I think I will use my new wiki in my future classrooms, I am just really intrigued by the extra level of communication it allows me to have with my students. I also like how it gives me an opportunity to show them some of my personality and some of the more “just for fun” things I am interested in, and I’m hoping that if I structure its usage the right way they will begin to use it for fun too.
To be honest, I think the modifications I would make to it in order to be able to use this in my future classes would be to take a lot of the content down, at least in the beginning. High school student feel enough pressure from their classes and they don’t need to be overwhelmed with a class wiki that they’ve never seen before thats already loaded up with all this alien content. So I would start small. I would post a few fun things, maybe an interesting video and invite the students to visit one night for homework and leave a simple comment. I would gauge their reactions to the idea of incorporating this tool into the curriculum, and then slowly create a more expansive online atmosphere.
As for letting my students create their own wikis or blogs, again I think I would have to gauge their reaction. I really like the idea of putting at least some a students work up on a classroom or personal blog, but if the students are rejecting the idea then I would not feel right forcing it upon them.
I think my views of instructional technology have changed a lot. I remember reading chapter one of November just six weeks ago and thinking he was kinda nuts the way he was going on and on about "informating" but now I really see what he means. As I worked on my philosophy podcast and this final website project I understand the power technology has for making connections between individuals, and not just superficial connections, but meaningful connections that could never be achieved with out the aid of technology. It think using technology in this way really adds a more personal touch to education. Hahaha, Im laughing at myself now because I never thought I would be saying that the application of technology has a personal touch.
As I move forward I am still a little weary. I say that I am excited to create collaborative relationships via technology and the internet, but there are just so many tools and websites that provide these types of opportunities so i feel like I don't know where to start. I feel like I am definelty still a novice, but I also kind of feel like a kid in a candy store.
Well here it is, the sum of my six weeks here ... www.tcpcg2010educationtech.wikispaces.com
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