I found this article titled “Blogs and wikis: Environments for on-line collaboration.” It is written by Robert Godwin-Jones at Virginia Comonwealth University (VCU) and published in the journal of Language, Learning & Technology. Dr. Godwin-Jones is the chairperson of Foreign Language Department at VCU.
Dr. Godwin-Jones introduces second generation Web tools of blogs, wikis, and RSSs and talks about their use in language learning. He defines first generation Web tools as asynchronous ones like e-mails and discussion forums, and synchronous ones like chat rooms.
Then he describes and gives examples on the use of these new technologies. As he stated “Blogs are well suited to serve as on-line personal journals for students, particularly since they normally enable uploading and linking of files. Language learners could use a personal blog, linked to a course, as an electronic portfolio, showing development over time. By publishing the blog on the Internet, the student has the possibility of writing for readers beyond classmates, not usually possible in discussion forums.” (p. 2).
On the other RSS (really simple syndication) “supplies rich meta-data about Web-based resources, which can then be automatically retrieved and cataloged by RSS software, such as amphetaDesk or NetNewsWire, usually described as news readers or news aggregators.” (p. 3).Wikis (WikiWikliWeb – wiki wiki is Hawaiian for “quick”) are other online collaboration tools and “they feature a loosely structured set of pages, linked in multiple ways to each other and to Internet resources and an open-editing system in which anyone can edit any page (by clicking on the "edit this page" button).” (p. 3).
At the end Dr. Godwin-Jones finishes with a list of Web resource list for computer-mediated communication, chat and discussion forums, blogs, RSS, and wikis.
Reference: Godwin-Jones, R. (2003).Blogs and wikis: Environments for on-line collaboration. Language, Learning & Technology, 7(2), 12-17.
Here is my discussion provoker question: Do you think these technologies provide collaborative environments? And how are they different than online discussion groups or chat rooms?
2 comments:
I like that article Deborah - this is a cool portion:
One of the more interesting new uses of mobile devices is moblogging or mobile blogging. Dave Winer, a well-known blogger and programmer, defines it this way: "Moblogging is any activity that occurs away from your normal blog-writing place whose purpose is to create content for your blog." The idea is that new posts to a blog can come from a digital camera, PDA, or cell phone, with text and/or pictures sent through wireless networks to update a blog. This becomes particularly compelling now that so many mobile phones also sport digital cameras, and some include the ability to shoot short videos. Blogging software, such as TypePad, have made it relatively easy to moblog. Kablog is a tool for use with the popular Movable Type blog software. As opposed to other services which send the new entry by e-mail or text messaging, Kablog allows users to log on directly to their sites for updating. Nokia has developed new software (Lifeblog) to enable blog posting from Nokia phones. The possibilities for moblogging in on-line journals (study abroad!) or field trips are compelling
Hi Deborah,
As Dr. Shea pointed out there are new technologies being released to market everyday. It is hard to keep track of them. However as you stated most of them are useful for creating online collaboration environments whether it is done through computers, palms, digital cameras, or cell phones. As educators we should utilize the available resources to their fullest potentials.
Asil
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