Wiki, Ning, and Google Docs

I've been assigned to think about these Web tools and how I might use them - their advantages and disadvantages.

Well, to deal with a specific problem at my workplace - Google Docs etc. is blocked by the IT department, as is all email except the organization's email. So, for the present, Google's tools aren't really an option.

However, I've used both Google Docs and Groups before. One of the nicest things about these tools is that everything is under one umbrella - Google's. You have a Google account and access to everything else is quick and easy. Google is dissimilar from a Ning in that with Google, you're still dealing separately with separate applications. In a Ning, most of the applications you want are all there on the Home Page.

I do wish there was a Wiki app in Ning - then everything would be perfect.

I do like Wikis for collaboration. Perhaps it has something to do with the way I design Active Learning Projects. Wikis just seem to fit. Co-ownership, co-editing, commenting, asking questions, sharing etc., a group of people all working together "on the same page," simply appeals to me.

Initially I wasn't sure about Nings, but now that I have spent even a short time with one, I certainly see their power. After looking at some of the larger ones, I am wary of them for large groups of people. Navigating through everything starts making this social networking tool, just another impersonal tool.

Reading Video on TeacherTube

Here's a link to a Middle School video encouraging reading - Worth a look

Ken Robinson says schools kill creativity | Video on TED.com

TED talks - I have become more and more enamored of this site. This is a particularly powerful example.
Click on the link. The presentation by Ken Robinson is about 20 minutes long. So, make a cup of tea and
a couple of cookies and get comfortable.

Ken Robinson says schools kill creativity | Video on TED.com

Hooray! The Ning has its 1st Member

Last night, I checked the new Diverity and MANSEF Ning which I created. We now have out 1st member. Let's hope that when we send out invitations to the presentation participants that others will join - and they'll write Notes, and Blog entries, and we'll start groups.

Happy St. Valentine's Day!

The Diversity and MANSEF Ning

Well, it's been created.

Here's the link:

http://diversitymansef.ning.com/

It's clearly just a framework. I like that Blogs are embedded; there's some immediate discomfort about the advertisements. Is there a way to embed Wikis?

Now I really do have to search out some Nings. First those on Diversity & Cultural Differences in schools. There's an Independent School Ning with a Diversity Group. I'm not sure how active it is. Next, I want to find how teachers are using Nings in various classroom and school settings.

Nings, Web 2.0 tools, and Repeating Ourselves

I haven't heard from my colleague at the Harford campus about the Diversity Ning, so perhaps I'll begin and we can collaborate.

Learning the tools. There is this learning curve. How does the tool work? What are its possibilities? How do I plan, create lessons etc. etc. .... We can really get absorbed in the tool.

Like so many other people, teachers too, once we've have reached a comfort level with the tool, the plan, the project, we do some refining and then begin to repeat ourselves. It doesn't make any difference what the tool is - hotlists, audio or video podcasts, wikis, blogs. We just get into this habit of repeating ourselves.

Why am I writing this? Because I just noticed that the wiki I'm developing for the Harford campus class is a repeat of what I did with my Chesapeake Academy classes. Shame on me! I'll go ahead with it, but next time I will not repeat myself. Next time, I'll do some research. Check out what other people are doing with wikis. Ask some questions, explore the possibilities. That's what we ask our students to do; we should not ask any less of ourselves.

Class Wiki Harford Campus

I've added some content to Mr. Ward's Class Wiki. Came across this site at some point over the weekend:

http://www.teachersfirst.com/content/wiki/wikiideas1.cfm

It's a quick introduction on the use of wikis in an educational setting. Certainly worth using when someone asks "What's a Wiki?"

Wikispaces Class Site for Maryland

William Ward, a teacher at the Harford Campus, and I are going to begin a Wikispaces site for his class. I'm used to PBWiki, so there will be a learning curve. I would have liked to explore a Ning, but they are all under 13 years old.

We introduced the idea to the class today. They're quite excited. As they were leaving the Media Center, they wanted to know when they could start the project. I'm hoping we can frame the Opening Page and a Letter to Parents over the next few days. We shouldn't start without signed Parental Permissions and Acceptable Use Policies.

We'll be concentrating on Maryland as a topic. We can take it in a number of ways. Presently, the basic idea is to use the Wiki as a place to collect research, write drafts, collaborate on editing, and make suggestions for improvement. At least that's the overt agenda. We could then use the content as a basis for other presentation products.

It looks like I'm really going to have to spend some time exploring the Wonderful World of Ning. On the basis of today's class, there are lots of possibilities for older - age 13 - and above. I'll spend some time talking to Veronica tomorrow. The agenda will have to be the Basics. What questions do we need to ask? What's the Ning's 1st purpose?

A New Ning?

I've been emailing two of my colleagues who gave a presentation on Diversity and Multiculturalism at a conference. They have been talking about finding a way to stay in touch with the participants in the session. It occurred to me that a Ning might work. I've sent them some samples to look at. I'm looking forward to the experiment. Regardless, I should learn some things.

Diigo & Hotlists

For more years than I care to count I've been using annotated hotlists as a way to: One, develop a list of safe sites for students to use in their research, and Two teach students how to examine websites for content, appearance, etc. as a way for them to assess and describe websites - for themselves and others.

I'm still committed to this approach, but Social Bookmarking Tools , Diigo or delicious for example, provides another arrow in the quiver of creating effective research tools.

I'm particularly interested in their collective and collaborative aspects. For example, assigning a small group of students finding, describing, and tagging 10 sites on a particular topic. Two students could be Researchers, one could be the Editor, with the jobs rotating. The activity would present the group with the tasks of finding the appropriate sites, writing brief, accurate, and complete descriptions, and creating tags. The assignment could be coupled with a wiki for on-line discussions. Finally, since their work - on the wiki and the ning - would be public, it would provide others students and the teacher to make comments, suggestions, etc.

Diigo and Delicious

It's been an interesting switch from delicious to Diigo. I've used both for so long, but not until my new class on Webpage 2.0 did I think about using Diigo exclusively.

An important element in making the switch go well was to add a Diigo toolbar. Some sites don't include Diigo as a default option. With the Diigo toolbar, being able to simply click Bookmark on that toolbar, made the process quick and easy.

With four different groups, at present, if I want to add a site to more than one group, it appears I have to repeat the process for each group. Perhaps there's a way to do more than one at a time. If you know how, I'd love a Comment telling me how.