Blogs and Wikis in Education

Blogs and Wikis are being used in numerous ways. Some teachers are having their students keep photo journals for one year similar to D’Arcy Norman’s 365 Photos. Others are integrating students from Shanghai American School and Zurich International School in an Economics Wiki. This Wiki brings together diverse students and provides Economics resources. One teacher refers to her class blog as a “home away from home” comparing each part of the blog to a room in the house. She invites her students to explore their new house. By relating a blog to something comfortable like a home, her students may be more likely to accept the technology.RSS readers and aggrigators may be used in the classroom to track a particualr blog that the class is following. The class may also make their own blog and place it online to be picked up by this software.Blogs and Wikis have both positive and negative sides. Both teach students how to use technology in a positive way. By starting early, students may become more comfortable on the computer. They also halp connect students to other children around the world. A student may share a blog or work on a Wiki with another student half way across the world. This may also be dangerous because you never know who is online. Students could possibly run into someone dangerous on the internet. They could also come across something innappropriate while online. It is important to teach students about technology and expose them to different types of learning but, if a teacher relies to heavily on the computer, students may loose out on developing interpersonal skills. If they sit behind a computer all day, they may not be able to communicate effectively face to face.