Wikis Re-Visited: How Teachers Are Using Wikis


Today's Topics:


Wikis Re-Visited: How Teachers Are Using Wikis
Tech Tip: Creating Online "To Do" Lists

  • How are wikis transforming teaching and learning in 2007?

  • What are some effective ways to use wikis in your classroom?

    Wild About Wikis
    David Jakes explains the educational benefits of wikis and lists some wiki-creation resources. He also includes an “Eleven Wikis to Watch” list and examples of teachers using wikis in the classroom.

    Uses and Potentials of Wikis in the Classroom
    S. Pixy Ferris and Hilary Wilder explain why wikis are a perfect fit for the way today’s digital native students prefer to learn.

    Wiki in a K-12 Classroom
    The WikEd staff provides brief descriptions of seven ways that wikis are effectively incorporated in K-12 classrooms.

    Tech Tip – Creating Online “To Do” Lists
    It can be a challenge to keep track of all those “to do” lists scribbled on sticky notes! Two free online tools make quick work of storing and organizing all of your lists in a central location, and makes them accessible from any Internet-connected device. Here are two popular sites to try:

    BackPack
    Backpack allows you to make pages with to-do lists, notes, files, and images. It also features a Calendar and Reminders that can be sent via email or to your cell phone at predetermined times.

    Remember the Milk
    An easy-to-use tool which allows you to print individual lists or a weekly calendar. Tasks can be prioritized and multiple lists created.

    Announcements
    FREE (Federal Resources for Educational Excellence) Site Redesigned
    A new "subject map" on the FREE site shows more than 100 topics and the number of resources for each. The goal of FREE remains the same: to make it easier for you to find more than 1500 teaching and learning resources available from the federal government.

    What Our Students Are Saying...
    About the online course Digital Media and Visual Literacy:

    "This course is for the educator with an interest in digital video editing. If you want to make quality video productions, this is the class for you. Make some time in your busy schedule to take this important and necessary step to better videos. Books and references are nice, but this class makes your get your hands dirty. If you get involved, the learning improves."
    ~ Educational Technologist from Ohio

    "... the flexibility that working online offers. The readings helped tremendously to clear up some misconceptions I had about copyright, video editing, etc. The resources provided helped tremendously with my classes."
    ~ Computer Teacher/Tech Coordinator - Reading, Massachusetts

    "I have realized that using digital media in the class is a magnificent motivational tool. It allows students to perform and perfect essential life skills such as problem solving, responsibility, cooperation, planning ahead, following a timeline, and perseverance just to name a few."
    ~     Elementary Teacher - Taichung, Taiwan

    Call University of Wisconsin-Stout Online Professional Development (715) 642-0209 if you have questions. UW-Stout is an "international-student- friendly" program.






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posted by Karen Franker, Editor @ 1/21/2007 07:27:00 PM  

Cutting-Edge Tech Tools

Today's Topics:

Cutting-Edge Tech Tools
Tech Tip- Wrap Text Around Clip Art in Word 2002/2003

  • Which new tech tools show the greatest potential to enrich teaching and learning in 2007?

  • What are the significant new trends in educational technology?
Six Ed-Tech Trends to Watch in 2007
The Learning is Messy blog presents a summary of eSchool News editor Gregg W. Downey’s six educational technology trends to watch in 2007. Click here to view Downey’s entire article (requires free registration).

Cutting Edge Tools for School Leaders
David Jakes describes the five tech tools which have changed the nature of Web publishing. See also Jakes’ Using Flickr in the Classroom which explains how Flickr provides an excellent way to enhance visual literacy skills.

“New Toy” Heaven in 2007
Vicki Davis provides descriptions and links to eight new and inexpensive software tools and gadgets which every educator should explore!

Tech Tip – Wrap Text Around Clip Art in MS Word 2002/ 2003
With text wrapping, you can quickly and easily have clip art and text occupy even amounts of space on the page for a more professional look.

  1. In your Word document, insert a clip art image by going to the Insert message and selecting Insert – Picture – Clip Art.

  2. Next, click on the clip art image around which you want to wrap the text.

  3. On the Picture toolbar, click the Text Wrapping button which looks like a dog.

  4. Click to highlight Square.

  5. Click and drag your clip to where you want it. The text will wrap itself tightly around your clip.
Courses Starting January 29, 2007
Teaching and Assessing Writing With the 6-Traits (Elementary) & (M iddle/High school)
Methods of Teaching Middle School Math (Grades 4-8)
Digital Media and Visual Literacy
E-Learning for Educators
Online Classroom: Creative Collaborative Communities
Assessment and Evaluation in the Online Classroom
Instructional Role of Assessment and Data Analysis
School Library and Classroom Collaborations
Developmental Reading, K-12
Seminar: Reading in the Content Areas of K-12
Assessment in a Differentiated Classroom

What Our Students Are Saying...
About the Methods of Teaching Middle School Math online course:

What was the most meaningful and useful to you about this course…

"The relevant readings and the websites and software I was introduced to. It will be so useful in enhancing my math class. Sara was very helpful and inspirational in providing personal email feedback and discussion postings. Many times I found myself thinking of the topic in a way I hadn't before."

"The ability to work at my own pace and on my own time is what I like best. All the ideas I got from this class have been extremely valuable. I am always looking for new ideas and this class has given me some great ones. It has also helped me understand the math standards better as well as how to use them more effectively in my teaching. "

"I'm a new teacher, and I learned many new useful ideas from teachers who have been in the profession for years. It was a nice mix of educators from elementary to high school. The overall ambience of the class was supportive and nurturing. It was so rewarding to work with teachers from all over the world."

Call University of Wisconsin-Stout Online Professional Development (715) 642-0209 if you have questions. UW-Stout is an "international-student- friendly" program.





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posted by Karen Franker, Editor @ 1/08/2007 09:16:00 PM