Posted June 2008 Blogs, wikis inspire reflection and group work
		Oftentimes, asking students to write their own reflective journals meets a sea of blank expressions. While some students might be initially interested, only the very motivated tend to continually make entries. Students can use blogs to convey their own reflections and learnings. The answer: blogs. Blogs (also called web logs) are one of the fastest growing communication tools on the Internet. At their simplest, blogs are personal web spaces for writing. They merge the personal aspect of a traditional reflective journal with the immediacy of publishing to the internet and the added benefit of giving others the chance to contribute. Students can use them to convey their own reflections and learnings and link to websites to support their thinking and research. Blogs on the Internet can contain inappropriate content for students. Education Queensland’s eLearning environment is the Learning Place. Teachers and students can use the Learning Place to set up their own blogs and make them password protected. This ensures the duty of care for students.

One enthusiastic convert to blogs is Queensland Academy of Health Sciences English teacher Rosalie Everest. Rosalie uses Learning Place blogs, which she feels are a far superior to paper-based journals.

‘The public nature of blogs encourages students to make entries. Friends can post comments, inspiring dialogue between students.

‘This tends to have a viral effect. When students read their friends’ blogs, they are more inspired, challenged and motivated to make entries.’

Another ICT generating excitement in classrooms throughout the state is the wiki. Wikis are web spaces where students and teachers can work together to build and publish information and content, making them ideal for group projects.

Teachers can set up wikis within the Learning Place’s learning management system, Blackboard, and allow two students, a whole class or many classes to work together.

Years 5 to 7 students at Bellevue Park State School are using a wiki to develop a script for a play. With a wiki, the students can work together to comment about and make changes to the play as they write it.

Another group of students has used a wiki to develop a dictionary of war words to celebrate Anzac Day. After their teacher developed a list of words and posted these to the wiki, the students, of Windaroo Valley State High School, searched internet dictionaries to choose the best-possible definitions. The wiki enabled the students to pose, comment on and edit their definitions until everyone was happy with the end result.

Their teacher then created a series of fun, interactive learning objects such as online crosswords and hang-man type games that tested their newfound knowledge. The students enjoyed the games because they helped develop them through their wiki work.

They can also use the Learning Place to create their own interactive learning activities using StudyMate.

To find out more about using StudyMate to create interactive activities, become a member of the Learning Place’s Teaching in Blackboard web community.