Driscoll,+Rosemary

A Presentation to the Administration and PTO, Edward R. Martin Middle School Rosemary Driscoll, Library Media Specialist Joan O'Halloran, 8th Grade Science Teacher

We would like to introduce to you Web 2.0 technology, a group of tools that can benefit the Martin Middle School community of students, teacher, and parents. Specifically, we ask you to consider allowing the implementation of two tools – web logs (blogs) and wikis.

A blog is an online journal where users can comment on the postings of the administrator of the blog, as well as the comments of blog participants and only the administrator can edit. In an educational setting, blogs can provide students with a space for sharing, discussing, and collaborating on classroom work. A wiki is software which allows users to create and edit web page content. Blogs and wikis allow users to hyperlink additional information to their posts. Administrators of blogs and wikis have the ability to preview and approve all postings and edits prior to publishing. Blogs and wikis may be public – viewed by everyone, or private – accessed by authorized users, at the discretion of the administrator.

Software: We would suggest using www.blogger.com and www.wikispaces.com software. Both offer easy to follow tutorials for set-up and customizing of pages and both are free.

Wikis facilitate learning in several ways. Students can work on group projects at school or at home. Their research and work is saved on the wiki and accessible from any computer. Assignments, course materials, study guides, etc. can be posted on the class wiki with internet access. Useful articles, websites, videos, tutorials and other resources can be placed on a wiki and accessed from any computer with internet access. The following is an example of a biology teacher’s wiki: www.youngbiology.wikidot.com. Wikis give students as well as teachers the ability to develop their own page on an approved topic. Visit www.123biology.wetpaint.com for an example of a student-created biology page, complete with animations and educational games.

The capacity to use blogs opens up the possibility for students to communicate with scientists who are actively involved in collecting and analyzing data. The Polar Science Project, http://www.polar06.yesican-projects.ca/Blog/, is an outstanding example of scientists and students using a blog to communicate and collaborate. The blog is hosted by McMaster University. It connects students and teachers with 2 teams of scientists studying Weddell seals in the Antarctic. Students correspond as well as follow scientists as they conduct real-time research.

After taking a graduate course on “Using Blogs and Wikis to Foster Literacy,” it is clear to us that this technology is not only here to stay but can be harnessed by educators in an exciting and beneficial way. Additionally, this technology is currently being used on a daily basis by our students through sites like MySpace, Facebook, and Wikipedia with the benefit of guidance. Our students need tools with which to sift through, evaluate, and organize vast amounts of information. Starting this process at the middle school level makes sense.

Reading, viewing and listening to examples of students using these technologies convinced us that those students are more engaged in content, have more meaningful practice writing and thinking critically, and appear more motivated to learn. For examples of teachers currently using these technologies in their classrooms, please visit the following sites:

www.teacherlibrarianwiki.pbwiki.com This is a site for teacher librarians to share information and best practices in information literacy. It also provides a wealth of information and links to research and literature sources. http://calaisbluedevils.pbwiki.com/ An example of how a middle school in Maine is using a wiki across the curriculum

www.westwood.wikispaces.com/ This is an example of a wiki being used by a school district in Georgia. It is maintained by a computer science teacher with information for her classes but Has district wide news and information as well.

http://primaryextension.wikispaces.com/ This is classroom wiki that is devoted to global warming and climate change issues.

http://stanleyyelnats.wikispaces.com/ A very cool wiki based entirely on the classic book Holes by Louis Sachar, a great example of using a wiki to examine a work of fiction in the classroom.

Mrs. O’Halloran and I would like to set up wikis and blogging for an end of the year project for House B 8th grade students. Student permission slips will be sent home for parents to sign as well as an explanation of this technology. The Decades Project is a multidisciplinary project that requires students, in small groups, to research significant events in a chosen decade relating to math, science, social studies, and English. The research will be conducted in the library media center with Mrs. Driscoll instructing and helping students create their wikis and blogs. Upon completion of this project, we hope to expand these wikis to include relevant organizers, tutorials, assignments/rubrics, and showcase student work with student-generated descriptions of current topics in class.

