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New Media in Education
Blogs & Wikis for Interactive Learning
Dr. Chris Greer
Georgia College & State University
blog
What is a blog?
• Short for web log or weblog
• Generally contains text, links, and
sometimes images
• Very popular among political pundits,
technology sites, and individuals who want
to share their lives with an online audience
• Began back in 1994
• There are now hundreds of thousands, if not millions
educatio
Educational Uses?
• Most colleges use Web CT or a variant, great tools but cold interface
• Online classes are heavily dependent on good discussion among the class
• Good discussion can depend on how easily the course is accessed
• Clean layout helps with the overall experience
educatio
Educational Uses?
• Great way to disperse the latest content
• Can be an excellent resource for students to use later in their careers
• Not as out-of-date as a textbook
distance
Using a blog for distance learning
• Make a post on a topic each week
• The comments section is used as a discussion board
• Students are strongly encouraged to discuss each topic, share opinions, and
raise new questions
• Students are also “guest bloggers”
Past Blogs
Information Technology in the Media Center
Info Tech / School Technology Hybrid
School Based Technology Systems
Blog feedback
feedback
• Feedback from students about the blog experience has been very positive
• Vast majority of students prefer to blog over a more traditional online class
• I continue to use blogs in my classes, as well as make revisions to how it is
used
• Cons?
wiki
What is a wiki?
• A small, efficient piece of software that lets users easily create and edit basic
web pages
• Supports hyperlinks, uses a simplistic markup system for formatting
• Can be run on just about any server that allows PHP
• Totally free!
at work
Wikis at work
• Wikipedia.org is one great example of how Wikis can be used
• Stimulates group thinking, building of collaborative knowledge
• Can be a great benefit to the classroom
• Allows users who lack technical skills to still take part in the creation process
classroo
Wikis in the classroom?
• Assign a project to the class, allow them to build the project in a wiki
• Can be great for online learning, creates a common meeting place for the
content to be organized
• Can be a helpful addition to K-12 and higher education classes as well
• Creates that online component that supplements the face to face instruction
Let’s check out a working Wiki
• Thank you!
• Presentation available at
http://hercules.gcsu.edu/~cgreer/