Wednesday, January 4, 2012

What's a Wiki? What's a Blog? What's Google Doc?

Okay, you'll hear a lot about all three of these--wikis, blogs, and Google docs--throughout this course, EDUC 584. Here are some videos to help you understand more about each of these wonderful collaborative, multi-media tools.

What's A Wiki in Simple English?




Did this video give you a good sense of what is wiki is?

Now, take a look at this video about What's a Blog in Plain English:




Okay, now you know more about wikis and blogs, and you now have an idea of how they differ and also overlap in specific ways.

Now, let's take a look at What's Google Docs:




Now, you have heard in plain English what's a wiki, a blog, and Google docs. Some of you already knew about all these tools, some of you probably knew about one or two, and for others, perhaps all three were new to you.

Overall, did you find these videos helpful? More videos about each of these tools and how to use them will be added to the Instructional Technology blog, so be sure to keep checking. In the meantime, what more do you want to know about any one of these tools? How can you see these tools being used in educational settings?

If you have used any of these tools, let us know how? If you already have a blog, with what blogging tool did you create it? For instance, did you use Blogger, EduBlog, WordPress, Tumblr, or one of other blogging platforms available? Have you used a wiki tool like Wikispaces? Have you experimented or made regular use of Google Docs? If you are using any of these authoring tools, let us know how easy and effective you find what you've used or are now using.

14 comments:

  1. Hope you liked these videos. I found they explained simply what each of these tools do and how to use them. Although the videos might be a few years old, they still are relevant, and I also appreciate the peppy voice in them.

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  2. The videos were helpful!

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  3. The videos were great! I can't wait to learn more about each of these, and actually try them out. :)

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  4. I have used blogs in my other class through the use of blogger and a ning. I currently use blogging in my class for the students and I am using kidblog. All these tools I find user friendly. I also have used Google Docs but not to its full extent.

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  5. The videos were helpful. I have heard of all three, however, never used them. Google Docs seems to be more complicated....I heard about it during student teaching and all the teachers in the department had trouble using it.

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  6. I have never used any of these tools, but was recently considering starting a blog after seeing a friends. I had heard of blogs and wikis during my student teaching but never used them.

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  7. I have never created a blog but have participated in blogs. I have been told about Google Docs and recently set up my 7th graders with accounts. I am excited to begin implementing Google docs in the classroom. I do not have much experience with it, but hope to learn a lot through this course which I can take back with me to my classroom.

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  8. I think the videos are very informative, especially for novice bloggers, wiki users and Google doc users like me. I can see how these can be useful, but I tend to be on the proprietary side and prefer to have documents on my own hard drive so that I have easy access to them.

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  9. I have not used Blogs or any blog programs. I have attended lots of different workshops where I have practiced creating blogs at the workshops. I do not have my own wiki either. I have attended technology workshops where they have gone over the process for creating wikis however. My district in Ashford uses google docs to communicate with the staff at the school. I have had minimal experience however.

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  10. I found the videos helpful. I work with students in Bloomfield who use Wikispace often. I thought it was just a way for them to send messages to other classmates and their teacher but similar to sending an email.

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  11. I found the videos explained what blogs, wikis and google docs in a clear and concise way. It takes you step by step and is easy to follow. I am looking forward to learning to use new tools to communicate.

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  12. I have never used a blog. My district uses Google Doc, but not being to familiar with it I have resorted to using the "uncool" attachments. I currently have a Grade level Wiki with a partner school. We did not create the Wiki, it was created for us. We used it once and have yet to add to it.

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  13. These videos were very helpful. I have always been a person whose been up to date with the latest. After learning more and being introduced to blogs and Google docs, I feel like I'm not up to date! I think these tools are helpful to collaborate with other professionals and educators out there. I've only begun to comment on blogs in another technology course; therefore, I'm looking forward to learning how to incorporate it into the classroom. I have had minimal experience working with a wiki tool and I find it beneficial to be able to log in and edit and save. I feel it is much more convenient than emailing continuously back and forth.

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  14. Just read the chapter on wikis from Richardson. These videos are also helpful for people to see the difference between blogs and wikis. I can see great benefits to both! It's nice to have one designated page where multiple people can visit and comment in one area. Makes things much easier as far as communicating!

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