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This Wiki is a collaboration between Laura Roberts, Barbara Ogden , and Sarah Haines.


 After reading this portion of the chapter, I still wasn't completely sure what Knowledge Forum was so I checked it out online at [|www.knowledgeforum.com]. I viewed the introduction and got a much better understanding of what KF is and how to use it. I think that this tool is a great idea, but I don't think I would use it with students below 3rd grade, as it requires some higher-level thinking skills to use. I could see this tool being particularly useful in a middle school or high school level. If I were to use it in an elementary classroom, I would first have to take a fairly decent amount of time explaining to the students how to use the program. Then, I could see myself implementing the program by grouping students into teams of 3-4 and allowing them to design a science experiment/project. The KF would be useful in this case because students could post and discuss any background information they find, how they each think they should design the experiments, what the results are, what they think the results might mean, and much, much more. This would be a fantastic way of letting students collaborate and design their projects. There are a couple of downsides, however. For example, every student would need access to his or her own computer with this specific program, either at home or at school, which may not be possible. Also, the teacher would have to invent some way to ensure that all members of a team are contributing equally to the project. On a second note, I could see this program being very useful to teachers, especially a team of teachers that work together. For example, if a team of second grade teachers wanted to plan a cross-curriculum lesson on Native Americans, they could use this program to brainstorm ideas, add lesson plan links, and more. ~ Barbara

I think that Knowledge forum is a very interesting idea and the concept behind it is well planned, but I do agree with Barbara that knowledge forum is a little too advanced for Elementary aged students. When I visited the website, I went through the demo to see how the program worked. I was lost at first, I cannot imagine a young student being able to navigate the program without assistance or training. I do however really like that Knowledge Forum can be used to post up discussion links and the students could debate with each and add additional information to their peers links. I think this program would be a great addition to a classroom because it offers collaboration as well as the ability to be used for all subjects throughout a classroom. One idea that I had about using knowledge forum, would be to use it as a journal. The teacher could post a journal question and then the students could each respond, allowing everyone to view the responses and see additional thoughts on the subject. ~Laura

I agree with the Barbara and Laura that knowledge forums may be a little advanced for younger students, but I think that they could be very useful in a high school or even middle school classroom. However I think that if a teacher were simply going to post a journal question to have students respond to, why wouldn't they just do that using a blog? I guess it could just be an alternate way to perform this task, but I don't think I would use knowledge forums for journaling.


__Co-Constructing Knowledge with Wikis__


<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="color: rgb(255, 11, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(18, 0, 240);"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 58);"><span style="color: rgb(18, 0, 240);">I think that wikis are <span style="color: rgb(18, 0, 240);"> a really fun tool that everybody can use. I have always been a fan of wikipedia, but I never really understood what a wiki was or how to use it. According to the textbook "a wiki is a type of Web site that allows users to add, remove, or edit and change available content. " (105) After looking through the examples given in the book, I think that wikis could definitely be introduced into the classroom. Educational Wikis <span style="color: rgb(18, 0, 240);">is a website that offers many examples of using wikis in the classroom. You can find examples of elementary, middle, and high school aged wikis as well as a few different links that lead to explanations about how and why wikis should be used in the classroom. [|pbwiki]<span style="color: rgb(18, 0, 240);"> is a fabulous hosting site that offers special features for education. Teachers can set privacy settings for students, set up multiple collaborative classrooms and view other classrooms for ideas. [|Teacher tube] <span style="color: rgb(18, 0, 240);">this is a video to show teacher how to set up and navigate through a pb wiki account. ~Laura

<span style="color: rgb(188, 0, 255);">I completely agree with Laura that wikis are a really great tool that everyone can use. One of the best things about a wiki, in my opinion, is that they are extremely easy to use. With this being said, it would be fairly simple for young children, parents, or inexperienced technology users to navigate and edit a wiki. I also like the fact that wikis are so versatile and can literally be used for an infinite amount of projects and purposes. For example, I think I could use a wiki as a place for students to discuss such things as books they are reading. Students could post descriptions of the book they are reading along with pictures or any other information and other students can add to it or comment on it. This is a good way for students to become involved in reading and learn which books their peers enjoyed in order to get book ideas for themselves. Another way that I think I could use a wiki is as a class website. I could allow certain areas of the wiki to be open for parents and students to comment on. I actually found a good example of a school website that uses a wiki. The school is [|Roland Elementary] <span style="color: rgb(165, 42, 213);">and the entire school website is a wiki.

