Either people absolutely love wikis and think they are the next best thing since sliced bread, or they think they are a big bunch of donkey doo. However, I did seem to find a site that explores the criticisms of wikis, both resolved and unresolved: http://www.communitywiki.org/en/WhyWikiDoesntNotWork. This site is a direct response to the question Joe asked. Apparently, if one really looked at all the basic concepts of a wiki, it would seem the differences are anything but irreconcilable.

The first criticism this site examines is the concept of "stupidity". Yep, I said it--stupidity. One of the main things critics note about wikis are that users can put false and incorrect content on a wiki. However, this site's rebuttle is that through peer review this misinformation can be corrected. This idea brings me back to my envisioned class wiki. Suppose a student wikis that a duckbill platypus is a bird because it lays eggs. Another student would obviously find this incorrect information and edit it. "Although a duckbill platypus lays eggs, it is not a bird. It is warm-blooded, covered in hair, and gives milk to its young; therefore, it is a mammal." Of course, the first student would check the wiki. Kids love to see their work. When they notice it was edited, wouldn't this learn to a valid learning opportunity? Wouldn't they see why their information was wrong and gain new knowledge about the duckbill platypus?

The next criticism evaluated is that of malice. This is the idea my classmates and I have been discussing about wikis. What if a page is vandaled just for spite? Much like the other resources we've found on this topic, it is rebuted with the fact that pages can simply be edited back to their original content. Also, "if the community is strong enough, attacks can be resisted quite easily." I don't know about all of my classmates, but I know that my fifth graders can be quite the tattletales. They are quick to tell of each other's indiscretions, so hopefully, the classroom wiki would remain vandal free. (Okay, that's wishful thinking, but a girl has to dream.)

The last defended criticism involves giving credit where credit is due. "No one will ever contribute to a Web site if they don't get credit for and control over their work." The site states that "contributors are willing to trade off absolute control over their text for the benefits of collaboration." It also explains that most wikis have a contributors page. I wonder if this will be a problem in my classroom. I realize that there will be times in the wiki when others add crucial points to a piece. Will they want everyone to know they did it? After all, they are children, and children crave praise. This makes me think of group assignments. In fact, just yesterday, my students were creating math posters in class in their groups. Each child contributed something about the particuliar domain they were reviewing, yet on the poster, each child did not write his or her name next to the specific item they contributed. In fact, they were just happy to be in a group. They love group work. I hope this "rubs off" on a wiki.

The only unresolved criticism the site examined was "WikiSource should be as PlainText as possible." I actually don't see this as a huge problem. Most of the wiki sites I have visited are WYSIWYG and require very little if any knowledge of HTML.

I realize that with anything there are pros and cons, but I tend to agree with this site. The cons of a wiki are easily resolved if the true nature of a wiki is followed.

Wow...wonder if I could do this?

2007-03-29T16:13:00.000-07:00

So, I visited http://westwood.wikispaces.com/, and I admit I was impressed. Kind of makes me want to go back and get my certification in secondary education. Well, okay, maybe not, but still, it is a nice wiki. Then, again, nice isn't the word. Nice is the way to describe a sweet, old lady that gives you a glass of lemonade after you've been mowing the law in 100 degreee south Georgia weather. This is inspiring--something I want to attain, only on a much younger level.

Vicki's wiki (Gosh, I like saying that...say it three times fast. Tee Hee!) is amazing. Students are truly collaborating on this site, and they are using their brains. Imagine that! There are so many things that I liked about this wiki, and believe it or not, I think I could relate them to fifth grade.

Vicki teaches computer science at Westwood High School in Camilla, GA. One of the things I really liked was that she had her students create a "Computer Science" textbook. I was just thinking that this would be a great idea for my Science class. Georgia recently adopted new standards, and therefore, our Science curriculum (and Math and Language Arts too!) was completely rewritten. Needless to say, those comforting textbooks are no longer even a good resource. How wonderful would it be to have students create a wiki as we delved into each new unit in Science? For that matter, we could make a textbook for all subjects. The sky is the limit.

Besides the textbook, Vicki requires her students to wiki about specific lessons. Different students summarize different lessons. Once again, I could employ this, especially in Math. I think the possibilites of having students explain the procedures to a math problem are astounding.

In the presentation I watched yesterday, Vicki mentioned that she is trying to stay away from traditional exams, and instead, she opts for projects which require students to engage in collaboration and higher order thinking. For this 8 week period (and might I mention that I've heard of six week periods, as we used to be on this schedule, and nine week periods, as that is what we are now, but I have never heard of eight weeks...maybe it's common?) her class is completing a "Passion Driven Learning Project". Students are given a "major" and must select certain hardware and software for a person in that profession. They must use their knowledge to defend why they chose it. Now, I could use an idea like this too. In Science, I am a big proponent of problem based learning. I like my students to know that their isn't always one set solution and they must use their "noggins" to figure it out. The use of a wiki in problem based learning just seems like an ideal situation. Students could collaborate together on a wiki and come up with various solutions to the same problem. For Math projects, they could show different ways to work out a Math activity. Again, the possibilities are numerous.

I also like that Vicki links other school and student wikis are her space, as well as blogs. It is evident by this wiki that she's a blogger. After all, she links to four of her blogs on the wiki.

*As an aside for Richard who mentioned the educational possibilities of myspace and other social networking sites, see http://westwood.wikispaces.com/Student+Opinions+of+Social+Networking. Although it was an assignment last year, Vicki did have her students comment on the possiblities of myspace in the classroom.

