Blogs and Wikis in Education

1. Classroom management is one simple way that blog are used in K-12 classrooms. The teacher could simply post classroom announcements and students could check the blog page for new notices made by the teacher. The blog site could also feature links to additional content regarding the course.

One way that blogs/wikis are being used in K-12 classrooms is through the use of online "journal-keeping" by students. A teacher can have an assignment where thoughts and reflections regarding a specific topic (for example: current events) is discussed on blog posts. Each week would feature a different news topic/event that currently is going on in the nation. This could be simply a link to an article or a youtube video of the news story. Students could instantly post their reflections on the topic and be required to comment on other students views. This would work very well for a civics/social studies high school classroom.

Another way that blogs could be used is involving the parents. A teacher could have a private blog site and post updates to the parents. This would allow for a smooth communication medium for both parents and teachers.

2. One unique way RSS readers/aggregators could be used is through its podcasts capabilities. Students in the classroom could broadcast their own weekly/monthly podcasts. This could encompass a number of activities, such as poems, music, news reports, discussions, weather, or book reviews. This could be done in any classroom K-12.

3. Pros - Students are able to instantly interact with one another through the medium of the World Wide Web and computer. Wikis allows students to edit pages collectively as a classroom and also allow for collaboration and sharing of ideas.

Cons- Wikis and Blogs open the classroom discussion to the whole world. This is a great concept, but students’ privacy must be noted.

A student may also have a problem with not having access to the technology of the internet or computer. This could pose a problem if you required students to post daily and they may not be able to afford the luxury or a home computer.