MODULE 10 Nings and Wikis

Wikis are a great tool for the classroom. Last year we had an introduction to Wiki as part of a staff development day. They are a great way to get students communicating and reflecting on their own work as well as others. They can see the value of sharing information, ideas as well as their work. In photography, we used a class wiki as way of developing dialogue relevant to discussing and developing work. Students were able to add images of artists that influenced them, place up their own work for discussion as well. The students discovered the importance of personal reflection and constructive criticism of their own work as well as others. It was also a great way to share resources, tutorials, links and information relevant to the topics they were studying.
The Ning is a great tool also, particularly when you want to share and discover beyond the means of your own class. While I understand the wiki can do this also, I found the ning a bit like a social site of sharing information, blogging and discovering with those in the network. In the classroom, I feel regardless of how much time is spent setting the ning to suit the classroom needs, students will be be distracted by the "social" aspects rather than focus on the important stuff. There are so many options available to us, I feel, for me, there is a host of sites and tools I can use to harness the opportunities of WEB 2.0, without having to use valuable time monitoring students use of social networking in the class through apps such as Ning. From a teachers network perspective, I think it's great. Sharing ideas, resources and showcasing student work is all great.
In my personal life and as well as at school I have used many of the WEB 2.0 tools. Both networking for fun and social purposes, facebook, linked in (for professional networking), photo sharing and development, I only wish I had more time for myself. Since beginning the WEB 2.0 course, I have implemented and allowed students to discover and learn about various tools for themselves. In food technology, we have set up communal reflection blogs for prac lessons and recipe evaluations, share ideas and make suggestions for future cooking classes. In Yr7 technology, the use of bubbl.us to create and share mind-maps both individually and as a class that can be shared with everyone. Developing promotional posters on glogger kept a normally very noisy unsettled class so engaged they barely spoke. As we move forward with the tools of WEB 2.0 and we become more familiar with the possibilities and uses of all the resources now available and as we learn to gain more control of them, we will continue to use them more and more on a daily basis to enhance and engage our learners.