A South Georgia Wikian

2007-03-28T15:29:00.000-07:00

Today, I am proud to announce that I have found a teacher in South Georgia that knows what a wiki is. Woo Hoo! Today, I visited the k12 Online conference web site at http://k12onlineconference.org/?p=38 where I discovered a wealth of information on wikis. I watched the video presentation created by Vicki Davis, a teacher in Camilla, Georgia (only about 65 miles away from me). Vicki is super-excited about wikis, and in just a short time she and her class created an award winning wiki at westwood.wikispaces.com. I plan to check it out and reflect on it tomorrow.

Vicki's (yes, I'm calling her Vicki...she makes it easy to remember herself when she refers to "Vicki and wikis") presentation makes several valid points about the internet in general. She begins by saying, "Online is not a joke."She explains that students are leaving school and are unprepared for a society that relies so much on the internet. It is very true that the internet is a mainstay in most homes in America. I was amazed to find out how many of my students actually had internet access in their homes, especially since I teach in the second poorest county in Georgia and the 88th poorest county in the nation.

Vicki mentions several reasons for choosing to implement wikis in the classroom. They are as follows:

There are plenty of free wiki sites on the internet.
Wikis can run on old, slow computers.
Wikis are easy.

The second idea appeals to me. Most of the computers in our school are old and slow (Didn't I mention that I work in the second poorest county in Georgia and the 88th poorest county in the nation?). Okay, so all of the ideas really appeal to me. I am a teacher, and therefore, I do not make much money, so anything free is great. And....I am a teacher, and I have little time, so "easy" is wonderful as well.

Vicki also touches on the security issue as well. Much like the other information I have read, Vicki explains that wikis are not able to be viewed and edited by just anyone. When it comes to viewing, you can set the wiki to public or private. The same can be said for editing. Since it is being used in the classroom, it would be best--however--to only allow members to edit posts. She also says that monitoring the wiki regularly is greatly important. Most wiki sites will send emails to the administrator of the site, noting any editing that has been made, but she prefers to set up an RSS aggregator instead. (She uses bloglines, too!) I think I would rather use an RSS feed too. Imagine the flood of emails you would get if you set up the wiki to email you everytime a change was made. I think RSS would be much easier to manage.

Vicki also discusses the consequences students would have for doing anything inappropriate on the wiki. She explains to her students that "online work has offline implications". Anything her students do at night or even during the summer can consequences. The first time she had a problem, she dealt with it quickly and decisively, thus she hasn't really had anymore. I only wish she would have explained her consequences for that first violation. Maybe I'll leave a comment in her blog and ask!

Besides listing and discussing several different instructional strategies using the wiki, Vicki brought up a topic that I am ashamed to admit I haven't really thought of--assessment. How do you assess a wiki? She uses a rubric, but before any wiki-related assignment is given, she gives them that rubric. That totally makes sense! I give my students a copy of the rubric I will use before any assignment that I evaluate with a rubric. Like she says, it is "unfair to have students read my mind".

I can't wait to explore her class wiki tomorrow. Even though she teaches high school, I am sure I can relate it back to my elementary class experience.

Examining Wikis

2007-03-23T05:14:00.000-07:00

Today, I finally looked at some classroom wikis. I was pleasantly surprised with some, and not too impressed with others. Join me as we venture on a walk down the wiki road.

The first wiki I visited was dissappointing. The wiki located at http://watersmeet56.wikispaces.com/ did not take full advantage of the capabilities of the wiki. To put it simply, the teacher uses the wiki as a standard classroom web site. The wiki displays what the students are working on, but it does not allow for any student collaboration. This is the whole idea behind the wiki in an educational setting.

Sadly, my next quest proved very similiar to the first. Mr. Carlson's wiki at http://mcarlson5thgrade.pbwiki.com/ was also a classroom web page-like wiki. I would venture to think that perhaps these teachers don't know the value of a true wiki or perhaps they just feel the ease of editing a wiki allows them to put more information up for their classes. Regardless, I have a class site, so I am not interested in these types of wikis.

I liked the next wiki at http://roosevelt5th.wikispaces.com better, thankfully. It wasn't what I envision in my classroom, but at least I could see some student collaboration and input, if only in alphabetized lists.

Since "5th grade wikis" weren't proving too fruitful, I just started looking for any wikis. I was pleasantly surprised with http://codeblue.wikispaces.com/. A sixth grade wiki, it involved students researching the human body and opening their own online medical clinics. I don't actually teach the human body as our standards changed with the rollout of the new Georgia Performance Standards in Science, but I could see allowing my students to create something new and creative on a wiki that involves their knowledge of something we've learned. Maybe they could create a new animal or plant, or any living thing for that matter, while we study classification. They would have to work together to discuss its classification, habitat, etc.

Finally, I visited http://blogs.oaisd.org/wiki/doku.php?id=rich:home. This seems like a fairly new wiki, and so not much material is on the pages, although I can see that if it truly follows the protocol of a wiki, it could be great. The teacher has incorporated student pages within the wiki which are almost blog-like. I wonder if this will be a problem if students start changing other student's pages. One major thing that I noticed and liked is that most of the work on any of the pages is written by the third grade students. This is evident in the grammar and spelling. This shows the teacher is letting the students control the wiki--an idea I would like to use in my own classroom.

That's all for today, but I will continue to look for more wikis on my journey to implementing a wiki within my own room.

Vandals on the Lose

2007-03-22T10:21:00.000-07:00

I had intended to look at an actual classroom wiki for my next post, but Laine's comment brought further insight to the aspect of vandalism. What can be done about it? I was led to an article (or blog) by Matt Barton entitled "Embrace the Wiki Way". It can be located at http://www.mattbarton.net/tikiwiki/tiki-read_article.php?articleId=4.

