Collaborating+Tools

= = = **Blogs** = toc

**A blog is a website where entries are made in journal style and are displayed in reverse chronological order. Blogs often provide commentary or news on a particular subject, such as food, politics, or local news, some function as more personal online diaries.** **A typical blog combines text, images, links to other blogs, web pages and other media related to its topic. Most blogs are primarily textual although some focus on photographs, videos, or audio (podcasting) and are part of a wider network of social media.** **The term "blog" is a contraction of "Web log." "Blog" can also be used as a verb, meaning to maintain or add content to a blog.**

**Here are two examples of a blogging assignment the Year 8s undertook as part of their 'Reading in Pairs' assignment.**

media type="youtube" key="CrL6jTPaaLM" height="345" width="560" =** [|14 Steps to Meaningful Blogging] **= =** [|Blogs in Education] **= = = = **Vokis** = **[|Voki] is a free service that allows users to create talking avatars. After setting up a classroom account, students are able to record one minute messages and attach them to talking hot dogs, blood-sucking vampires, afro-sporting athletes or famous figures from history.** **Watch the intoductory video below: Here are some Vokis our Year 8 students recently created for their 'Reading in Pairs' assignment** media type="youtube" key="pZwQTm_5s6Q" height="345" width="560"media type="custom" key="11475176"media type="custom" key="11475252" = = =**Wikis**= media type="youtube" key="50MenxCNYAI" height="315" width="420"
 * Vokis are great for introducing or responding to blog posts. They are also great for short public service announcements on topics of interest **
 * Wikispaces is an excellent wiki platform with design features particularly suited to an education setting.**
 * In the role of organiser, teachers can choose to lock pages from further editing, assign projects to student groups, and manage privacy settings for the entire wiki, or for individual pages.**
 * Following is the first of a series of video tutorials produced by the Wikispaces Team. Each video addresses just one component of wiki creation and management, and is clearly and professionally presented. Choose the video that answers your questions about Wikispaces, either on the Wikispaces YouTube Channel, or directly through the Wikispaces website video channel.**
 * Wikispaces**
 * A wiki is a web publishing platform that allows people tp post information on any topic,edit and correct their own entries and other people's and collaborate to produce an online resource.**

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[|Wikispaces fro Educators]allows teachers to create student accounts that are safe,private and not requiring email addresses.[|Teachers First] have put together [|Wiki Walk-Through] to help teachers who are wanting to know more about wikis and how to use them in their classrooms. The [|‘Wiki ideas appropriate for most subjects and grade levels’] is also great for people who know the basics and want to know how to integrate wikis into their classroom teaching and student learning. The site gives some fantastic classroom ideas for maths, science, social studies, language arts, and other subjects.[|Wikis in the classroom]is an other excellent site that has an amazing number of tips and guidelines. = Other General resources for creating and using wikis: = .
 * Blog? Wiki? Docs? Which One Should I Use? This chart rocks! @http://bit.ly/d0GFOy
 * Wikispaces Tutorial [[image:http://c1.wikicdn.com/i/mime/32/application/pdf.png width="32" height="32" link="http://echucaelearning.wikispaces.com/file/view/Wikispaces+Wiki+Editing+Info+Page+Handout+PDF.pdf"]] [|Wikispaces Wiki Editing Info Page Handout PDF.pdf]
 * How to customize the sidebar of your wikispaces wiki []
 * Tips for when you are planning on getting students to use wikis in your classroom: []
 * Wikis: Ideas for the classroom [|http://www.upsidelearning.com/blog/index.php/2011/01/10/lms-wikis-unharnessed-potential/]
 * 50 ways to integrate and use wikis in your classroom []
 * Wikis in a K-12 Classroom []
 * Ten best practices for using wikis in your classroom []
 * 18 reasons to use a wiki for sharing learning materials __ @http://bit.ly/cx3jR7 __
 * A-Z of Educational Wikis - @http://bit.ly/nWUFC
 * 50 Ways to Use Wikis for a More Collaborative and Interactive Classroom: @http://tinyurl.com/ljttlk
 * Tools And Resources For Using Wikis In The Classroom: __ @http://bit.ly/cOtZ7f __
 * Good visual of using wikis in classrooms __ @http://yfrog.com/mhppyp __
 * 8 Ways to use Wiki in schools /classrooms @http://theinnovativeeducator.blogspot.com/2009/07/using-school-wiki-to-increase.html
 * 10 Best Practices for using wikis in education @http://bit.ly/3j4aBW

= **NING** = The central feature of Ning is that anyone can create their own [|social network] for a particular topic or need, catering to specific membership bases or community needs. People joining a Ning Network have their own profile pages within the community.
 * [|Ning]** is an online platform for people and organizations to create custom social networks.Ning appeals to people who want to create their own communities and social networks around specific interests with their own choice of features such as photos,videos, forums and blogs.