“The East contemplated the forest the West counted the trees…the mind that knows that trees and the forest is a new mind.”
Marilyn Ferguson
What is a Blackboard wiki?
A wiki within Blackboard is a page, or set of pages, that can be collaboratively edited by the instructor and by the students enrolled in the class. It is one of the few tools available which allows students to add content to a Blackboard course site. Students can edit and add pages, images and links.
A log of all changes is kept, so it is easy to keep track of a given page’s editorial history, and of students’ editing activity.
Types of Wikis in Blackboard
With the Wiki Tool in Blackboard, the wiki can be shared between members of the class or it can be configured to for individual students or groups of students and the instructor.
Central Course Wiki - there can only be one of these per course and can be used for entries shared by the entire class. Central wikis can be created, configured and accessed from the course Tools area.
Group, Individual or personal journal Wikis - multiple student wikis can be created per course. These wikis can be created, configured and accessed from any content area (Course, Materials, Assignments, Testing Area, etc.)
The following pdf provides a tutorial for creating and managing course level, group and individual wikis in Blackboard 8.
“What we thought was the horizon of our potential turns out to be only the foreground.”
Tom Roberts Educator
A Blog Tool is a tool which provides an online forum, diary, or journal. An entire class or selected individuals can access, add new entries and comments, if these settings are enabled by you.
One method of supporting social co-construction of knowledge is through collaborative communication. For example learners can read a novel that doesn’t have a complete ending, then write a final chapter, and post their submissions to a class blog for others to read and respond. Collaborating with other learners (authors) enhances their reading experience. This simple activity will help learners to think deeply about the book and about writing. It will also encourage them to write with a purpose, to think critically about what they write, to read what others have produced, and to compare their own work with the work of others. It is worth noting that having learners post their work on the Web inspires many of them to take their work more seriously by reflecting on what they are about to let many individuals read. (Jonassen, 1999)
With the Blog Tool in Blackboard, the Blog can be shared only between members of the class or it can be configured to be shared only between the individual student and instructor or between specific student groups and the instructor.
Blogs in courses can be used for.
Reflective journals
Peer review and feedback
Critical thinking and creativity
Using group or course-wide Blogs fosters lively discussion of course topics and concepts. When engaged in written debate, students are motivated to sharpen their critical thinking and rhetorical skills.
The following pdf provides a tutorial for creating and managing both course level and individual assessment blogs in Blackboard 8.
“This demo — from Pattie Maes’ lab at MIT, spearheaded by Pranav Mistry — was the buzz of TED. It’s a wearable device with a projector that paves the way for profound interaction with our environment.”
What does technology like this mean to personal privacy? Can humans really process this much information for great periods of time?
Discussion Boards can serve as a learning tool that fosters in-depth, academic discussion, an arena in which students work collaboratively or conduct peer analysis, or simply a place where they can virtually communicate with each other. Discussion forums used well can be an effective learning tool that encourages students to engage in higher order thinking activities.
The following links will take you to task based tutorials and demonstration videos.
"But if we believe what we profess concerning the worth of the individual, then the idea of individual development within a framework of ethical purpose must become our deepest concern, our national preoccupation, our passion, our obsession. We must think of education as relevant for everyone everywhere — at all ages and in all conditions of life." ~ John William Gardner
This quote prompted me to develop Rose Colored Glasses and the associated "Hitchhikers Guide to Course Development" as resources for educators and course developers. My hope is that others will create additional teaching and learning tools that can be accessed by everyone everywhere.... JoAnn
'A shared vision is not an idea...it is rather, a force in people's hearts...at its simplest level, a shared vision is the answer to the question 'What do we want to create?' Peter Senge