Barton desribed wikis in a very whimsical way, making it easy to read. Besides various ideas for wikis in a composition class, he did offer up ideas about security. He begins his look into the vandalism area by saying, "Let me guess what you are thinking: What is to prevent such a website from anarchy? What if someone deletes my material? How do wikis protect an author's work?" He answers, with "Nothing."

He goes on to say that wikis are not as "vulnerable as you think" and that they are "as well-protected as your home." Justification is given for this statement--very sensible justification. I do agree that police aren't parked outside of my house, but I too would hope a neighbor would let me know if my home or car was vandalized. The same is true for a wiki. A wiki is a collaboration, so if any student knows of anyone destroying someone's work on purpose, I hope he or she would say something about it. I have a mailbox in my room because my students often wish to tell me something, and yet they don't want their peers to know. They must use an envelope, address it properly (we have addresses according to desk, row, etc.) and put it in my mailbox. When I reply, I'll put up the flag, and our "postperson" delivers the mail. Maybe they would tell me, maybe not.

Regardless, Barton explains that wikis are not irreversible. "If someone has written something disagreeable, it's a small effort to change it back. " Wikis have a history page that allows uses to see different versions of the page, and the author could always switch it back.

In conclusion, he states, "In short, wikis are protected not by code, or by law, but rather by the participation of an active wiki community. If you are proud of your entry, you will feel compelled to see what's up if you receive a notification that the entry has been changed, and "roll it back" if it's obvious the page was vandalized or rendered less intelligent." Of course in my classroom, I would be the one doing the rolling back and receiving the notifications that the page had been changed, although I am sure that if my students think what they've written is worthy, they will continue to examine it to see if someone else has changed it.

Oh, and also, most wiki sites require you to register to even post, so if a student vandalizes a page, I would know who did it.

Ideas for Wikis

2007-03-21T09:41:00.000-07:00

Last week I delved into the world of wikis, including their application in the classroom. I even touched on the correlation with high-stakes testing. My classmates and Joe all brought up valid points. We can’t overlook the valuable assets that technology integration grants to our students just for a few points on a standardized test.

This week I wanted to look at actually implementing a wiki in my room. My search led me to the following site: http://www.teachersfirst.com/content/wiki/, “A Wiki Walk-Through”. I really liked this site because it seemed a lot like the interactive ppts we just did. I was able to click through to find the parts that I was interested in, although I did end up looking at all of it.

For anyone new to wikis the first section would be beneficial as it describes wikis and their uses. There is also a “wiki vs. blog” section to compare and contrast the two technologies. It discusses the obvious. A blog is one person’s opinion, etc., and others can comment on it, where a wiki allows others to edit your work. Although blogs and wikis can both be cooperative efforts, I feel that a wiki allows for more collaboration. Before a wiki is begun—however—I feel the teacher must explore and teach the concept of collaboration and teamwork. Later, the article does address “editing vs. vandalism”. “Students will be students, and at least one is bound to "vandalize" another student's work on your class wiki”, or so they state.

The site also addresses other valid issues such as security, parental involvement, and wonderful ways to implement the wiki. This section really attracted me. I found several ideas I would like to try with my fifth graders. One did involve that “high-stakes” testing we’ve all been discussing. In this idea students created a wiki to write “What I think will be on the test”. This allows students to share ALL their knowledge. To narrow it down for specific subjects, I also liked the idea of having students write a “Science textbook” as they progressed through their Science units. An example of a Math wiki involved students creating a “Procedures wiki” to explain step-by-step how to complete mathematical operations.

I have a lot of ideas to look into. Now, I am ready to look at an actual wiki implemented in a fifth grade class.

Similiar Ideas Across the Nation

2007-03-15T07:44:00.000-07:00

For my entry today, I will discuss a news article found in the Tuesday edition of the Napa Valley Register entitled "The Family Computer: Technology has impact on education" written by Calvin Ross. To link to this article, click http://www.napavalleyregister.com/articles/2007/03/13/columnists/calvin_ross/doc45f69fa8721a5926193241.txt.
This article, I feel ties in nicely with what Richard was mentioning about computers and writing assessment.

Ross begins his discussion by relating inertia to the world of teaching: “Teachers who have relied on textbooks often can’t find a compelling reason to change.” I have found this true about everything, not just using computers and other technology in the classroom. The state of Georgia is implementing a new curriculum. These Georgia Performance Standards (GPS) have been implemented in some subjects already and others are being rolled out. On my last professional development day, I attended the GPS redelivery for Math, and just like with the Science, we were told that our textbook would only be a resource. Many teachers were mortified. They love using that book and teaching straight from it. It is what they know. This idea carries across the curriculum into the technology domain. Many teachers aren’t comfortable using it, and so they don’t. They teach the way they are comfortable.

Another issue that Ross discussed that impacts all teachers is high-stakes testing. Ross states, “It’s hard to be innovative when straying from core curriculum might hurt math and English test scores, bringing woe on schools and districts.” Now, I will admit, I am very focused on the CRCT, Georgia’s state-mandated test; after all, if my fifth graders don’t pass the Math (and Reading) portion of the test, they cannot be promoted. (I don’t agree with that, but that’s a whole ‘nother blog entry.) I do find myself teaching to the test, although I always say, “If you teach the standards, you are teaching the test.” The fact is this: their test scores are a reflection on me, or so says my school district.

Ross—however—says “there are compelling reasons to look beyond the test scores.” Although they need the skills measured by these tests, there are other skills needed that they cannot measure. Students must be able to communicate their ideas effectively and creatively and collaborate with their classmates. What section of the tests measure these and other valid skills? As teachers, we must start following the mantra Ross provokes we have for our students: “[teach] them to learn for themselves.”