<span style="color: rgb(244, 145, 37);">Again, I agree with Laura and Barbara, I love the idea of using wikis in the classroom. I especially loved the idea of using it as a review tool. The teacher who used it to help his AP World History students study was genius. I also liked the Holocaust project. I think that wikis will be used in my classroom, especially if I teach middle and high school. I agree with Barbara that they are easy to use. The only thing that makes me nervous about wikis, is verifying the information. I would be constantly checking the wikis my students are creating/using for errors. I would also have my students provide some kinds of reference page as to where they got that information they were posting and I would warn them to double check the information they find on wikis.

<span style="color: rgb(41, 148, 47); font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">__Finding Colleagues with Interactive Blogs__
<span style="color: rgb(255, 126, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(255, 112, 0);">I really liked this section of chapter six, I think that blogs could be a very useful asset in the classroom if used appropriately. <span style="color: rgb(255, 95, 0);"> I especially like the idea of using expert-created blogs in the classroom to offer students another perspective to whatever subject is being covered in class. I think that students like to see how things they are learning in school will be used in the "real world" and I think that expert-created blogs do an excellent job of showing students that people really do use this information in their careers. Also as mentioned in the chapter, students may be reading about a particular subject in a specific blog and become interested in another topic that they come across in the same blog. Another aspect about expert-created blogs that I liked is that students can interact with the blogs and the experts; they can pose questions to the author of the blog, that the teacher may not be able to answer. Teacher-created blogs reminded me a lot of E-learning or WebCT that we use. It seems that their main purpose is to provide students with a place that they can discuss topics that they did not have time for in class. Blogs like these also assist students who normally have trouble speaking up in class. I think that this may help students get over their shyness, but I would think that some still may not want to speak their minds. I think that a good way around that would be to provide the students with usernames or arrange a way for the students name to not appear when they post. Anonymity is a good way to get students involved without fearing social repercussions. I think that teacher-created blogs and student-created blogs seem similar in function. Similar to teacher-created blogs, student-created blogs provide students with a place to respond to topics that were not talked about in length in the classroom. I like the idea of students responding to teacher posed questions (journals), but I do not like the idea of making every blog post madatory. I do not think that students should be forced to post and respond to other student's, because I think it cheapens the experience. Some students will be too worried about simply completeing the task, rather than truly taking the time to think about and respond thoughtfully to posts. Teachers could provide alternate ways to encourage blog posting, such as extra credit or as an alternate assignment. What I like most about student-created blogs is that it is a form of publishing for the student. Students feel more pride and put forth more effort when thier work is displayed. I think blogs provide a good way for students to show off their talents and to get some positive feedback from other people. However as with anything, blogs could pose some problems. What if parents do not want their children on-line? There is always the question of security. Will the students be safe and protected while blogging? I think that with the proper precautions and monitoring, blogging could be very safe. Teachers and parents should have access to the students blogs to make sure personal information is not be posted and to ensure that other posts are appropriate.

