Blogs and Wikis in Education

1. Identify and describe 3 interesting/innovative ways blogs and/or wikis are being used in K-12 classrooms.
Blogs can be used for many purposes in a classroom. I think the best way a blog can be used is for student feedback. I think it is a great idea and a great help for teachers to have a place where students can feel free to speak their minds. A teacher could bring up a certain classroom topic and let students give their opinions and feedback. It is a great way for there to be open communication between teachers and students. A wiki is a great way for a classroom to work as a whole in completing a certain project. A wiki gives students a chance to change information on the web and give their input. A wiki could also be used as a tool to work with another classroom across the country. It would be a great way to have children communicate with other children who may be much different then them. This would be a great way to share ideas and work on a project through the internet.

2. Describe how you might use RSS readers/aggregators within a classroom setting.
An RSS program could be used in a classroom by a teacher as a way to keep track of students work. If students are working on personal blogs, teachers can stay updated on their progress. An RSS program works as a way to keep track of websites by automatically updating the subscriber when a new change occurs in that website. RSS programs could also be used in the classroom by updating the class when a change to a website they follow occurs. This is a great way to save time and become a more efficient classroom.

3. Describe at least 2 pros and 2 cons of using blogs and wikis in education.
A pro of using a blog in a classroom is that teachers can read student feedback in an efficient manner. A pro of using a wiki in a classroom is it is a great way for students to connect and learn new ideas from other students. These students can live all the way across the country or in their own state. Students can change each others information and learn from each other. A con of using a blog is that students may not have at home access to computers. A teacher must keep in mind that everyone comes from different backgrounds. A con of using a wiki in a classroom is that some information posted may be inappropriate. Since anyone can post information on a wiki this can create a harmful potential for random people to mess with the website.