ART 331: Technology in Art Education

Visual Arts EducationEastern Michigan University

Ashlee BuecheKristin Mikula

Sarah NeedhamStephen Johnson

Collaborative Teaching: Web 2.0:

Wikis and RSS Feed Readers

What is a Wiki? A Wiki is simply a website where anyone can edit anything anytime they want.

The Wiki most familiar to us is Wikipedia.com.

The concept behind Wikipedia is that “everyone together is smarter than anyone alone”.  

Wikis put the power in the hands of everyone. Anyone can be the editor of a Wiki.

How can Wikis benefit students?

Editorial control and responsibility

Exercise and hone their ability to collaborate with one another

Negotiate with one another

Acts as a resource, showcase, or an articulation tool

How does a Wiki work?

Wiki pages all have the same basic features‘EDIT’ button

‘SAVE’ button

1. Log in to Wiki page

2. Click EDIT

3. Enter content

4. Click

How can a Wiki be used in the classroom?

Demonstration of student knowledge

Keeping students up to date on classroom activities

Wikis can be used for any subject or topic:Notes-from-class

Artist-report

History of the community/school

Class Wikis created by the students

How-to

Wiki Resources:

www.wikia.com

www.wikispaces.com

www.pbworks.com

www.wetpaint.com

www.wikipedia.com

www.wikijunior.com

www.webnote.com

Wikis in Plain English

What is an RSS Feed Reader?

It is a quick and easy way to see the latest updates of your favorite blogs, websites, or wiki

The user subscribes to whatever blog/website/wiki that is of interest to them

Instant updates

Saves timeFamiliar example of an RSS Feed Reader:

How to set up a Feed Reader…

There are 2 simple steps for setting up a RSS Feed Reader:

1. Get an account. You can get an account from:     www.google.com/reader     http://www.bloglines.com

2. Set up subscriptions to your favorite blogs or news sites. 

How Feed Readers Work

Using RSS Feed Readers in the Art

ClassroomSome classrooms have Weblogs.  The Reader then allows students and teachers to keep track of updates fellow classmates have made to the website.

Readers also allow students to search by topic.  On Google Reader, students can search for a topic they are researching in class and get the latest article updates.

RSS Feed Reader Resources:

  www.google.com/reader

   www.bloglines.com

RSS Feed Readers in Plain English

References:• Common Craft. Wikis in Plain English. May 29th, 2007. Online

Video Clip. January 18th, 2010. <http://www.commoncraft.com/video-wikis-plain-english>

• Common Craft. RSS in Plain English. April 23rd, 2007. Online Video Clip. January 18th, 2010. <http://www.commoncraft.com/ rss_plain_english>

• Davis, Vicki. Westwood Schools. November 30th, 2005. January 18th 2010. <http://westwood.wikispaces.com/>

• Richardson, Will. Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classroom. Corwin Press, California. 2009.

• Wikipedia.com. Wikis. January 18th 2010. <http://en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/Wiki>