Tools+for+Online+Engagement+and+Communication

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This chapter combines two sections on relatively new technologies, blogs and wikis, with a third on digital storytelling, to introduce the possibilities of creating sets of many-to-many relations within and between classes, and to encourage educators to take up blogs, wikis, and digital storytelling in their classrooms as a way of returning to a state of "beginner's mind". These tools are not only powerful in and of themselves, but may have even greater potential when used together. The first section on blogs argues that they may be the best all-round tool for computer-mediated communication (CMC), allowing learners and educators alike to build their online identities in a semi-enclosed space from which they can venture out on their own terms to engage with others. The following section on wikis points to possibilities of using these powerful tools for collaboration, suggesting that in many cases wikis work better when learners and educators already have a solid foundation in blogging. This section outlines work that attempts to merge the functions of blogs and wikis, and highlights issues associated with usability and flow. The third section takes up digital storytelling, to walk educators through the process of planning and creating their own stories, and to prepare them to teach their students how to do the same. The process of assembling various media and pieces of information into a story encourages deep learner engagement, and can be a wonderfully effective way to master curricular content, while helping to encourage development of computer literacy. Blogs, wikis, and digital media are but a narrow selection of the tools for online engagement, but we feel they cast a wide enough net to familiarize readers with some of the options that now exist.

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