Blogs Everywhere

It is amazing how many places I have noticed blogs and other Web2.0 tools popping up after taking this course. I was channel surfing late at night and landed on CSpan. There was coverage of the yearly KOS Blogger Convention. I am not pushing a certain party (registered independent), but it was an interesting use of blogging. I didn’t even know this group existed. Here is another article about it. There was an advertisement for a person who is blogging about building a house on HGTV. She blogs each day about the progress she makes. I think there was also some contest connected with it. Another recent example was an introduction to new Apple software – ILife 08. There are components that were touted as being Web2.0. There are some features that are at least friendly to Web2.0. IPhoto and Mac.com have new features that are awesome, as well as IMovie. There are direct links to Mac.com and Youtube to post your video from IMovie. Mac.com has some new powerful features, but still has the $100 cost. Again all of this points out to me how far I have come in understanding at least the rudiments of Web2.0 from where I was a month ago.
David

Assessment

Assessment is a hot topic in these days of accountability. It is important and there has been a shift in the methods of assessment. This should be reflected in the way that students’ use of Web 2.0 tools is assessed. At the elementary level I would expect students to be involved with the assessment. Students could pick a blog post, wiki edit/contribution, or collaborative project component and evaluate it using a rubric. The student could then choose an entry, maybe the same one, for the teacher to read and evaluate based on a rubric. A number requirement could also be part of the assessment. The number and focus of posts is part of our assessment for this course and is mentioned in Richardson’s book Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts (pg. 49). In New Hampshire there is a new state expectation (not mandate) for all districts to implement e-portfolios from K-12. At our school students are collecting artifacts and completing self-evaluations. Fourth graders are pulling the portfolio together and it is saved and sent to the middle school. A few blog posts, wiki projects, or podcasts could and should be part of these portfolios. Imagine a high school senior hearing a podcast created in second, fourth and eight grades. The same growth could be demonstrated in the level of their blog post throughout the years.
David