How does your district handle wikis?
My district does not have a policy specifically on wikis. They are not blocked and our IT director knows about them. I know they will not post links to wiki's on the intranet. Our district uses sharepoint and they are hoping everyone will eventually switch over to that. However, I find sharepoint very difficult to use unlike wikis. As a CFF coach, I have used wikis for teacher use and for student projects. I have a feeling that once a parent complains about something related to a wiki, the "open" policy will be changed.
Are they totally locked down?
Not at all. Wetpaint, wikispaces, and pbwiki all work great.
Is there a policy pertaining to wikis?
Not at all. Our AUP and tech policies are not up to date and need revision. I already think some teachers all students too much freedom with wikis and they could run into trouble.
Is the use of wikis mentioned in the district’s acceptable use policy?
No they are not, same as blogging.
Which wiki sites can/can’t you access from within the district?
All of the ones I know about: wikispaces, wetpaint, pbwiki are allowed as of now.
Are you more likely to use a blog or a wiki in your lessons?
I would say I use wikis more than blogs in my math classrooms. I use wikis for organization of notes and projects. However, I would like to use blogs more this year as well for literacy and more classroom discussion. With math, time is always an issue and having students discuss things on blogs might not always be more beneficial than having them solve problems.
Which tool would be a better fit for the courses you teach? Why?
Again, I use both wikis and blogs, but I think math in general can be difficult to integrate blogs depending on the concept and class. Some classes need skill practice rather than discussion. I think blogs are definitely useful for higher order thinking and participation, but with time constraints, if I were to choose between blogging vs. problem solving, I would choose the latter.
Wikis have been a great way for me to organize notes and power points. I have uploaded student projects for parents to see. I post homework. Now as a coach, I use it for posting of acitivities and software programs that are useful. I don't allow students on my wiki, but I have helped classes make their own wiki where groups of students have their on unit page as a review site for finals.
Friday, July 4, 2008
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Responses to Blog Unit Questions
Why let our students blog?
I think it is important to let your students blog because allowing students to discuss in this way helps all students (shy and outgoing) to express themselves digitally and in a format less restricting than a classroom sometimes. I also think blogging allows for higher order thinking and helps with literacy.
What hazards could this pose to students?
I think it is a hazard to allow students to post without any limitations. I still have not allowed my students to blog without sites that allow me to preview the comments first and then approve them. I have not met an entire class yet that is mature enough to stay completely on task within a blog. In addition, I think using full names is a hazard and sharing any security information.
What safeguards can be utilized?
I think it is important for teachers to show examples of good blogging and make sure to keep personal information off blogs as well as full names. I also am a huge advocate of edublogs now. We used a different blog site in my district, but I am using this one now. Like the other one I used, it allows you to approve comments and I think that is important for adolescents.
My district?
My district blocks blogger.com and well as gmail. Our district has accounts with: http://classblogmeister.com/. This site is not free but allows you to approve of each comment. Our IT department is not comfortable with allowing complete freedom of speech on these sites so from my understanding, blog sites that allow teachers to approve comments first are less likely to be blocked. Edublog is not so I'm excited about that!
I think it is important to let your students blog because allowing students to discuss in this way helps all students (shy and outgoing) to express themselves digitally and in a format less restricting than a classroom sometimes. I also think blogging allows for higher order thinking and helps with literacy.
What hazards could this pose to students?
I think it is a hazard to allow students to post without any limitations. I still have not allowed my students to blog without sites that allow me to preview the comments first and then approve them. I have not met an entire class yet that is mature enough to stay completely on task within a blog. In addition, I think using full names is a hazard and sharing any security information.
What safeguards can be utilized?
I think it is important for teachers to show examples of good blogging and make sure to keep personal information off blogs as well as full names. I also am a huge advocate of edublogs now. We used a different blog site in my district, but I am using this one now. Like the other one I used, it allows you to approve comments and I think that is important for adolescents.
My district?
My district blocks blogger.com and well as gmail. Our district has accounts with: http://classblogmeister.com/. This site is not free but allows you to approve of each comment. Our IT department is not comfortable with allowing complete freedom of speech on these sites so from my understanding, blog sites that allow teachers to approve comments first are less likely to be blocked. Edublog is not so I'm excited about that!
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