Ross empowers the use of the internet, including the wiki, to develop students who do create their own learning. He addresses the issue that there is a ton of “misinformation” found on the world wide web, but if students are taught to delineate fact from fiction, they could develop higher order thinking skills. I agree with this sentiment. I have adult friends who think that everything they find on the net is true. Maybe they weren’t taught these skills?

Who knew that a guy from Napa Valley could share some of the same beliefs with a hick teacher from South Georgia? I’m actually amazed.

Autonomy and the Wiki

2007-03-14T10:52:00.000-07:00

Today, I examine an article found in the December 2006 issue of Teacher Librarian entitled Beyond “Wikipedia”. The article may be located at http://vnweb.hwwilsonweb.com.lp.hscl.ufl.edu/hww/jumpstart.jhtml?recid=0bc05f7a67b1790e70e397f5ebc28d342513041ebcc55997ed9665cdea9d9cf3cf14038b05ccc3d9&fmt=H.

I admit that I was drawn to this article simply because it referenced Wikipedia. I have recently told some of my colleagues that I am researching wikis for my class, and they are immediately dumb-founded. “What’s a wiki?” they quickly reply. Admittedly, several months ago, I would have replied the same thing. Then, I learned. So, to begin my explanation, I reference Wikipedia. As soon as I mention it, they tell me, “Oh yeah, I get that as my first hit a lot of times on Google.” I proceed to tell them about the functionality and editing options of a wiki, and again they look dumb-founded. I think they will eventually get it. Maybe.

Achterman (2006) begins the article by saying, “Some of the most exciting research happens when students collaborate to pool their research and analyze their data, forming a kind of understanding that would be difficult for an individual student to achieve” (p. 1). This is the very essence of a wiki. In my classroom, I hope to provide an environment in which my students can work together to synthesize information. A wiki is a wonderful medium for this.

Achterman discusses the value of a wiki as an educational tool because it is easy to use. My students will not have to know any knowledge of HTML (if I choose the correct wiki site) and can easily enter information. However, Achterman states that “the potential for wikis as an education tool remains largely untapped” (p. 1) . This, I feel, goes back to my first point: many teachers have utterly no idea what a wiki is.

James (2004), whom I cited in my previous entry, stated that “participants need to be in control of the content—you have to give it over fully”; however, Acterman feels this is not always possible. “Although it is hard to argue with the goal of independent, self-directed learning, this is often an ideal to strive toward than it is a reality” (p. 2) He goes on to explain that a wiki should be created that implements the level of information literacy a student has. This may mean that the teacher should create some navigation structure for the wiki.

The article had other valid points, including five features that make wikis effective tools. They are:
1.Ease of use.
2. Spaces for students to create products individually, in small groups, and as a whole group.
3. Ability to create a nonlinear document structure through hyperlinks.
4. A built-in mechanism for reflection and metacognition.
5. A means of tracking individual, small group, and whole group progress through an assignment(p. 3-4).

All in all, this article really made me think more about the creation of a class wiki with my fifth graders. After reading James’ piece yesterday, I was gung-ho to give my students wiki space and let them start writing about the classification system of living things. Then, after reading this piece, I realize my fifth grade students are not quite ready to be turned loose with a wiki. This does not mean I intend to create a fill-in-the-blank wiki that James deemed a “brilliant failure”, but perhaps I should create some navigational structure. Topics and headings, maybe? Eventually, I would like them to create a wiki in its entirety, but I suppose small steps are better than no steps at all. We shall see.

"A Brilliant Failure"

2007-03-13T09:37:00.001-07:00

My long-term goal is to actually start implementing wikis into my classroom. Although I teach 4th and 5th graders, I am going to initially (I hope) begin using them with my fifth graders. It is amazing what one year can do! I think they will be ready for the challenge.

In my quest for information on wikis, I stumbled across the following site: http://www.preoccupations.org/2004/05/using_wikis_in_.html. As I began reading, I was taken off guard. The author describes his first attempt at wiki-usage in the classroom as a "brilliant failure". An oxymoron, perhaps? I continued reading, and finally, I understood.

Close to the beginning of the piece, the James writes, "Visions of ‘negotiating meaning’, ‘knowledge construction’ and ‘student-to-student interaction’ swam through my head." I must admit that all these things come to mind when I envision my students using a wiki to its fullest potential. I do want my students to construct their own meaning from material. I would love for them to interact with classmates and have a friendly debate about their thinking. This would clearly be metacognition at work; they would be thinking about their thinking.

The author—however—did not conduct his wiki in a way that allowed all of her goals to be reached. She states that she “finally…ended up using wiki as pumped-up PowerPoint.” Now, there is nothing wrong with PowerPoint, if it is used correctly, but to me, a wiki is the anti-PowerPoint. A ppt has predefined information. It is typed into the presentation and then presented, never to be looked at again(unless it is an interactive ppt, but that’s another story) , much less edited—edited by our peers. In her self-proclaimed “WikiLite”, she left blanks for students to fill-in the blanks. To me, this is nothing more than a selected response assessment. It did not allow for student creativity in the depth or breadth of selection of material for inclusion in the wiki.

“To really use a wiki, the participants need to be in control of the content — you have to give it over fully”; this is the concept the author related near the end of the piece. I truly hope that I will be able to do this. Although I have only been teaching since 2000, I do find myself steering children towards certain answers or even pointing out ideas, but the whole idea is for the students themselves to create knowledge. While learning the state imposed standards, my students are supposed to make the knowledge relevant to them. I just hope I can realize that they are not “little versions” of me.

