Teachers'+Wikis+&+Blogs

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Introduction
Some teachers here and in our district have an online resource for their classes. Check out how they are using wikis and blogs to support student learning in their classrooms. ESL students benefit from this strategy as they can check notes, vocabulary, deadlines that teachers post to the internet. It is like another chance to understand what went on in class. Depending on the cultural background of the ESL student, their parents might not be accustomed to being in direct contact with teachers so they can go on the Internet and see what their child is doing in their classes. Often teachers notice that students who are more or less silent in class respond positively to the opportunity to comment on classroom content online. ESL students can take more time to formulate their comments online before they post them to a class blog.



Facebook
Sarah Matheson uses Facebook to post Science videos that she wants students to view to deepen their understanding of the concepts she is teaching in Science 10. She also posts photos of class and school events like the "Pink T-shirt Anti-Bullying Day". She does not accept students as "friends" but posts content for students to view where they are hanging out in the virtual mall that is Facebook. Can you imagine if your teacher as a teenager came up to you to the mall and set up the film projector and started showing you a video about Invasive Species? Students can checkFacebook on their phone or at home on their computers.



Wikispaces.com
Lourdes Peirera uses a wiki to support students in her Spanish classes. She posts notes, assignments, due dates and web pages as a resource for students and parents. A wiki is an interactive web page but Lourdes has set it up as a web page that everyone can read but she manages the content. Parents really appreciate being able to check the wiki and know what their child needs to get done for the next day. The wiki looks like a lot of work but she has most of her documents in Word and then she just copies and pastes them into her wiki each day. Once she has the resource done for each grade, every year she won't have to re-do everything but just adjust dates or assignments. She can set up a page in the wiki with web pages to support students' learning just a hyperlink away.



Edublogs.org
Jennifer Wildeman created a [|blog] using the free site Edublog.org to support her Planning 10 classes. She has assignments, due dates, daily notes, test dates, marks, student requests. Also, she posts online material to support her curriculum and keeps content current. The only challenge is her student's ability to post regularly to the site as our district is still working out the kinks to us using blogs. Keep posted for updates. Ms. Wildeman's TA for her Planning 10 class says that it is useful for the students to have this resource online and it helps them to keep on top of deadlines and assignments. The students are getting used to the new technology and the online resources give the students more information to refer to for tests.

SD36 Information and Media Literacy Examples
http://sd36imlexamples.wikispaces.com/