Page 220 - DCAP609_CLOUD_COMPUTING

Unit 14: Collaborating via Blogs and Wikis

The identity of those who are able to edit or add content. If it is a select group, try to Notes
determine if they have expertise in the wiki’s topic.

Changes to the page appear reasonable.
The material you are interested in cites sources that you can use to double-check the
information.

There are guidelines for contributors to follow.
There is monitoring of content by those responsible for the wiki, and you can determine
who these authors are (often you can’t).

The currency of the edits. Some wiki platforms offer a “History” or similar tab that allows
you to view a sequential list of changes.

Self Assessment

Fill in the blanks:
13. A ……………………….. is a publishing platform on which many people can contribute
new content and revise existing content.
14. Some wiki technologies use a …………………… interface with toolbars, completely
removing the need for detailed technical knowledge.
15. ………………………………………. means that wikis can be simple or complex to meet
user needs and skill levels.

Case Study Learning with Blogs and Wikis

ew ideas about teachers' professional growth resonate with me more than those of
Richard Elmore, professor of educational leadership at Harvard, who has gone as
Ffar as to argue that school structures make learning for adults unlikely at best and
nothing short of impossible at worst. In a 2002 report for the Albert Shanker Institute,
Elmore wrote, as expectations for increased student performance mount and the
measurement and publication of evidence about performance becomes part of the public
discourse about schools, there are few portals through which new knowledge about teaching
and learning can enter schools; few structures or processes in which teachers and
administrators can assimilate, adapt, and polish new ideas and practices; and few sources
of assistance for those who are struggling to understand the connection between the
academic performance of their students and the practices in which they engage.
So the brutal irony of our present circumstance is that schools are hostile and inhospitable
places for learning. They are hostile to the learning of adults and, because of this, they are
necessarily hostile to the learning of students.

To assert that schools are hostile to learning is a bold statement-but if you've worked in
education for any length of time, chances are you were nodding your head as you read
Elmore's thoughts. Adult learning is often pushed aside in schools as educators sprint
through the day, worried about leaving no child behind.

Contd....

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