Jessica+Wortman

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Jessica Wortman's Page

I liked the Wikis in plain English UTube video. I'm a visual learner and it helped me understand the purpose of a WIKI, its benefits, and how to start using one. I may show this to my students when first teaching them how to use a WIKI.

Activity 2

I liked Myrna's math WIKI. She had quotes on it, which I will probably put on mine WIKI also.

RHalmi's WIKI had a nice table of contents. It broke down topics in his subject mater. Also, it had other related links such as activities and games.

I enjoyed the "Greetings from the World" WIKI. It brings the world right to this room! Pictures of students' environments and culture are great learning tools. I'm toying with the idea of international penpals this year, and seeing this page is more encouragement for the idea.

WIKIPEDIA TASK

1. I find Kathy Schrock's pages on technology evaluation very helpful. I don't think middle school students realize they should evaluate the validity of a website. They just assume they can type whatever they're searching for in on google and use any info that pops up. I especially like Kathy's 5 W's while evaluating a website-who wrote it, what it's about, when was it made, where it came from, and why should you use this page. I want studetns to utilize a WIKI in geography while completing current events. They will search for an article, post it, and then comment on it. Kathy's 5 W's will guide students as they search for their valid article.

2. I like the 2 minute video on WIKIPEDIA. To be honest, until I saw it, I didn't know where WIKI's got their name. I also was one of the teachers who didn't know much about wikipedia or it pros and cons. (I always went to google like the students.) Now I will use wikipedia more often because it has sparked my curiousity and interest. What are some ways to include this in class outside of encouraging students to go here for research, or current event info.


 * __Web 2.0 Activity 1__**

From Mvoing Towards a 2.0 Web in Education:

"What is abundantly clear is that no matter what our schools are currently doing, most of our students are already actively involved in this content creation and conversation outside of school. In a [|series of reports] recently released by BECTA (the government agency leading the UK drive to ensure the effective and innovative use of technology throughout learning) on Web 2.0 technologies for learning, students ages 11 – 16 were surveyed. 74% reported that they had at least one social networking site account and 78% reported having uploaded pictures, video, or music to the web"

This quote makes a great point about the ability level and activity level of students we teach. They are actively engaged in technology. Teacher's have two choices: 1-continue down their traditional, comfortable path of teaching, or 2-embrace the tools of technology to reach out to the students. Students could amaze teachers on creativity, critical thinking, and collaborating when given the opportunity to demonstrate this in a way they are comfortable, confident, and excited about. I'm excited myself to learn more web 2.0 tools available to incorporate into lessons so I can see students excell through a different outlet. It'll be a neat year.

Question, before I forget b/c this article triggered this in my head, my PDP is focused on assessments. I value rubrics. For many of these Web 2.0 media's, different rubrics will be used to assess students engagement and understanding of the content. I know rubrics will vary with assignments and specific tasks to be mastered or assessed. In the past, I have used rubistar.com to create rubrics. Do you recommend other resources I could access?

"@Sylvia: “Does a movie have to be on YouTube to be creative?” No, but look at how much easier (and cheaper) is it now to actually make that movie, have an audience, and get real feedback when using YouTube or a similar tool than than when using previous technology."

This is a great point. Technology is efficient and convenient! I can see this as an option in an assignment for students. Give them ownership by choosing the medium to complete an assignment. Also, I liked the last part of this quote. A benefit of Web 2.0 is the collaboration aspect. I'm new to the outlets available through Web 2.0, but I can see benefits of this in a classroom. Students can get ideas and feedback from multiple avenues. I can see this feedback coming from teachers, studetns in their own class, and students outside their class. How neat.