Blogs Wikis ePals Tweets Communicating and Creating with ICT

interactiveitg.wikispaces.com/CommunicateICT

What is an avatar? An avatar is a computer user’s representation of himself or herself. We need to be careful when representing ourselves in any form online. You do not want to use a photograph of yourself that might identify you to others how you look, how old you are or where you live. You also do not want to name your avatar with your full name. First names are defining without being revealing, unless you have a very unique first name.

What is a Blog? Weblog; Web + Log (coined by Jorn Barger, 1997) Online Journal or Diary –Single/Multiple authors/subjects –Time/date-stamped –Reverse chronological order Edublogs = Blogs in Education

Benefits of Blogging Read / Reflect / Write Engages students in conversation and learning Empowers students Creates a learning community Extends the audience for writing beyond the teacher Allows for instant and continuous feedback Promotes creativity Supports differentiation Encourages reading Builds technology skills

Activity Investigate blogs Task find 3 blogs that you found useful and / or interesting –Class blog –Teacher / Professional blog –Personal interest blog –60 in 6060 in 60

Setting up a blog Part 1 Create your edublog Choose a username Name your blog Enter your Create

Write a post Write Title Post Publish View site Upload a file Change the design Presentation Click on different themes Options Blog title Blurb about blog (tagline) Links Add web links Now it is up to you to play around with it! Good luck.

Wiki is the Hawaiian word for 'quick'. Ward Cunningham developed the concept in the late 1990's around the idea of 'quick web' - a way to build websites quickly

What is a Wiki? A webpage with an Edit button Easy to use Perfect for collaborative learning

Why Wikispaces? The world’s easiest to use wiki No experience necessary. You are up and running in minutes. Constantly bring new and improved features Develop the product based on what you, our community, wants.

Why Bring It To The Classroom? Great motivator for students Easy to monitor Allows for creativity and innovation Encourages participation of all students Promotes communication between students, teachers, and parents A new, interesting way to learn

How Can I Use it in a Classroom? Simple websites Peer-reviewed projects Group projects Manage school and classroom documents Classroom discussion and debate Teacher collaboration Post classroom assignments Collaborate with an international classroom

Getting Started…

Wiki Terms User Account: Your identity on Wikispaces, consisting of username, password, and address Space: A wiki on which you can collaborate Page: Each space can consist of multiple pages

Wiki Terms Continued Wikispaces has different permissions settings for your space Public: Anyone can view or edit your Wikispace Protected: Anyone can view your space but only members can edit Private: Only members can view or edit your space

Editing Your Wiki Click the Edit This Page button at the top of your wiki. Write the text you would like on your page. You can format it with bold, underline, italics, headings, and more. Once you are done editing, click Save.

Adding Links on Your Wiki Click Edit This Page. Highlight the text you would like to link and click on the earth icon in the toolbar. Another window will appear allowing you to create a link to another page in your space or another website. Click Ok.

Adding Images to Your Wiki Click Edit This Page. Click the icon that looks like a tree. Browse your computer for the image you would like and click Open. Upload the chosen picture or file. Place your cursor where you would like the image on the page. Double click the image or file to place it on the page.

Adding Media to Your Wiki Click Edit This Page. Go to the icon of the TV in the toolbar. Choose the type of object you’d like to embed. Follow the instructions for embedding each object. Click Save.

Time for an Activity

Activity Let’s teach each other about various countries Take the next 15 minutes to edit your wiki’s text, add links, and add an image or a video clip.

Things to Consider Have a legitimate and sustainable educational purpose for creating the site. Do not publish any personal, identifiable information on students on wiki or blog sites. Do not publish addresses. Think about the process of creating content and editing the wiki site. Remember this may involve collaborative publishing.

Things to Consider Define and divide the task amongst the students involved. Make sure you do the pre-planning.

Things to Consider Make sure you acknowledge any references used and copyright issues are addressed. Get clearance from the school administration. At the end of the project, if the sites are no longer needed then remove them.