Recent SALT visit findings revealed that parents feel that communication with teachers concerning their children needs improvement. It is our hope that using wikis and blogs will provide a venue for improving parent involvement and communication between parents and teachers. Classroom wikis and blogs can be accessed from home where parents can see student work and progress. We believe that using this technology will improve writing and research skills. While writing scores at Martin Middle School are sub par and need improvement, we feel that writing on blogs and wikis will improve students’ writing through practice and revision.

Potential roadblocks to using this technology in the district include:

• Blogging is currently blocked in the district • Access to working computers in teachers’ classrooms is limited • Faculty will need to be introduced to and trained in using this technology • Parents need to be informed and need to support this initiative • Issues of online safety need to be addressed and assuaged • Issues of educational relevance

Potential solutions to these roadblocks include:

• Student safety will be addressed with a user policy signed by parents. Bad behavior online will result in consequences. Permissions for use of blogs and wikis will be in place when students create them. Outside users will not be permitted. When necessary, students can use pseudonyms. • With the help of the Martin administration, an appeal to the director of technology for the City of East Providence will be made regarding unblocking Blogger. • Mrs. O’Halloran and Mrs. Driscoll will offer professional development after school for faculty interested in learning more about wikis and blogs and how to use them effectively in the classroom • Working computers in all of the classrooms remains an issue. Mrs. Driscoll had received computers over the years with grant money. If this continues, older computers from the library can be passed along to teachers in need. • A bibliography of relevant articles is attached to this proposal concerning educational relevance of using blogs and wikis in the classroom.

Suggested software for implementation of Web 2.0 includes:

