Opinion Paper #3

Opinion Article
Amanda Calame Hood
“Learning with Blogs and Wikis”
By Bill Ferriter

Position Statement: Using technology can greatly benefit educators by providing a virtual medium for professional development discussions and the sharing of ideas and strategies.

As professionals, very seldom are educators provided relevant professional development that directly impacts instruction or learning. We are simply bogged down with generic in-services that teach us about cleanliness, confidentiality, record keeping, parent conferences, and Lee v. Macon. The reality of learning is that to be a great teacher, one must be a continual learner. Educators should be placed in a situation that encourages free thinking, content knowledge growth, and collegial support for new ideas and strategies.

The reality of a day in education is that there is seldom time for collaboration. There are very few other professions that require constant supervision and instruction of individuals who have and extremely short attention span. We must also consider the planning that is involved in having relevant, engaging activities that align with the curriculum to meet the needs of all learners. When are we supposed to learn from each other, or plan engaging development? The answer is- we have to embrace technology!

Blogs and wikis have been emerging as a common simplistic way to communicate with others that live within and outside the realm of your regular day. By creating an educationally based blog, the number of educators that you are connected with grows at exponential rates. Instead of relying on the limited number of individuals that teach down the hall from you, you will create a network of professionals from a variety of backgrounds that have similar interests in improving instruction and increasing learning. This networking gives an educator a personal library of experiences that can be shared with all readers.

When first using technology, it can be cumbersome and time consuming. With dedication and perseverance, the learning that occurs can lead to time saving and innovation. Blog Readers serve as a great source for scanning a large number of websites and other blogs for updated comments, topics, and discussions. These types of programs save all bloggers and readers time from scanning and navigating a large number of website. It will be as simple as checking one website.

Technology (blogs and wikis) can serve as a great resource for educators who feel isolated, frustrated, and trapped in their own professional world. It is a hope that all educators have the desire to learn and grow, even if it is through nontraditional sources!!

Works Cited
Ferriter, Bill. “Learning from Blogs and Wikis”, Educational Leadership, February 2009, vol. 66, article 5. http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational_leadership/feb09/vol66/num05/Learning_with_Blogs_and_Wikis.aspx. 04/16/10.

ED 529 Assignments

http://alex.state.al.us/lesson_view.php?id=29244

Assignment #15

A number of technologies have been presented this semester to help you reach outside of your immediate surroundings for personal growth and instructional purposes. How could you use these technologies to help yourself create better learning opportunities for your students? How could you use them to help yourself continue to develop as a teacher throughout your career? What are the benefits of using the communications tools? What are the dangers? How can technology help you better reach out to all of your students regardless of their race, gender or economic status?

Exercise 14

How can development tools help you develop students' higher order thinking skills and creativity? How can these tools help students be more productive? What makes these tools suitable for your classroom?

Trick or Tip

Post one tip or trick dealing with technology that you have used in your classroom, read about, or seen in use. Be sure to include your name with the post!

Think of the productivity tools discussed in class and ways you have used them. (Word processing, spreadsheets, databases, presentation software, concept mapping, and free productivity tools) How have productivity tools helped you be more productive? More organized? More productive? How can you incorporate the learner center principles into your approaches to using these tools?

A teacher you work with has asked for your help in designing technology-related activities capitalizing on the wide variety of technology resources available in the room (assume the kind of technology you choose will be in the room).

How would you design the initiating activity(s)? How many would there be? How would you choose to integrate technology into your teaching, students’ learning, and the assessments? What technology would you choose?

How would you assist the teacher in understanding how the technology you use in the initiating activities could be used again in the guided learning and culminating performance – for instruction, learning, and assessment? What resources would you direct him/her towards?