Wikis & RSS Feeds

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                Throughout school there has always been a negative connotation connected to using Wikipedia and wikis in general.  When doing research projects the first thing we were told was to stay away from Wikipedia, and that it does not count as a resource.  This always confused me because I knew that Wikipedia was written and edited by anyone, but it was constantly being edited and checked for inaccuracies by everyone.  “When mistakes occur or vandals strike, the collaborative efforts of the groups set it straight, usually very quickly.  U of B Professor Alex Halavais tested this by creating 13 errors on various posts on Wikipedia, all of which were fixed within a couple of hours.” (Richardson, p.56) How many other resources can you say that about?  None. Of course they are edited initially, but they are not updated or added to at any time. 

                I love the idea of creating wikis of our own in class.  Students are given the power to put the information out there on a topic for all to see, and then see their work edited and added to.  That seems like a very engaging and rewarding process.  This also gets the students engaged in each other’s work.  Many times teachers have their students do a research project and then present in front of the class, but how many student are actually listening and taking in all the information?   By having them read and respond or edit each other’s wikis they are required to take in the information in order to give feedback. I think I would be backed up by administration to create wikis, but probably not to allow students to use wikis as resources…maybe this will change in the future when people open their eyes to the potential of wikis in school.  I have never created mine own wiki, but I look forward to trying it out, and then use it with my classes!

-> I love this quote… “Please grant me to serenity to accept the pages I cannot edit, The courage to edit the pages I can, And the wisdom to know the difference. –The wiki prayer.” (Richardson, p.69) Very clever.

-Chapter 4: Wikis, Easy Collaboration for All  
               

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I have been eager to get to the topics of RSS because I had no clue what it was or the possibilities of using it.  I realize the potential of RSS saving a lot of wasted time when going from web page to web page.  “The content comes to you instead of you going to get it, hence Really Simple Syndication.” (Richardson, p.71) I have seen the icon for RSS on many websites, but was never quite sure what it was used for until reading this chapter.  While reading I tried to think of websites that I visit a lot that I might want to add to an “aggregator” on “Google Reader.”  I feel like if you add too many sites or topics to the aggregator it might become too overwhelming and confusing for some people to handle.  If I used this with students I would definitely want to stress the importance of organizing the information correctly and limiting what they send to the aggregator to worthwhile sources.  I liked that Richardson included a checklist for how to make sure websites are worthwhile, which I would share with my students. (p. 74)  I don’t read too many magazines, but RSS would allow me to browse different magazine sites and see which ones perk my interest to send to my aggregator, ALL for FREE!

                As a teacher, I really like the idea of using RSS feeds to check on students blogs and work on the internet.  Instead of having to go to each blog individually, the blogs updated can be sent to the aggregator.  This would save a lot of time and would allow me to be notified when the student is updating their information.  Students could even add an RSS feed into their weblogs.  So that anyone who viewed their blog could also see the updated information from websites they “subscribe” to.  Although this is all unknown territory for me I am excited to try it out for myself.

  -Chapter 5: RSS, the New Killer App for Educators
 

                This article focused on a study done with students in a sixth grade class using wikis to produce new types of literacy.  I really liked that the author shared the potential of using wikis in the class, but also the struggles that came up while using them as well.  We have to use these new literacies smartly.  Like any other tool we use with students we can’t just plop it in their lap and expect them to learn from it and make it all worthwhile. There are going to be glitches and setbacks in learning because it is new to them.  The author write of the outcome of the wikis produced in the class, “the teacher and I were disappointed because students produced “e-literature”’ with small chunks of mostly clichéd writing interrupted by seemingly random collections of pictures with a few hyperlinks.”  (p. 214) Students need to be pushed to a deeper level of thinking because they are so used to using digital language with friends.  The students in this class were to write a story on their wiki in a way that was “radical” after they were inspired by the picture books that were read in class.  I think it was a bit much for the teacher to expect students to just go out and add links to other classmate’s stories to add to their own and links to other pages to bring the story in a different direction.  That is such a new way of thinking that even I would be hesitant to try because I am used to writing a linear story. Wikis will allow students to explore writing in a totally different way, but we have to be patient with them along the process and give them lots of practice.

  -“Radical Change and Wikis: Teaching New Literacies”

  

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                I agree with the idea that the internet provides us with such a VAST amount of information that we do not use it to our full advantage because it would just take too long.  “We are bombarded with so much information these days that any content that isn’t right in our faces will likely be missed.” (Farkas, p. 34)  We might feel more “plugged” in if we start using RSS feeds to update us on sites that interest us or that we can use for professional development. 

                NewLits.org seems like a very beneficial site to begin follow because it helps educate teachers on new literacies that exist.  This wiki allows anyone to add information, podcasts, videos, pictures, or ideas on new literacies they have found.  We learn about new literacies while “engaging” in new literacies.  We must practice using things like RSS feeds and wikis before we can have our students use them effectively in our classrooms. (http://newlits.wikispaces.com/)

  -“Keeping Up, 2.0 Style” & “Wikis, Digital Literacies, and Professional Growth”