<span style="color: rgb(41, 148, 47); font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="color: rgb(18, 0, 240);">I agreed with a lot of the information that Sarah provided about blogs. I think that blogging has become a new way of communication and each and every day people are creating new and exciting blogs. I think that since blogging has become a new wave outside of the classroom it can also be helpful inside of the classroom. <span style="color: rgb(18, 0, 240);">Expert created blogs are a great way for teachers to share extra information with the students that they are either unfamiliar with or don't have time to share inside of class. I also think that expert created blogs are a great way for curious students to explore a topic that they want to know more about. <span style="color: rgb(18, 0, 240);">Student created blogs seem like a fabulous idea to incorporate into a classroom. I really like the fact that students can have creative, individual, blogs to express their feelings about a course, a class, or everyday life. I think that incorporating projects into student created blogs would be beneficial because students could create a blog full of information and also explore other student's blogs to see what they have created<span style="color: rgb(18, 0, 240);">. <span style="color: rgb(18, 0, 240);">I think that shy students could benefit from blogging because they can express what they have learned and share with the other students without raising their hand and speaking up inside of a classroom. <span style="color: rgb(18, 0, 240);">Similar to Sarah's beliefs about the disadvantages of blogging, I think that online security is the number 1 priority for students. I believe that teachers and parents could use a website like http://edublogs.org/ that is strictly for teachers and students to use for blogg<span style="color: rgb(18, 0, 240);">ing. <span style="color: rgb(18, 0, 240);"> The website has multiple resources in addition to blogs, such as newsletter t<span style="color: rgb(18, 0, 240);">emplates, podcasting, lesson plans, and much more. <span style="color: rgb(18, 0, 240);"> Overall, I think that blogs are useful and they would make a great addition to any classroom. ~Laura <span style="color: rgb(182, 0, 255);">As Sarah and Laura both said, I also like the idea of using blogs in the classroom. I think that students could greatly benefit from reading and/or participating in expert blogs. Most students do not mind reading online, unlike most adults, so allowing students to read educational materials in a different format online is a great idea. I think some of the blogs that are created are unbelievably useful, creative, and fun for students. They can also serve as a good model for students to follow if they are asked to make their own blogs. One of the blogs that was featured in the book sounded particularly interesting. The blog by Arctic Ed sounded very informative, yet interesting for the kids, as wel as interactive. I tried to visit the blog, but appartently something is either wrong with it or it does not exist anymore. However, the fact that he was logging such specific and unique information seemed really interesting to me. Another portion of the blog section that I enjoyed was the part about finding colleagues with blogs. This is extrememly useful! I am not even a teacher yet, but I have already searched online for various classroom-related projects and found a vast array of educational blogs by teachers all over the country. These blogs are so informative because teachers post all types of information and ideas that you may never access otherwise. This is a very easy and efficient way to gain ideas and support, and I am certain that I will use that aspect in my teaching career. Finally, the topic of having children create blogs. I really do like this idea and I think it can be used not only for academic writing, but to spark creative and regular writing from students. The topics that students can read and write about are endless. However, I completely agree with the downsides that Sarah brought up. I think that many students will be too shy to express their true opinions over blogging, so I think that letting them have usernames is a fantastic idea; I would have never thought of that! Also, I agree that we have to be careful of how we assign blogging assignments because you do not want students to just write anything because they have to. You want them to write what they feel in the way that suites them best. Therefore, I almost think that blogging should not be made a mandatory assignment, but should be available as an option, ot should be offered for extra credit. To get students started on creating their own blogs, I found a website that is a database of kid-created blogs. Most of them have to do with TV or music, but some are academic. Either way, they give students a model to go off of. The website is http://www.studentsoftheworld.info/sites/pages.php. <span style="color: rgb(170, 38, 232);">I also found a pretty cool and completely free website to create blogs, which would probably be easy for students to use, if you wanted them to create their own blogs. It is [|www.thoughts.com]. <span style="color: rgb(173, 26, 239);">In my classroom, I don't know think that I would post a new blog topic every day, but I may either post a new topic once a week, or provide a range of general topics at the beginning of the year or the beginning of each semester that students can respond to whenever they want.

<span style="color: rgb(41, 148, 47); font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">__Building International Communities with iEARN Learning Circles, Global Schoolhouse, and KidLink__
<span style="color: rgb(168, 45, 215);">This section of the chapter was really interesting to me. While reading it, the first thing it reminded me of was Epals, which we used as a resource in our Chapter 2 presentation. The three different websites that were discussed here are similar to Epals, upon further investigation. On a whole, I think the idea of building the international communities in the classroom is fantastic. With our world in the state that its in now, the more we, as teachers, can do to foster positive images of all people and equality among people of different countries, the better it is going to b for our children. In addition, creating international communities online provides a much richer learning experience than can be offered in one classroom alone. I, personally, think it would be fascinating to work with students in other countries on the same project to see how we are similar and different and to learn more about them, their ways of thinking, and their communities. Most of the projects that I looked at on these websites are long-term (3-4 months) so if I used this in an elementary classroom, I would probably let the students explore the available topics and let them decide, as a class, on one topic that they want to complete. This may require some additional work on the part of the teacher, but I don't think it would be too overwhelming because all of the teachers that are working on this project can collaborate and share ideas for lesson plans, activities, etc. I don't think too many teachers take the time to become involved in a project like this, so in that case, I think that this experience would be very unique, fun, and educational for students if they were provided with this opportunity. ~ Barbara

