FINAL PRESENTATION: WIKIS, BLOGS, &

WEB PUBLISHING

Ryan Mellor

1. WHICH TOOL HAVE YOU FOUND MOST

USEFUL?

Learning Blogger and Wikispace have inspired me to involve my students in an online community.

I am excited to integrate writing instruction with my character education units. My students will be able to collaboratively blog and respond to thoughtful, character building questions. Furthermore, they will utilize this web tool for peer discussion and feedback.

2. EXPLAIN SOME SUCCESSES AND

CHALLENGES YOU HAVE HAD.

Through exploring the wikis, blogs, RSS, and other web tools, I have been inspired by the possibilities to engage my students. I enjoyed the creative process of building my own blog– and look forward to helping my students create theirs.

My biggest challenge was deciphering the Wiki and all of its capabilities. I still have a lot to learn and need to experiment more.

3. WHAT IS YOUR TAKE ON MOODLE AND ONLINE LEARNING?

I believe online learning can

be a powerful tool for a self-

motivated individual. Online

learning is differentiated

instruction: you can work at

your own pace and be

guided by personal interest

level and ability. I have

enjoyed being a participant

in the Moodle learning

experience.

Project 1: Wiki Spaces

PROJECT 1: RATIONALE

On my wikispace, I created pages for each

character lesson. Students have the

opportunity to read a passage, watch a

video, and talk about it. It is my vision for

students to use the “Talk about It” as a

brainstorm for future writing topics. I am

excited for the possibilities for student

collaboration and feedback.

Project 1: Continued

Project 2-RSS: Pulse

PROJECT 2: RATIONALE

Pulse is a fantastic tool for organizing all of

my reading materials. I am exploring the

possibilities for my classroom; however, on a

personal and professional level– it has

become a great resource.

Project 3-Blog: YouTube Inspirations

PROJECT 3: RATIONALE

I have always enjoyed prompting my

students with engaging videos related to our

lessons. The blog was a great place to

showcase some of my favorite clips. I

learned how to embed video on a blog– and

intend to continue to add to this page. I also

think my students could use a blog for their

own digital writing portfolios.

Project 4: Glogster

PROJECT 4: RATIONALE

I not only discovered how to use this tool–

but also how to embed it on my wiki page! I

think my students would enjoy creating these

virtual posters. I particularly appreciated the

capability of adding video and other

multimedia to the glog. The various

templates also could lead to engaging

learning opportunities.