Topic 16

Web 2.0 part II - Wikis & Podcasts.

In tonight's class, we discussed wiki's. I had heard of wiki's before, but never really knew what they were. A wiki is a website where a group can edit and save information. It is a helpful tool for those who are trying to plan something. Wiki's are different than blogs in that wiki's can be altered by many users where a blog has only one author. I can see using a blog and a wiki in my classroom. As a teacher I may set-up a blog where students and parents could view information about my class. I may also use a wiki to allow students to collaborate on projects and they could all change the information.

We also discussed podcast's in tonight's class. A podcast is either a video or audio file that can be downloaded via the web. People usually download them onto an ipod or other device of the same nature. However, they are not always done this way. Podcast's make it easy for student's to hear lectures that they may have missed in class or to listen to a lecture that they would like to refresh in their minds. I would like to use this feature in my classroom as long as it was quick and easy. I think the response from students would help me decide if I would use this or not. I know from being a student that I would like to use a podcast to refresh my memory before a big test. I think podcast's are great and I hope that I can find them useful in my classroom.