Blogs and Wikis
April 27th, 2009
I love the idea of using blogs and wikis to teach the writing process. Not only can students leave comments on each others work, it really does get published in the final step of the process for all to see.
Teaching students about published good work is great. Actually applying it in today’s technological world is excellent. Parents can even be set up as guests so they can read the material (at home!), but not comment.
Have you used wikis / blogs in your classroom? Did it work well? Would you make any changes? Please comment.
I did it when I taught 3 grade 7/8 classes on rotary for language. It was successful, and I would have done it again if a warning hadn’t come down from the Board. It’s become more common now, so that’s no longer a concern.
The biggest pieces of advice I have:
1) Lock it down. I had it set so only I could sign students up for accounts (it took awhile, but it was worth it), and only people with accounts could post comments.
2) Let students post comments immediately (without moderation). Just check it OFTEN to make sure they are not posting personal info. I had a few cases where students posted something that I felt could identify them. I used these instances to talk to the students about how much information is too much when you’re posting online. I found that allowing them to post moderation-free had benefits that outweighed the risks for two reasons. First, it more closely mimicked how they normally interact online. Secondly, it allowed students to have almost real-time conversations, so it was much more authentic.
3) Give them a space to chat. I had areas that were specifically for content-related material. But I also had an area where they could talk about anything they wanted. I found that because I had this area, students would get involved in discussions there and get comfortable with the format, and then became more engaged with the content-based conversations.
4) Seriously consider giving the students pseudonyms. Not for safety (I used their first names only), but because they seem to relax a bit when they can use a pseudonym. If they are posting under a name that no one else in the class knows, they tend to be a little more open with what they say. Yes, some of them will reveal their name to their friends. But many won’t. And the students who don’t are often the ones who will post amazing things on the blog – things they wouldn’t say in front of the class.
Sharon, what was the warning that came down from your board? The idea about not moderating the comments (but checking afterwards) to allow real-time dialogue is interesting. It would certainly speed up the process.
The warning wasn’t about blogs specifically (and definitely not about the one I was running) but about another web project. Now there are a bunch of teachers running them within our board, and the higher ups are aware of them. They’re still done kind of quietly, but they aren’t actively discouraged.