• Blogger • Blogmeister • Wikispaces

Rosemary Driscoll Library Media Specialist Edward R. Martin Middle School East Providence, RI rdriscoll@epschoolsri.com In collaboration with the 8th grade House B team, I will be working with 8th grade students to develop wikis for their final assignment. This unit will span the final four weeks of school and is multidisciplinary. Specifically, the unit is an exploration of decades. Students are grouped heterogeneously together to research and investigate their assigned decade. Each group will have specific criteria to meet including: Entertainment, Literature, Politics, Science/Technology ** Goals ** My first goal is to foster opportunities for students to develop critical thinking skills in terms of accessing and using information. That is, through instruction and the use of checklists and evaluation forms, students will access, select, evaluate, and use information in order to create an informative wiki. My second goal for this unit is to expose students to the creation and use of wikis. Specifically, students will learn how to create a wiki for a classroom assignment and gain an understanding of using wikis to enhance their learning experiences. ** Standards ** The standards used for this component of the unit will be the Information Literacy Standards for Student Learning, prepared by the American Association of School Libraries, Association for Educational Communications and Technology. Information Literacy.doc ** Library Lesson One: Using an Online Database ** Information Literacy Standard 1, the student who is information literate accesses information efficiently and effectively. Information Literacy Standard 2, the student who is information literate evaluates information critically and competently. Information Literacy Standard 3, the student who is information literate uses information accurately and creatively. Information Literacy Standards for Student Learning.doc ** Goals ** Students will use the library computers to access Word Book Online via the East Providence Public Library website using the MMS library card. ** PreActivities ** Students will brainstorm ideas about the best online source for looking up information on decades, including major events, discoveries, inventions, people, popular culture, sports, etc. After students decide that Google is the best way, Mrs. Driscoll will explain about using the online databases available to them through the East Providence Public Library. Among the available databases is World Book Online. I tell students that this is what we’ll be using for today’s exercise. Students now brainstorm the best search terms to use for looking up decade information. Perhaps using terms like “The Sixties, the 1960s, Decades, History of The Twenties.” presearch worksheet.doc ** Procedure ** Students will open Internet Explorer and go to website: [|www.Eastprovidencelibrary.org] Students will click on Library Catalog Students will click on Reference Resource Center Students will click on Access World Book Online from Home Students type in barcode number written on white board Students type in search terms in search box to find information IL Standard 2, 3 ** Goals ** Students need to look critically at Internet websites in order to determine what reliable, valid information looks like. This is a skill not limited to information on the Internet but applies to book, magazine, and other sources of information as well. This lesson will have students look at websites with a critical eye with specific criteria to use as a guide. ** Preactivity ** Ask students what they prefer to use to look up information for school assignments. After they reply “using Google,” explore the possibilities of other sources of information. Ask student if all of the information they find on the Internet can be reliable. Discuss and have students take notes on the potential problems with using the Internet for research, for example: **Authorship.** Is the page written by a paid sponsor? Is the page sponsored by a university or government organization? A third grade class? **Currency** Does the page offer dates? How current is the source? Does it matter for your project? **Relevance** Does the website really answer your question? Does the website provide links to further information? Does the website offer a variety of types of information like, video clips, podcasts, and pictures? **Appearance** Is the website easy to navigate? Is it easy to access? Have students go to three or more websites on a topic of their choice. Distribute website evaluation form for students to fill out. website evaluation form.doc ** Assessment ** After completion of website evaluation for, students regroup and discuss results in class. ** Extension Activity ** Create your own website evaluation tool and compare it to the checklist provided in class. Information Literacy Standards 1, 2, 3 AASL Information Literacy Standards for Student Learning.doc| ** Goals ** Students will use library computers to access the Internet for information on their decade’s projects. Students will find one article, one blog, one podcast, and one wiki. ** Pre-Activities  ** Students will fill out preresearch worksheet to choose key words, search terms and phrases Mrs. Driscoll provides an overview of Boolean operators: AND, OR, NOT Students will brainstorm what they know and don’t know about Blogs, Podcasts, and Wikis Brainstorming.doc ** Procedure  ** Students open Internet Explorer, go to Google Students use previously identified key words, search terms and phrases to search Google For information on their topics Students find ten events for their topic Students choose two of those events to research further Students will create a folder to save and organize their information (pictures, podcasts, and videocasts) for use on their wikis In addition, students will use graphic organizer to gather information and make research notes Research Notes.doc
 * Introduction **
 * Research assigned decade in one of four categories:
 * Find **TEN** events on your topic
 * Become an expert on 2
 * List ten events on the wiki
 * Write one page on two of these events and post on wiki
 * Library Lesson 2 Evaluating a Website **
 * Procedure **
 * Library Lesson 3 Using Internet Sources **

** Assessment  ** Teacher fills out assessment checklist Assessment Checklist.doc Library Lesson 4 Creating a Wiki IL Standard 2-2 AASL Information Literacy Standards for Student Learning.doc Students will create and use a wiki using the computers in the media center. ** Materials ** LCD Projector/Laptop Whiteboard ** Preactivity ** Ask student if they’ve ever heard the word wiki. Most will answer yes, they’ve used wikipedia. Ask students what they think a wiki is. Write responses on whiteboard. ** Procedure ** Students use computers in the library with Mrs. Driscoll and Mrs. O’Halloran to learn about wikis through online demonstration using laptop and Projector. The following website will be used to demonstrate: http://coollesson.wikispaces.com/How-to-use-a-wiki Wiki Grading Rubric.doc ** Bibliography ** American Library Association. American Association of School Libraries. __ Information Literacy Standards For Student Learning __ “How To Use A Wiki.” http://coollessons.wikispaces.com/How-to-use-a-wiki (April 29, 2008). Hefler, Norma. __Information Literacy and Technology__ Englewood, CO : Libraries Unlimited, 2001. “Teacher Tap: Evaluating Internet Resources.”http://eduscapes.com/tap/topic32.htm “21st Century Literacies: Lesson Evaluating Websites.” http://www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/21stcent/index.html (April 27, 2008).
 * Goals **
 * Assessment **