And So it Begins.....EME 5404

2007-03-10T01:26:00.000-08:00

I can't believe this is my fourth class in the Online Educational Technology Master's Program at the University of Florida. Time is flying by. I just hope that continues. As you can see, I have used this blog before. I started it during my Internet in K-12 Instruction. Unfortunately, I have not kept it current since the class dismissed. Hopefully, I won't let it fall behind after this one does as well.

Moving along.....

For my area of specialization, I would like to delve deeper in the world of wikis. I learned of them in the same class for which I originally created this blog. In fact, I had regularly visited Wikipedia, but I never knew I could edit it. I didn't have a clue of what a wiki even was. According to Wikipedia (LOL), a wiki is is a "website that allows visitors to add, remove, and otherwise edit and change content". It took me a little bit to grasp the concept, and quite frankly, I'm no expert by any means. I still have a lot to learn about them, especially ways to integrate them in my classroom and have my students utilize them on a regular basis. I would love to know what everyone else thinks about their usage. I know there are some people out there who do not like the power that comes with a wiki, for virtually anyone can edit your work. Contrastly, others feel they are a unique tool for learning.

Throughout the coming weeks, I will be posting various information on wikis, especially their usage in the educational setting. I look forward to reading everyone's comments on the subject matter.

Is it the end already?

2006-11-18T19:34:00.000-08:00

Wow! Have eight weeks really flown by this fast? I can’t believe it. Before starting this semester, I was consumed with worry. Would I be able to handle teaching, being a mommy, and online classes? Well, I did it. Not only have I done it , but I have learned so much more than I could have ever imagined.

Being an “internet geek”, as my husband so affectionately calls me J, I thought I knew everything there was to know about the world wide web. I definitely knew how to use a search engine, or so I thought. Now, I can search more efficiently, and I know the best search engines to use for everything, and to my surprise, not everything we use to search is a search engine. LOL. Who knew?

As for RSS aggregators, I was completely in the dark. Now, I can get my daily laugh from comedy central, read blogs, and keep up with the newest trends in scrapbooking all on the same page. This really makes life easier; after all, it is the little things that count. And believe me….when you have a 1 ½ year old running around your ankles at 90 miles an hour, those few extra seconds you save by not hopping around from web page to web page really count.

Finally, finally, finally, I got the gist of wikis. Throughout the course, I had been reading about them, and I “kind a’, maybe, sorta’” got it, but after having experienced it first-hand this week, I went “Aha”. I finally got it. How neat! We have the world available at our fingertips, and everything we read isn’t always true, and we can always find ways to add on. I initially thought I wouldn’t have anything to say, but then, I clicked on the link, started reading, and thought, “What if we had a section about this or that?” so I just created one. Awesome!

Oh, and Friday, I told my principal I was creating a web site for our technology committee, and I thought I would include a link for a wiki on it. He quickly looked at me and said, “Wiki, what?” So, now I get to teach him, because he honestly seemed like he wanted to know, but it was Friday, and we were leaving, and we do have a week for Thanksgiving holidays, so I didn’t make him stay after school. LOL. Not yet!

Wiki, Wiki, What?

2006-11-11T09:01:00.000-08:00

At the beginning of the class, I stated I was quite unfamiliar with wikis. I had heard of Wikipedia, but to be honest, I didn't realize what it was. It was a link I sometimes got when searching. I clicked on it sometimes, read it, and usually surfed away. I never edited anything. Didn't know I could.

The idea of a wiki itself is quite amazing. Basically anyone can go to the wiki, if they have access to it, and change the content. I can see the benefits and the pitfalls of this. The benefits are obvious: errors can be corrected, misinformation and misconceptions changed, etc. However, I find myself asking, what if the exact opposite occurs? Obviously if I am using this to teach course content, it will be a daunting task. Would I need to constantly correct the misinformation or do I just lead my students in to finding the right information? I am sure the last option is the best, but I will admit I often find myself doing the first option.

If I am ever able to wrap my head around the idea, I am sure it will be useful, especially in my Science and Social Studies classes. I think I will better understand the wiki after actually participating in one. I really wanted to see the third grade wikis but was unable to without the password. Maybe I should become a PBWiki member. (In fact, I think I will.) I think I have the general concept, and it seems to be a great way to differentiate instruction. That's a buzzword at our school. Anyone else's?

If I taught Language Arts, I could really see myself using them in Writing classes. The ability to read and edit someone's writing would be helpful in peer reviews. It reminds me of "tracking changes" in MS Word, only there are no changes left to track; the changes just become the new content.

I keep thinking about this Technology Task Force I am to chair. We had our first meeting Wednesday, and our first task is to create a technology plan for our school. I think a wiki would be a powerful way for all the members on my committee to contribute to the plan. What does everyone else think?

Technology Task Force

2006-11-03T15:14:00.000-08:00

In addition to this class, I am taking EME 5403, instructional computing. For this class, I have had to write a couple of reaction papers. Well, I had the nerve to give my last one to my principal. It was my reaction to several authors (Cuban, Pea, and others) and how I would further implement technology into my school. Well, my principal has decided to create a Technology Task Force and wants me to head it. He has decided "we" aren't doing as much as we could and wants to change that. I am all gung-ho and excited, but I don't know how excited my fellow teachers will be. I suppose it will be my duty to get them excited.

Fun and Games

2006-11-03T12:20:00.000-08:00

Although I haven’t received any feedback yet on my site, I decided to start editing it and playing around with some of the site features. In order to use the FTP transfer and to be ablet o use MS FrontPage, I would have to pay close to $50. I am a teacher. I'm poor. LOL. So, I used the predefined pages, but I have quickly learned how to tweek them. For example, the page may only allow the insertion of two pictures. I want four. No problem. When you go to edit text, there is a button which reads "HTML". I have discovered it is the HTML source editor. All I have to do is put in the HTML codes, and "voila", my pictures appear. That is so neat. I am very excited about this. It is amazing how you can read that mumbo-jumbo if you know what you are looking for.

