Proposals

Instructional Technology Conference 2009

Title: Wikis, Bookmarks, and Blogs - Oh My!

Name: Mary J. Nicholson, Ph.D.

Audience: Beginning to intermediate

Audience Level: All

Length: 1 Hour

Abstract: Learning communities, collaboration, interactivity - all of these are learning components we strive to include in our courses. Web 2.0 tools such as wikis, social bookmarking, and blogs now allow students to share information, learn to work as teams, guide their own learning, and shape their own skill sets. In this session guidelines and real examples of how these Web 2.0 tools are used to create wonderfully dynamic collaborative projects will be presented.

Description: Web 2.0 tools provide wonderful collaboration opportunities among individuals and create open learning environments. Posting information in a blog, working collaboratively in a wiki, sharing conversations in podcasts, interacting in virtual worlds, or creating mashups of electronic resources are ways teachers and students are changing the classroom experience. What are effective techniques and strategies for incorporating Web 2.0 tools into our face-to-face and online classes? How do we facilitate collaborative projects? How do we guide our students as they work with these tools? What types of projects can be incorporated into online asynchronous and synchronous learning environments? In this session we will present real examples of how teachers and students at Bloomsburg University in Pennsylvania use these Web 2.0 tools to create wonderfully dynamic collaborative projects. We will share our "tried and true"; techniques for setting up collaborative teams, maintaining shared resources via social bookmarking, establishing professional blogs, and building collaborative eBooks with a wiki. We will include the time management and communication protocols we have designed, the customized learning environments we have created, and the most effective teaching strategies that work in this Web 2.0 world. Real examples, case studies, and links to our web sites will be included in this presentation. Demonstrations and instructions on how the blogs, wikis, and social bookmarking sites were created and monitored will also be shown.

Session Type: Lecture/Presentation

On-Site Equipment Requirements: Projector that will connect to a laptop (I will have my own laptop)

Contact Information/Affiliation:
Mary J. Nicholson, Ph.D.
Bloomsburg University, PA
Department of Instructional Technology
2221 McCormick Center
400 E. 2nd Street
Bloomsburg University
Bloomsburg, PA 17815
mnichols@bloomu.edu
570.389.4940 (work phone)
570.854.1487 (home phone)