922-11--Multimedia Resources for Your Wiki Chapters

This session focuses on how to access, discover, and use multimedia resources to embed w/i your wiki chapters. One of the elements we'll be covering will be online videos. We will learn how to enrich your chapter content and bring it beyond mere text, through the use of videos to help support your learning concepts.

I've shown you a few examples on our class blog this semester. One of the great things about this tool (and there are many to choose from) is that every resource and skill I will be showing you can be done for free. You may read past participants' comments about this topic from my 921 class here, and this past Summer's group here.

Here is example of a college using a vodcast (a video podcast), to help them solicit prospective students. They've posted this to YouTube so whenever a potential student does a search for Franklin College they'll receive this video as part of their results:






This session you will have the ability to go into as much depth as your curiosity (and time) allows. There is basic, elemental information available, as well as advanced information, instruction tutorials, and text directions for you to recreate and duplicate what these models show you. Similar to the distinction I made with Podcasts about the ability to simply use this tool, as opposed to creating videos yourself, please remember that I try to give you more information than you can digest with the hope that you will revisit these sessions in the future when the need (or desire) arises.

Here are a few more tutorials showing you services that make podcasting seem simple:

And then this one from GCast:

Most of these tools are free and they allow you to embed them w/i a blog, website, or wiki chapter.

Good luck, have fun, and keep an eye on the clock.

DF

922-10--Collective Intelligence

Let's start by going over the schedule for the rest of the semester:

• 7/14--Session 10
• 7/15--Session 11
• 7/21--Just focus upon your Final Project due:
• 7/24--Midnight---All outstanding assignments due.

Today you will make some more additions to a wiki.

But first I would like you to visit some of your peers' pages. Just click on their names and view their wiki chapter. Once there, use the Discussion tab to give them feedback. Here is a brief video walking you through it:

Next I'd like you to explore the "History" tab on our wiki. You should have already explored this in a GDoc. As I said earlier in the semester this can be a tremendously powerful tool if you make a mistake. Check it out:

Good luck and don't forget that Session 11's blog entry will be posted in a few days, so that you can blitz over the next week completing your Final Project.

You may also read past participants' D3's here. Even though yours was eliminated you may be interested in reading their's. Just click on their names and under their D2's you should find their D3's. There are lots of great persuasive letters, so why recreate the wheel. If you see a great way to say something---borrow it yourself.

Good luck and have fun!

DF

922-Session 9-Dissecting a Wiki and Your Wiki Chapter

This week we will be dissecting a wiki. If you would like to start by reading past participants' comments from my 921 course on this topic, then you will find last semester's here and more below:

Fall '08

Summer '08
Older comments

I thought a lot about how to address this session and decided to stray from the usual presentation format (again) and teach this session entirely from the blog. I believe that it is always easier to 'show' instead of 'tell,' so the bulk of this session will be spent watching videos that will help clarify the nuances and details that make a wiki such a powerful tool--as well as address the topics laid out in the syllabus: new literacies, wiki benefits, and wiki drawbacks.

Now, just be aware that there is some redundancy in these clips, so feel free to fast-forward through parts that you have already seen. You may also find that you would rather apply this week's time and energy towards your Final Project.

Some of you have been sending me links to your wiki chapters from either a Google Docs page or a wiki page. Please post a link to your wiki chapter here. If you run into any trouble with images transferring over or a similar issue, don't stress over it. Contact me with the details and we'll find an alternate placement and then just put a link to it from w/i the wiki.

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Let's start this week with some tutorials on how to use our Wikispaces page. First let's look at how to edit a page:

make a link w/i your new page:

Later on this semester you may want to know how to place a video on your wiki page:

Let's start with a clip from one of the many companies that offer free wikis for you to use. This one is from PBwiki.com. They claim that making a wiki on their site is as easy as making a peanut butter sandwich. Please keep notes while watching these.

I hope you liked that one. This next video focuses upon how collaboration really works. It is a good transition from our last session on Collective Intelligence.





So naturally, these 'beg the question' about ease of use. Is it really as easy as making a peanut butter sandwich? Well let's take a look at an explanation.

And this one shows you how wikis can help educators educate:

And lastly, we'll address the underlying issue all educators have about using Web 2.0 tools in education----SECURITY for our students.

Now I want you to take a break. When you come back we'll take a look at this 4-part online video course, created by the University of Wisconson-Milwaukee. It addresses some of the benefits and drawbacks of wikis. The great thing about it is that it is self-pacing and asynchronous just like this course. Again, I would like to remind you to take notes as you progress through these tutorials, so that you may post quality comments and insights when you have completed everything this week. If you feel part 1 is redundant then please skip forward to 2, 3, & 4.

University of Wisconson-Milwaukee

I hope you enjoyed the variety in this session's presentation and I would like to end this week's posting with a reminder that your Deliverable #2 (your wikichapter) should be posted to the wiki page. If you chose a different wikiservice then please just place a link our your name.

Also, please keep in mind that D3 is now eliminated. I also think that next week I'll post two sessions, so you can get a head-start on adding material for your Final Project DUE BY MIDNIGHT ON JULY 24TH. The end of the semester will be here before you know it, so please use the next week to get a headstart.

As always, feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

DF

922-Session 8

You may have noticed that I have added a cool feature to the blog. You can now double click on any word on the blog and you will be prompted with more details. The possibilities for a tool like this are astronomical when using edublogs in the classroom. Any word used by the 'blog author' or 'comment poster' can be defined w/o a student leaving the page. Give it a try on this word: arbiter or any other.

I've also put it in wikidave. If you are interested here is the link to more info.

Now, regarding future assignments---Please don't wait until the last minute to contact me if you have any questions, and as with all of these projects, "Practicality Shall Take Precedent over All." That means that if you have an idea to modify a Deliverable or Final Project so that it will be more useful to you in your setting then please feel free to pass your ideas by me. (I approve most of them.)

Also, due to the constricted semester, I'm thinking of eliminatin your Deliverable #3 so you can focus upon your wikichapter. I've put a survey on our blog, please let me know your thoughts.

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There is a renewed movement underway from schools, businesses, and universities. They are giving 'Collective Intelligence' a closer look. From MIT's new 'Center for Collective Intelligence,' to businesses using wikis within their internal networks, to schools using Collective Intelligence resources and tools in the K-12 setting---we will look at all of these examples, as well as discuss their long term implications during this session.

Keep in mind while you are viewing this session that your Deliverable will be due, (I will give you instructions later on how to submit your work) soon. Additionally, keep in mind that the deadline for your Final Project is fast approaching.

As always, feel free to contact me if you ever have additional questions or comments.

DF

P.S. Summer '08 participants' comments as well as participants' comments from previous semesters here.

P.P.S. Backup copies of each week's session can be found on Authorstream.com