Then, I decided to add a visitor counter. Wouldn’t it be nice to actually know how many times students or parents visit my site? I followed the instructions on the web site. It was simple to go to the location on the page, click Edit, and then click the HTML source editor. I put in the code for the counter, and the counter quickly appeared on my home page.

Then, I decided other add-ons might make my site more interesting for my students, keeping them coming back for more. I found a site http://www.surfnetkids.com/ with several different add-ons. There were so many fun ones that I decided to create a Just 4 Fun! page. I think the students will like this, and I think they will come back for it, as they change daily! It was simple to create. I clicked on the text portion of the page, clicked the HTML source editor, and added the code. I haven’t finished the page just yet, but I think it is interesting.

Option 3

2006-10-27T09:14:00.001-07:00

Once again, I was dumbfounded this week. I, who have always considered myself technologically aware, was not fully educated on the wealth of different types of instructional activities afforded by the web. I actually tend to stick to scavenger hunts and webquests. We have taken a few virtual field trips and I use streaming video often, but I really didn’t know about hotlists and I thought scrapbooks were the treasures I created of my beautiful daughter.

This week, I was able to find a lot of interesting instructional activities to support my curriculum. I teach 4th/5th Math, Science, and Social Studies, so I have included some activities for each of these subjects.

One of the simulations Dr. Dawson provided a link for, http://www.historyglobe.com/jamestown/, would actually be wonderful for my 4th Grade Social Studies class. We are studying the thirteen original colonies now, and this is perfect. I know my students will love it because it is interactive. They must make the decisions for their colony based on the information from the Jamestown charter and ideas from the Powhatan Indians and a colonist of noble birth. I am curious if my students will plant tobacco after this week, our school’s “Drug Free” week. They know the dangers of tobacco, but will this adventure help them learn that it was major cash crop for the settlers when they first arrived? We shall see. Because of my limited number of computers, this is an activity that will require the use of the computer lab, or I could assign it using my classroom’s “Been There, Done That” strategy.

As I said, I am already comfortable using webquests in my classroom, so my search had to include one: Breaking News...Reporting From the Edge of Disaster. This webquest is also appropriate for my 4th graders, although the site states it as a 3rd grade webquest. Our state’s standards indicate that in 4th grade Science our students should learn about ecosystems and animal adaptations. This webquest is perfect for both. I love how it includes a “vocabulary check-up” for those words which students should be familiar with but may have forgotten. Besides learning about ecosystems and animal adaptations, students are introduced to natural disasters. We study some of these natural disasters in 4th grade Science, and others we will discuss next year in 5th grade, but it won’t hurt for them to learn now. (My fourth graders will loop with me to their fifth grade classes.) There are a couple of links that do not work, but all in all, there are enough links that do, so they will be able to find their information. I like this webquest because students must fully understand animal adaptations and ecosystems. They must use their higher order thinking skills to determine how that animal can survive after a natural disaster. Students are grouped into threes, and each have an assignment that requires them to work with their group, and each also has an individual assignment. Once again, however, this assignment will require the use of the computer lab.

Our school has a subscription to unitedstreaming, so I have included a link to a video I would use in my 5th grade Science classroom. Weathering and Erosion, http://www.unitedstreaming.com/search/assetDetail.cfm?guidAssetID=6B1E329E-5A77-4B36-BFA9-1D307F75441C (if you have unitedstreaming), is a video that I would use to reinforce erosion and weathering. The essential question from our Constructive and Destructive Forces unit is, “Why does the Earth look different today than it did a thousand years ago?” I think this video does a good job of answering it. We will watch this as a class using Trevor, our LCD projector.

I discovered several virtual video tours at http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/life/. They are very appropriate for my 5th grade Social Studies curriculum. We study the branches of the government. When discussing the executive branch, we always discuss the president, and we—of course—always study the White House. These videos give students a first hand look at various rooms in the White House. The president himself leads the tour of the oval office. Panoramic tours are also available a click away at http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/whtour/360index.html. I would assign these tours individually, maybe as anchor activities when students are finished with assignments.

The following hotlist, http://wneo.org/hotlists/msandelemmath.htm, would be a great resource for my 4th and 5th graders. It covers many relevant Math topics for both grades. There are links for tutorials and games. My students love games. I would let students individually use this hotlist to reinforce, remediate, and enrich my math curriculum.

There are many other great instructional activities out there. I just wish I had enough time in the year to do them all.

Finding a Server for My Site

2006-10-24T15:37:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, i started checking out the free web hosting sites for teachers. My school does have a server, but as I have said, it has not been updated, and we are changing servers, so I am not going to make my classroom presence on there. Perhaps, if we ever do get things in order, I will move my site there. I could use the plaza site at UF, but this is something I intend for my students to use even after I have finished my coursework at UF.

First, I visited www.nicenet.com, but didn’t find it very appealing. You are not allowed to play around. It is pretty cut and dry. You type it, and it lists it.

Next, I visited www.esmartdesign.com, and while it doesn’t say it is specifically for teachers, I did find it on a teacher resource page. It is marketed as being a free site that will not allow adult or other inappropriate sites. The first thing I noticed is that you must pay to remove the advertisements. I am not going to do that yet. I have a lot to visit.

Then, I visited www.teach-nology.com, and it too has advertisement, but for $1.00 a month, I can take ads off. If I decide to use this site, I don’t think $1.00 will break me. This site offers a free site builder, or I can upload my own files or use an FTP. It looks easy to use.

My next visit, www.schoolrack.com, didn’t prove to be fruitful. It is an easy way to set up a classroom presence; however, you have to use their pre-defined categories. I want to make my page more personal.

