I've gotten motivated to really try some exciting things in technology with my students this year. BlackBoard now offers us wikis and blogs. We've got five wikis going (teamwork discussion, books list, science research questions, "Math Curse" by Jon Scieszka exploration, and interesting websites) so far. In addition, each student has a blog. They'll use these to write about their reflections on their reading and respond to one another. I anticipate other uses of the blogs as well, but we'll start here.
The challenge is that there is no way for me to know quickly when any of these items have been updated. I want to monitor them to be sure that the content is appropriate and to ensure that students are not leaving comments for one another that are unacceptable. However, the RSS feed option is turned off because of security concerns. So, my only option is to look at each wiki and each blog and click on each individual page and set of comments. That's five wikis and twenty blogs. It starts to seem like it isn't worth my time after all.
I really want this to work. I love the idea that using the wikis allows for collaboration and discussions that can continue beyond our limited time at school. Writing on the blogs offers a more authentic experience and wider audience than simply writing for me. Any advice on how to do this without spending hours clicking the mouse?
4 comments:
I have no answers but I LOVE that you're doing all this and I can't wait to hear how it goes. I'm so jealous of the teacher in New Zealand whose kids have a blog. I think there is so much we can tap into. Keep me posted!
Well, thank you for introducing me to your blog. It sounds like we have a lot in common. I am excited to read more of your blogs. :D
You could look at ning.com to set up a closed social network where each member has their own blog. That way you would just have one address to go to to see if there were any updates. I don't know if you need to have the blogs all hosted on Blackboard though.
My other thought you could have Technorati keeping track of all their blogs for you. Technorati can just let you know when any of them have updated.
http://www.21classes.com/
Try this blog server. I think you can find one out there where you can moderate the comments and lead discussion. I understand that children have been using the computer to bully others. I think there must be services out there to remedy this.
Thanks for reading my blog. I appreciate your support.
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