In this presentation we will... Learn what blogs and wikis are Look at blogs and wikis in the ELT context Discover how to set up a blog or a wiki Focus on blogs and wikis as a solid foundation to structure our use of cloud computing tools in ELT

If you’re not connected to the Internet right now, here’s the link to copy and paste into your web browser later… We’re going to watch a video called “Blogs in plain English”, made by You’ll need to be connected to the Internet. Please download Worksheet 1 before watching and complete the tasks.

Here’s a definition A Web log, or blog, is a webpage which is mainly written in a personal and informal style. A typical blog is interactive and combines different media, such as text, images, video and hyperlinks. Here are examples of blogs that were set up by schools in Spain and Britain… Let’s put our teacher’s hat on and identify some key words!

If you click on the image you can visit this blog in real time. It’s worth having a look around this school’s website as it’s a great example of effective use of ICT in an educational context.

If you click on the image you can visit this blog in real time. It’s also worth having a look around this school’s website as it’s also a very good example of effective use of ICT in an educational context.

What are the benefits of blogs? Blogs are highly motivating for writing tasks Blogs are great for information exchange Blogs can help us learn about culture We can contact schools in other countries Blogs are good for organising & presenting projects We can upload multimedia material to our blogs Blogs empower shy students Blogs have added value in terms of ICT learning

If you choose to set up a blog as your Module 3 Task you can do it here… We recommend you visit this webpage to get a very good introduction to the world of blogging.this webpage The excellent Teacher Training Videos website also has good video tutorials to help you set up a blog.Teacher Training Videos Setting up a blog

If you’re not connected to the Internet right now, here’s the link to copy and paste into your web browser later… We’re going to watch a video called “Wikis in plain English”, made by You’ll need to be connected to the Internet. Please download Worksheet 2 before watching and complete the tasks.

Here’s a definition A wiki is a webpage designed to enable users who access it to contribute or modify content. Wikis are often used to create collaborative websites. Because the editing of the information is shared it can be updated and/or corrected very easily. The most famous wiki is Wikipedia. Here are some examples of wikis in educational contexts… Let’s put our teacher’s hat on and identify some key words!

If you click on the image you can visit this wiki in real time. It’s a teacher training website and it gives some great ideas for integrating ICT into education.

If you click on the image you can visit this wiki in real time as well. This website has been created by schoolchildren on the premise of Wikipedia, but with information relevant to kids.

Let’s think about what the benefits of wikis are… Wikis are very useful for shared writing tasks Wikis promote teamwork Wikis are motivating for students Wikis are great for peer correction Wikis can enhance project work We can upload multimedia material to our wikis Wikis have added value in terms of ICT learning

If you choose setting up a wiki as your Module 3 Task you can do it at these websites… The excellent Teacher Training Videos website also has good video tutorials to help you set up a wiki.Teacher Training Videos Setting up a wiki

Blogs Wikis What is the relationship between blogs and wikis? A wiki website can have a blogging section but a blog doesn’t usually have a wiki attached. For example, you can imagine Wikipedia having a blog but you can’t imagine a blog having the biggest online encyclopedia in the world attached to it.

Blogs and wikis – general guidelines Privacy questions are very important. Blogs and wikis need to be open to encourage students to interact, but make sure they don’t show personal information. Privacy questions are very important. Blogs and wikis need to be open to encourage students to interact, but make sure they don’t show personal information. Solicit parental permission for children to use blogs and wikis and encourage parents to access the websites to see their offspring’s work. Solicit parental permission for children to use blogs and wikis and encourage parents to access the websites to see their offspring’s work. Become aware of the local and national education authority guidelines for using these websites in education. Become aware of the local and national education authority guidelines for using these websites in education. Always stage and structure tasks very carefully to ensure students know exactly what is expected of them and don’t go off on tangents. Always stage and structure tasks very carefully to ensure students know exactly what is expected of them and don’t go off on tangents. Students need to have a clear idea of what netiquette is and what is and isn’t permissible when using blogs and wikis. Students need to have a clear idea of what netiquette is and what is and isn’t permissible when using blogs and wikis. Have an assessment procedure in place, it’s as important when using these websites as it is with traditional coursebook material. Have an assessment procedure in place, it’s as important when using these websites as it is with traditional coursebook material.

So what’s the relationship between blogs and wikis and the “cloud”? So what’s the relationship between blogs and wikis and the “cloud”?

What do we do when we want to access our class work, to revisit it, to consolidate learning? Aren’t we back to square one? Where can we put all our work if it’s not on our computer, if it’s in this nebulous “cloud”? We can upload it to our class blogs and wikis We can upload it to our class blogs and wikis

This is a simple blog we set up to upload and embed some cloud computing tools. Click on the image to have a look at it.