I visited www.schoolandteacher.com next, and I signed up for the free year trial. However, my login information, while correct, would not allow me to edit the site. I even tried to redo all the information, but it never would let me as my email address had already been used. I kept asking for a password to be sent, but it was not. Oh well!

Upon visiting www.teacherweb.com, I was somewhat disappointed that I had to choose the layout and design of my page when signing up. Once again, this site only offered pre-defined categories. It is nice for a quick site, but I want something more personal. It is free for the first 30 days, so I don’t think I will be renewing it.

Finally, I visited http://www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/fil/, the Filamentality web site. It is not really directed at making a classroom web site as I thought. I found that it would be very useful for students working on a specific topic as its categories include thinks like helpful links and scrapbook to show those sites appropriate for a certain topic.

I think I am going to go with the teach-nology site right now, unless I find something else later that I like better.

Multiple Intelligences

2006-10-21T12:15:00.000-07:00

Gardner’s “multiple intelligences” has been key to all my class work, beginning with my undergraduate studies. When reading from the site http://www.eduscapes.com/tap/topic68.htm for this week’s assignment, I was able to correlate this information with its counterparts in the technology arena.

I have always been a proponent of teaching children the way they desire to be taught. Every human learns differently. For example, I know that I am more Verbal-Linguistic and Interpersonal. Besides my strengths, I know that I am weak in the Naturalistic domain. However, not all my students are able to express themselves with words, and all of them prefer group work. I try my best to incorporate activities in my classroom that use these different facets, but I must admit I still rely heavily on those that I am more comfortable with, and I probably don’t include as much of the ones I am not. This is something I need to work on.

One of the links in the reading, http://www.casacanada.com/multech.html, was very beneficial to me. It gave me lots of ideas for incorporating the multiple intelligences using technology; however, it did not give examples for all nine intelligences. With this, I set out to find examples when teaching a unit on the Solar System. Below is what I found for each of the nine multiple intelligences.

Verbal/Linguistic (http://www.britannica.com/ebc/article-9379049): Students can read this encyclopedia entry and click on the links to read about each of the planets.

Logical/Mathematical (http://vathena.arc.nasa.gov/curric/space/sun/sunearth.html): With this lesson, students can compare the size of the Earth to the Sun. Other activities have them comparing their weight on the Sun to their weight on the Earth. Various other activities are included in which students must use calculations to answers.

Visual/Spatial (http://www.solarviews.com/eng/solarsys.htm): The drawings and graphics on this page will help students synthesize information on the Solar System. The graphics are clickable and can be viewed much larger.

Bodily/Kinesthetic (http://lunar.arc.nasa.gov/education/activities/index.htm#21): This site features many hands-on activities related to the solar system.

Musical(http://www.songsforteaching.com/recall/solarsystem.htm): This site has a link to listen to a solar system song. The song, while simple, teaches the order of the planets from the sun.

Interpersonal (http://www.slc.k12.ut.us/webweavers/suea/cometweb.htm): This web quest requires students to work together to solve a problem about comets.

Intrapersonal (http://amazing-space.stsci.edu/resources/explorations/trading/): This site offers a one-person interactive game where a student can earn a card by answering questions about the solar system.

Naturalist (http://www.symivisitor.com/satellite.htm): Students can view live satellite photos from space.

Existential (http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/en/kids/phonedrmarc/2002_june.shtml): Students can explore answers to the question, “Is there life on Mars?”

I had a great time searching for ways to incorporate the nine multiple intelligences in the Solar System unit. It really showed me how little I was actually doing. I look forward to using these resources in my classes.

Message Boards on My Site?

2006-10-15T15:57:00.000-07:00

I read on one of classmates blogs (sorry, I can't remember who at the moment) that he/she had a message board on the class web site. This is interesting. I am wondering if it would be possible to incorporate this into my class site. Are there any that I could put on my site that are free? I am broke. LOL.

My Culminating Assignment

2006-10-14T11:55:00.000-07:00

I have been wrestling with what to choose for my culminating assignment for this course. I knew immediately that I did not want to create an internet-based instructional activity, not because these aren’t important, but because I feel I can already do them pretty well. I am sure, however, that I could use some ideas to use the internet more effectively in my classroom.

The other three options I was still having a hard time deciding upon until Thursday at our parent-teacher conferences. Eleven parents came to the conferences, and while many of you may find that amount miniscule, it was good for me. For fun, I decided to put a section for email address on the sign-in sheet, and to my surprise, ten out of the eleven parents had an email address. This told me that –perhaps—most of my parents had some sort of internet resource available to them.

Throughout the conferences, six parents asked me if there was some web site they could access to see their child’s homework or what they were working on in class. Because of the interest expressed by my parents, I have decided to create a web-based presence for my classroom.

Now our school system has a web-site, www.sowegak12.org, but if you visit it, you will find it is not maintained. The calendar is for the 2005-2006 school year, and if you click on the link for the elementary school, you will notice my principal, Dr. Grady Miles. Oh wait, he hasn’t been my principal for two years now. Sad, I know. I have asked several times why we don’t update the site, and I am told we are changing servers. Guess we’ve been changing servers for a while now, huh?

If we weren’t “changing servers” I would create a web-site and link it to our page; instead, I will create a web-site using a free resource for teachers. I have found a plethora of free web-sites for teachers. I don’t know which I will use yet; I need to further investigate.

What will I put on my site? Good question! Besides homework and classroom happenings, I would like to link to quality sites pertinent to my curriculum. There are an astronomical amount, so I will have a hard time finding valuable ones for my site. I would also like to include a blog so my students could send me comments about the day’s lessons. It would be nice if I could somehow have them create blogs and link to them as well. That might—however—be a project for later.

