Blogs and Wikis in Education

1. Identify and describe 3 interesting/innovative ways blogs and/or wikis are being used in K-12 classrooms.

a) Blogs are being used in classrooms not only as an educational tool, but they are being used for social networking with the teacher, which creates a friendly environment and allows teachers to "virtually" communicate with their students.
b) Wikis are being used in several different ways. I found the most innovative way that wikis are being used if for reflection purposes. Students are able to go online, read a question, and reflect on the question through their own wiki. This is a great resource because it allows students who normally wouldnt speak up in class to voice their opinion.
c) I really enjoyed the fact that education is becoming "technologically advanced." Students are able to use Blogs and Wikis to complete assignments, read up to date information, get grades and much more. This is a great resource because if a student was sick, or absent for a long period of time, they would be able to go online and retrieve their assignments.

2. Describe how you might use RSS readers/aggregators within a classroom setting.

An RSS document includes full or summarized text, plus data such as publishing dates and authorship. Web feeds benefit publishers by letting them syndicate content quickly and automatically. They benefit readers who want to subscribe to timely updates from favored websites or to aggregate feeds from many sites into one place. This would be great within a classroom because it provides up to date information on the spot for students. Students completing reports and such would be able to use this option.

3. Describe at least 2 pros and 2 cons of using blogs and wikis in education.

The first pro I would see about using blogs is the opportunities for learning at home. If a student is absent for a long period of time, or goes on vacation, they would be able to access the classroom information, which would be very beneficial for their grade. They would also be able to keep in contact with the teacher, so the teacher is informed. The next pro I would find with using blogs/wikis in a classroom is that it gives students who are shy, or soft spoken the opportunity to fully share their opinion without any punishments. Students are becoming more tech savy, so blolgs/wikis are a great addition to the classroom.

The cons I would find with using blogs/wikis in a classroom is that everything has to be up to date, and very organized. Setting up blogs and wikis takes quite a long time to set up, and maintenance could be overwhelming with other projects/assignments in the classroom. I also see a con about blogs/wikis if a student wasnt able to access the site at home. If a student doesnt have internet access at home, they would almost always have to take the time to go to the library or finish assigments in class, which can be difficult. I like the ideas of blogs/wikis, but for certain assignments. Smaller projects would be great for this, but may just end up being a time filler or waste of time.