<span style="color: rgb(18, 0, 240);">I think that getting students involved in a global network is a great idea, because the more countries, cultures, and people that students are introduced to will help them have an open mind as they grow. Nowadays it is common to have friends, co-workers, relatives or other closely involved individuals that come from other cultures, and everyone should be accepting of all people. When it comes to iearn, I was not impressed, because it felt very scripted to me. All users must be members of the site, and I think it may be a paid membership, but I was unable to find out without starting a membership myself. Since the iearn program has expanded 10 fold over the last decade of a half, I found a lot of resources regarding the program and the multiple uses of it.http://www.iearn.org/circles/ is a website full of information for anybody interested in using iEarn. I really liked the Global Schoolhouse website and I think that the students owuld benefit from this site because it offers multiple ways to get connected to students arounf the world. I really like that the website offers international cyberfairs for students to compete with other students across the world as well as video clips and online expeditions. <span style="color: rgb(18, 0, 240);"> ~Laura <span style="color: rgb(168, 45, 215);"> <span style="color: rgb(255, 126, 0);">I really like the idea of connecting internationally with other students. I think that it would be a good thing for ESOL students and really every student in general. Too often it seems like geography and other cultures are not talked about in the classroom because of other pressing subjects that need to be covered. I think this is such a shame for the students, because they are missing out on crucial learning opportunities. I think that students should be given the opportunity to learn about other people and how they live. I also agree with Barbara and think that this reminds me a lot of Epals and that global online communities will provide our students with a much more enriching experience.

<span style="color: rgb(51, 132, 61);">__Building Professional Teacher Communities With Tapped In and Teacher Talk__
<span style="color: rgb(18, 0, 240);">I think one of the most important jobs as a teacher is to network and reach out for new resources. I really liked this section of the chapter because it gave me a look into a new technology that I wouldn't think of using. I think that online community building between teachers would help expand a teacher's realm of thinking, thus offering them a better chance to connect with more students. I think that Tapped In is a great website for <span style="color: rgb(18, 0, 240);">teachers because it offers multiple discussion forums for teachers to connect with others. I found a discussion post labeled, National Board Certification, which is a group for teachers who are in the process of becoming nationally board certified. The group offers a few websites to visit as well as a monthly meeting online to discuss the process, what teachers are going through, and for them to ask questions. This is only one of many groups used for professional development. I think that this website is a great asset for teachers and their classroom. After reading about TeacherTalk, I tried to find the website to review it, but I could not locate a teachertalk website. I instead found a few websites going by that name. The first website I found was http://teachertalk.us/ <span style="color: rgb(18, 0, 240);">, this website is run by the Mississippi Department of Education and it offers news articles, lesson plans, distance learning, facts about Mississippi education laws and multiple other resources that could help a teacher. <span style="color: rgb(18, 0, 240);">The second website I found using the name teacher talk is a discussion forum, http://www.teachertalk.com.au/forum/. <span style="color: rgb(18, 0, 240);"> <span style="color: rgb(18, 0, 240);">This forum has many categories that offer teachers <span style="color: rgb(18, 0, 240);">places to discuss classroom techniques, behavior management, resources, feedback, and many more. I think that many teachers could find this forum useful for discussing their careers and the many things that go along with it. ~Laura <span style="color: rgb(18, 0, 240);"> <span style="color: rgb(191, 55, 241);"> Yes! Yes! Yes! This section all sounded great to me. As I somewhat mentioned in the above section about blogs, I think that finding and connecting with other educators to gain ideas, resources, and support is a wonderful idea. The Professional Teacher Communities that are discussed in the chapter go one step further. The fact that these communities are entire databases filled with information that is tailored just for teachers is a fantastic resource in itself. Also, many of these websites offer various forms of professional development, which I personally feel is extremely important. I think that, because teachers want to inspire a love of life-long learning in their students, they themselves need to be life-long learners as well. One way to do this is by engaging in professional development whenever possible to learn about new technologies, new learning strategies, new ideas in the field of education, and much, much more. In addition, as I can't stress enough, it is so important to allow teachers to connect with one another over the internet. Teachers can offer each other invaluable advice, ideas, resources, and supoort that they simply cannot find anyplace else. As you can see, I am definitely a fan of these professional communities, and I plan to become involved in at least one or two shortly before I begin teaching. I could definitely see myself looking on here for information about how to deal with certain behavior problems, or how to teach a particular concept in a new way. <span style="color: rgb(237, 108, 18);"> I think that these communities are a convenient way for teachers to stay linked to one another and abreast of hot topics.Teachers often don't have a lot of time, so these communities allow teachers to stay connected at their leisure and convenience. I also agree that it is important to stay informed and to not stop learning. Teachers cannot afford to, if we do not stay up on the latest trends in education and other topics our students will not be as prepared as we will want them to be. I also think that these communities can help teachers from across the nation stay connected or they could be more localized, depending on what the teacher wants to discuss or share they could choose who they want to share with.

