You may have noticed that I have added a cool feature to the blog. You can now double click on any word on the blog and you will be prompted with more details. The possibilities for a tool like this are astronomical when using edublogs in the classroom. Any word used by the 'blog author' or 'comment poster' can be defined w/o a student leaving the page. Give it a try.
Now, regarding future assignments---Please don't wait until the last minute to contact me if you have any questions, and as with all of these projects, "Practicality Shall Take Precedent over All." That means that if you have an idea to modify a Deliverable or Final Project so that it will be more useful to you in your setting then please feel free to pass your ideas by me. (I approve most of them.)
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There is a renewed movement underway from schools, businesses, and universities. They are giving 'Collective Intelligence' a closer look. From MIT's new 'Center for Collective Intelligence,' to businesses using wikis within their internal networks, to schools using Collective Intelligence resources and tools in the K-12 setting---we will look at all of these examples, as well as discuss their long term implications during this session.
Keep in mind while you are viewing this session that your Deliverable 3 will be due, and posted, under the comment section of Session 12, as well as posted to the wiki. Additionally, keep in mind that the deadline for your Final Project is fast approaching.
As always, feel free to contact me if you ever have additional questions or comments.
DF
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4 comments:
Well, I was pleasantly surprised to hear all my concerns from my last comment on session six addressed in Terry Friedman's podcast! I guess with careful planning and effort anything is possible when you are working on those administrators! (I also enjoy listening to English accents!) I can't believe how much free software is available to do all of these presentations. I kind of feel like I have been living under a rock. I love the idea of a wiki novel study guide, and am toying with that as my unit project if I find out I'm teaching the same grades next year. I loved the down to Earth, and hands on nature of Mark Wagner's presentation. I will definitely be reviewing this presentation as I try my own wiki soon!
The idea of collective intelligence is really interesting. I mean, the old adage is that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, especially when looking at the parts separately. This seems to really apply to the web 2.0. I had never known that the inventor the internet, Sir Tim Berners-Lee had originally envisioned it to be such a cooperative environment. I also hadn’t realized that it was such a giant advert until it became more interactive. One thing is for sure, as it continues to grow and we continual to learn from one another, it appears that the knowledge will expand exponentially. The possibilities seem endless. I think the challenge that remains is in being able to identify for ourselves that authenticity and validity of the source information especially as wiki’s drive the bus. I was just talking to a colleague about how 3-4 years ago; we were discouraging children from using Wikipedia because its content could be edited by anyone. Universities in fact had taken the ground as to not allow students to use it as a citable source. Today, Wikipedia has tightened its editing processes making it less prone to the vandalism and abuses it suffered in the past and making it a very viable and authentic source for information. I wonder if colleges still prohibit its use. In my classroom, I allow students to use it, but I ask them to use it as a secondary source to support things they have already found or to lead them to find out more about new ideas and concepts.
One thing I loved that I came across while doing this week’s readings was the quote “Making the simple complicated is commonplace; making the complicated simple, awesomely simple, that’s creativity” by Charles Mingus. It reminds me of when in college I would struggle not with the courses that asked me to take 15-25 pages explaining an in depth concept, but those that held me to doing it well in 2 pages or less. The success of the web and of wiki’s depends on the ability to say a lot with only a little.
I totally agree with Mrs. Limoges, the podcast and video presentation were extremely informative, helpful, and will be a great resource for the future. I am glad that Mark took the time to go over how to set up a wiki. It seems so easy. I was thinking of creating a blog or a wiki in the future that had featured a book of the month. Since I teach middle school, I was toying with the idea of having students reading a book and (either the same as their parents or finding an appropriate book for adults that dealt with the same themes or concepts) to create an online dialogue about these books. How great would it be that kids and parents could enter into conversations about books over the dinning room table. It wouldn't require parents to come to the school, but they would still feel a part of it. It would encourage a conversation that may not be there for some families. I am so excited to bring wikis into my building and explore all of the possible options for making my school better.
The notion of collective intelligence is intriguing; however, the skeptic in me can't help to wonder about the massive amount of misinformation that exists out there. I appreciate the constant editing that occurs, but who is to say that the current editor's knowledge is accurate. What happens when little Johnny accesses this misinformation and presents it, through no fault of his own, as fact? Sure the information may be eventually corrected, but in the meantime, false facts are taken as truth. I know, I know...what's my problem? But like I said...my skepticism gets the better of me sometimes, which will probably always keeps me a digital immigrant.
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