Thing #8

I am very interested in how I could use wikis as an administrator. I believe that my staff could definitely use it as a place to post announcements and blog comments on curriculum used or even what activities worked and what did not. I'm still developing this idea, but I'd love to have it available for the staff. I would most likely make it a private site so that they could feel the freedom to express concerns on campus.

Separately, I am interested in the three wikis that I browsed through:

• http://wiki.woodward.edu/hannalee/doku.php - a wiki on 5th grade curriculum, created and maintained by the students.
• http://schoolsthen.wikispaces.com/ - a wiki for first graders who interviewed older relatives on schools in the past.
• http://monsonclassroom.wikispaces.com/ - a wiki where a 5th grade classroom is asking a question in the hopes that 1000 students around the world will answer.

I find it interesting that the teachers feel so free to post the information and to allow the students the freedom to access the wiki and change the information. I found that it was organized in a manner that allows the reader to quickly browse information. It was fun to see what the kids were learning about and what they discovered in their research. I thought it could be used very easily in a classroom setting. Gone are the days when we didn't have a computer in the classroom. Students may not have them at home, but the school will make up for that. I like the potential.

Thing #7

Well, it seems as if commenting is what I do best. Each blogger needs to know that someone is actually reading what is posted, and this is a great way to let them know that you're following. I found the 10 commandments of commenting http://www.brownbaron.com/blog/2007/07/17/the-ten-commandments-of-blog-commenting/ to be very helpful. The most difficult thing to do is to continue to check on the blogs. That's why I love to have the reader because it shows the "newest" items in the blog. I've found that my time is so limited and I can check very quickly on the reader to see the newest information. I've also found that my friends are so much further along than I! I'm getting nervous. I hope I can get thing #8 and #9 done soon.

THING #6!

What in the world? I'm so far behind, but I've found that I can really follow the blogs easier when I have them posted in the reader. It's neat to see the changes as they come up, not to have to read through and find the things that are new by guessing. I really appreciate that part of it. This may be my new "best" find! I'll be watching more than 2 blogs, but the 2 that I will follow closely are: http://terrifiedtraveler.blogspot.com/ and http://vikingman1.blogspot.com/. You'll find that our own Viking man is further along than I am. I'm going to have to get a little more competitive to get a few more things done. I'm not liking the fact that he is further along!
JR