I know I am going to enjoy this assignment. I can’t wait to get started.

Bloglines Plumber...LOL

2006-10-07T18:31:00.000-07:00

Well, I just went to review my feeds at bloglines, and got the funniest little picture of a old plumber saying that bloglines was down for "a little fixer upper." Wonder how long it will be down? I really wanted to work on adding my classmates blogs to my feeds. Oh well...such is life. I will check tomorrow.

RSS and a trip to my Dad's

2006-10-05T07:37:00.000-07:00

Week 2 of class! Wow! I made it. This is my first semester of online classes, so I admit I was apprehensive. I didn't really know if I could handle it, but I did. Thank goodness.

This week, I have learned about RSS. Once again, I admit, I thought I was quite technologically aware. I am known as the "computer guru" at my school. (Sad, huh? LOL.) This "guru" is ashamed to admit she had no idea about RSS, or Rich Site Summary. I have never used it, until now. I hope it will become a "killer app" for me as it is for Mary Harrsch, the author of this week's assigned reading.

Mrs. Harrsch described several scenarios, and these scenarios helped me to better understand RSS. I really like the social studies idea in which teachers share teaching ideas and sites they have found for certain content. What a magnificent idea!

I have subscribed to the four required feeds, and I am in the process of trying to subscribe and respond to all my classmates' blogs. I have been reading their blogs, and I am amazed to see the different learning backgrounds. It will be interesting to get to know them. They teach in all different grade levels and it will be fun to learn how they integrate technology and the internet in their rooms. I hope to learn from them.

This week, I was able to visit my father in Tennessee for a few days. My school is out on Fall Break, and I decided to take my daughter to visit her Paw Paw after school on Friday. He was surprised. I told my stepmother we were coming, but we didn't tell him. Needless to say, he thought he was dreaming when I knocked on his door at midnight. We had a nice time. I frequented the library and my brother's place of work, however, just to get online. My dad doesn't even have a computer. I was so lost. LOL. We returned home Wednesday. All in all, though, it has been a great week.

I Know....I'm Longwinded

2006-09-25T13:27:00.000-07:00

For as long as I can remember, I have wanted to teach. My father was not too keen on this idea, and he often told me, "You are smart enough to be a doctor, lawyer, or certified public accountant." I tried the ol' , "Well if it weren't for teachers, we wouldn't have any of those professions" speech, but that didn't phase him. You see, he was concerned about the financial shortcomings I would face as an educator compared to his other desirous professions.

I have been teaching for six years now, and while I am not making the money he imagined I would make, I think he finally gets it. I chose to become a teacher to make a difference in society. I chose to facilitate learning so that all my students would one day become productive members of our nation. I also chose to teach to instill confidence and self-esteem into my students, much like some of my wonderful teachers did for me.

In the six years I have taught, I have worked in several different grade levels. I have taught first, third, and eighth grades, but I have spent over half of my time in my current grade levels--fourth and fifth. I currently teach fourth and fifth grade Math, Science, and Social Studies at Randolph County Elementary School in Cuthbert, a small town in southwest Georgia.

Even though we only have two working computers in our classroom, and one of those is strictly a teacher workstation, I use technology daily in my classroom. Because there is only one computer available for student use, I rely a lot on my LCD projector. It is a big, bulky model, but it works, and the picture is clear, so we like Trevor. Yes, my students and I have named my LCD projector! How funny is that? (By the way, our last LCD projector was named George, but he met an untimely demise during the first week of school--old age, no money for new bulbs, and no one to repair him.) Our mathematics curriculum is designed so that we have a quiz everyday. My students actually look forward to the PowerPoint presentation that displays it daily. Besides PowerPoint, I use the limited array of programs that I have, including the other MS Office programs and Inspiration.

The internet is also a very valuable tool in my classroom. I like using sites such as www.edhelper.com, www.enchantedlearning.com, and school.discovery.com when creating lesson plans. Of course, I don't limit myself to these sites, as there are a plethora of other ones I use. At my school, we are fortunate to have a subscription to Discovery Education's www.unitedstreaming.com, which I use regularly. It is a fabulous way to incorporate streaming video into the curriculum.

I also like webquests and scavenger hunts, but with one student computer it makes it difficult to do. For that matter, with one student computer, it is difficult to do a lot of individual and group tasks. Because of this, I incorporate the "Been There, Done That" strategy in my room. We have a chart beside the computer. Throughout the week, students move their names from the "Been There" column to the "Done That" column, after they complete the week's computer assignment.

It is my hope that my current graduate class, EME 5405: Internet in K12 Instruction, will further expand my knowledge of the world wide web and everything that is available to the classroom teacher. I also hope to learn how to incorporate these new findings into my lessons, especially with the use of only one computer. As of today, I hope to learn more about social software. As computer savvy as I thought I was, I didn't have a clue what a wiki was. I'm still not so sure I do, but I hope to find out.

Oh..... (as if I haven't typed enough already!!)

Besides being an educator, I am also a wife and mother. I have been married to my wonderful husband, Charles, for six years, but I have known him since I was eight-years-old. He used to tease me about my braces and upside-down glasses. I detested him, and my grandmother told me, "You are gonna' marry that boy when you grow up," to which my reply was always, "Gag me with a Barbie-doll leg." Guess she was right, and no, I didn't gag myself. Charles is an EMT and works at his family's hardware store in our little town of Fort Gaines, another town in southwest Georgia.

Last April, Charles and I were blessed with a beautiful baby girl. We named her Peggy Sue, after that grandmother of mine! She is the light of our lives. Her smile is contagious, and she makes our lives complete.