Our school is just beginning to get into blogs & wikis for kids and
teachers. When making a decision on which tool to use, this is what
I've come up with: Wikis are great if you need many people to
collaborate or contribute to the same article/writing(s). Therefore,
the original post will likely look a lot different than its final (if
ever) state. It is easier to have multiple pages going on.
Wikispaces.org has free wikis for educators.
I am suggesting a blog for times in which comments (including
discussions) are an important factor. The original post isn't edited
by others, but your other students and a greater audience can reply.
Edublogs.org is a good one to look at as is Blogmeister. The latter is
set up with education in mind, as the teacher needs to approve any
posts and comments before they appear.
No matter what, make sure you have administrators & the tech
department on board. You should also write a parent letter explaining
the purpose of the blog/wiki and the steps you are taking to ensure
student protection. There is a chance that a parent will opt their
child out, but that hasn't happened to us yet. Be especially careful
about kids under 13 posting stuff, particularly if you use their
names. COPA law is quite strict with kids under 13 and their posted
presence on the internet. We used avatars/pseudonyms or simply
initials to protect identity.
Melissa Enderle
Tech Facilitator
American International School of Chennai, India
On Jan 17, 2009, at 7:57 PM, Melissa Speelman wrote:
> This is a cool concept . . . what a great way for students to
> reflect on their own photography/artwork as well as the work of
> their peers. Do the students respond to posts at school or on
> computers at their own homes? I'm assuming they are required to
> respond anonymously.
>
> Thanks so much for sharing!
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Harold Olejarz"
> To: "TeacherArtExchange Discussion Group" <teacherartexchange@lists.pub.getty.edu
> >
> Sent: Saturday, January 17, 2009 8:45 PM
> Subject: Re: [teacherartexchange] Art Blogs
>
>
>> Hi,
>>
>> I have two photo collaboration blogs going. Students post images and
>> write about the images. I am working with Tom Chambers. He is in
>> Houston and I am in NJ:
>>
>> A Gulf Coast/East Coast Digital Art Collaboration -
>> http://eastcoastgulfcoast.blogspot.com/ >>