<span style="color: rgb(52, 127, 64);">__Discussing Interests with Usenet and NetNews Groups__
<span style="color: rgb(255, 112, 0);">The idea of Usenet and NetNews groups seems similar to blogging to me, only more organized. Usenet and NetNews groups provide people with similar interests a place to discuss that interest. People can join groups and post messages to electronic bulletin boards. People can browse topics and groups and respond to and join the ones they want. Some require you be a member of the group to respond, however. Google Groups (http://groups.google.com/) seemed pretty easy to navigate and if users have a google account, all they have to do is sign-in. I think that these groups can be very specific and would maybe work better with older students. One warning that the chapter provided about Usenet and NewsNet groups is that because there are so many users, it is difficult to monitor ettiquette among posts. Students could be exposed to inappropriate comments and posts in not careful. Teachers should take time to review internet safety and should always be monitoring groups that students access. Another aspect to consider about the internet and groups is that most people do not take the time to write about how average their experience was. I think that most people generally post when they are experiencing extreme emotions. Either they post because they are extremely pleased with something or because they are extremely dissatisfied with something. This could give essentially give students a skewed view of that topic. Teachers should be careful to say that students cannot believe everything they encounter on the internet. <span style="color: rgb(196, 26, 239);">I agree with Sarah on this subject in that Usenet and NetNews Groups seem very similar to blogs, but are just organized according to topic. With that being said, I'm not sure that I really see a benefit to using NetNews groups over blogs. I think that possibly, at the time that this book was printed, that blogs may have just started to become popular and that there weren't a lot of blogs available on a variety of topics. At this time, however, blogging is more popular than ever and there are blogs on almost every topic imaginable. In addition, Sarah brings up a good point that NetNews groups are uncensored and potentially dangerous for students. Although blogs are not censored either, I think I would prefer to use them in my classroom over NetNews groups because I could pick and choose which specific blogs students can view, rather than leading them to a database full of various blogs/writings. In addition, I think I would be more familiar with the way blogs work, so it would be easier and more efficient for me to implement them in my classroom.

<span style="color: rgb(18, 0, 240);">Contrary to Barbara's beliefs, I think that usenet and netnews groups c<span style="color: rgb(18, 0, 240);">ould be really <span style="color: rgb(18, 0, 240);"> useful in a classroom. I think that students would be able to find more focud=sed information that is research based. i understand the concern for internet safety but I know there are ways for teachers to block inappropriate material fromt he students and then the students could focus on a wide range of useful and appropriate information regarding their topics. I also agree with Sarah, because I think that teachers should let students know about the myths that can be found online and alos giuve them some internet safety rules to ollow when searching. Overall, I think that usenet and netnews would be an advantage to blogs because they would offer a wider, more rounded view versus a blog, whuch tends to be one-sided. ~Laura <span style="color: rgb(18, 0, 240);">