Within my professional development I can use wikis through discussions with other educators on topics in the area of differentiated instruction in the classroom and various math activities being used in classrooms. I am currently researching differentiated instruction. I would like to hear how other teachers are using differentiation within their own classrooms and how well their students have reacted to the concept. I would also like to hear of math activities that are being used in classrooms, which may also be used towards student differentiation.
While searching wikis through Google I began by looking for wikis related to education. I came across a website titled Wikis in Education at http://wikisineducation.wetpaint.com/. This website has wikis that have been set up by other educators stating how teachers can begin to use wikis within their classrooms based on grade levels and various subject related topics. I found this site interesting since we have been discussing how we individually can incorporate wikis into our own classrooms. There were many wikis already created, but one could also create their own based on their own grade level and subject area. I could use these wikis to search for topics in the areas of math activities and even classroom differentiation. I specifically looked at wikis in the classrooms, which is located at http://wikisineducation.wetpaint.com/page/Wikis+in+the+Classroom.
Wikis are different from following blogs, because you are able to see everyone’s posts/ideas at one time. When using blogs you have to look at each individual post one at a time, but when using wikis it is all presented at one time. When adding a blog to my RSS feed I can still only look at one idea in depth at a time. Wikis give me the chance to compile all ideas at once and respond in one response to all if necessary. When using a wiki it is a collaboration of every one's ideas that are expanded off of one another. My blog is my individual ideas in which someone can comment on something that I posted, but a wiki is every one's ideas being grouped together into one post and being commented on at once. Both areas are great communication techniques, but I feel more comfortable using my blog. When blogging the information I know my individual comments are safe and cannot accidentally be deleted.
When it comes to reading and commenting on the blogs of others I feel like I am clicking in to read the blogs of many of my classmates, but I do not seem to be commenting on any but one or two. If there was one class blog then all ideas could be read at once, and all comments could be made when thinking about what was just read. But then again this makes me think of the wiki, but at least comments could not be accidentally changed or deleted.
When it comes to reading and commenting on the blogs of others I feel like I am clicking in to read the blogs of many of my classmates, but I do not seem to be commenting on any but one or two. If there was one class blog then all ideas could be read at once, and all comments could be made when thinking about what was just read. But then again this makes me think of the wiki, but at least comments could not be accidentally changed or deleted.
My first impressions of GoogleDocs was that it was a very easy program to navigate within the various areas of the program. I like how the information can be shared and edited by all involved. I would have loved to have this program years ago in middle school and high school when working on group projects. There were times when it was hard to get everyone together to work on the project. By using GoogleDocs everyone could work on the same project on their own time. I like how one survey can be completed and sent to a whole class at once. I remember completing surveys and having to ask each person one by one. The results can easily be compiled and put into a nice presentation that reminds me of PowerPoint including graphs. It seems very easy to work with and navigate through the program. I have never used GoogleDocs before, but it is a web took that I will continue to use in the future!
