Here we are another week into the blogosphere, even if it is only the equivalent of dipping ones toes in shallow end of the pool. After having read several blogs outside our circle, I have found a spectrum of uses and users. There are the true believers, reading hundreds of blogs a week, and there are those who see this as a waning fad. Once perspective is put on the objectives and goals of why one is blogging or using a wiki, or e-mail, or a chat room, the selected communication platform makes more sense.
Urgency in communication requires the synchronous communication provided by a phone call or a chat room. Wiki’s and blogs create a more lasting record of interaction. In an education setting this can provide huge benefits for students and teachers. Automation of grading and feedback, individualization of instruction, and minimizing paperwork are just the tip of the iceberg. In the Richardson book, “Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms, he relates a story of an entire class being afforded the opportunity to interact with the author of one of the books they were reading. This has to be one of the ultimate forms of team teaching.
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Kent-
I was playing around with wikispace yesterday, and loaded up my multimedia presentation. I could not make it larger, so I eventually put it on youtube. My one problem with both blogs and wikis is that the templates have very limited capabilities. I really believe they need to open up the tool boxes for people who understand what they are doing. Even people who don't, may want to learn also. Unless we want to brush up on more advanced HTML, there is no other choice, which also limits the way that we can use these tools in education. Just a thought....
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