1) I searched the Yahoo, Google and MSN search engines for "Eduational Blogs". The results for Google and MSN were nearly identical, Yahoo was mostly the same results with a few new options. Specific sites like Top 100 Education Blogs | OEDb, and Kathy Schrock -- Educational Technology Blogs were both the top results for Google and MSN (Bing), while Educational Blog Education Articles Schools RSS Feeds ... was the first results for Yahoo.
2) 3 interesting ways blogs and wikis are being used are 1) they are a resource for teacher's professional development, 2) they can let teachers communicate with each other and bounce ideas off each other about situation, or just one experienced teacher giving advice to others and 3) they introduce teachers to actual ideas, tools, products and other physical resources that teachers can use for educational activities, or just for fun. I navigated to Tammy Worcester's Tech Tip of the Week. This site is extremely useful because it has technological based "tips", ideas, and descriptions of tools that teachers can use.
3) RSS Readers or Aggregators are basically a way to maintain an idea of what is going on in the websites you frequent the most. Instead of having to individually search for the new things that have happened on your favorite sites, you can just use a RSS Reader to see if any new posts, updates, etc have occurred on the websites. You could use RSS Readers and Aggregators in your classroom by using them to keep on top of topics that you could be going through with your students. I navigated to Tammy Worcester's Tech Tip of the Week. This site is extremely useful because it has technological based "tips", ideas, and descriptions of tools that teachers can use.
4) 3. The Pros for using blogs and wikis in education are numerous. We live in a technological based world and integrating technology, especially the internet and its resources into the classroom will introduce students to these tools in a safe learning environment. Using blogs and wikis in your classroom can also simplify communication between teacher and parents, and have another way for students themselves to communicate with their teacher. The Cons for using blogs and wikis, in my personal opinion, stem from the problem that not all students and parents have access to the internet on a regular basis so that a teacher can become "dependent" on blogs and wikis for communication between parents and the teacher, or between the teacher and their students.
4) 3. The Pros for using blogs and wikis in education are numerous. We live in a technological based world and integrating technology, especially the internet and its resources into the classroom will introduce students to these tools in a safe learning environment. Using blogs and wikis in your classroom can also simplify communication between teacher and parents, and have another way for students themselves to communicate with their teacher. The Cons for using blogs and wikis, in my personal opinion, stem from the problem that not all students and parents have access to the internet on a regular basis so that a teacher can become "dependent" on blogs and wikis for communication between parents and the teacher, or between the teacher and their students.
Great comments about blogs/wikis and how they are used in educational settings. Communication with parents is one way these tools can be used to create a successful, engaging community within your classroom.
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