Readings for "Communications with Wikis, Blogs and Podcasts"

       It is a little embarrassing for me to admit that before this class (and specifically this section of the class), I had not the faintest idea of what either a wiki or a podcast was. Whenever someone brought up the subject, I would usually get by with nodding my head and vague phrases like, "No, I haven't heard of that podcast, but I have a friend in theater who has a great one!...". Dark days indeed.
       Thank God I have a definition now from "Classroom Connection": a podcast is "an audio or video file that is automatically delivered over a network and then played back on another computer". Finally, I can participate in a conversation about podcasts and know what I'm talking about. I enjoyed how the article "Podcasting in the Classroom" made the point that podcasts allow teachers to utilize what they once had to confiscate--cell phones, mp3's, etc. And not only that, but students can present projects through the medium of podcasts, or just use podcasts to track the progress of an ongoing project (2). In Thompson's article, he brought up the usefullness of google.docs, and how such networking gives a teacher and students confidence in themselves, as well as a sense of team effort. I believe podcasts can operate in a similar way. Podcasts can be used to not only show the progression of a project, but also serve to remind a student body that there still remains much creativity even in assignments as simple as "pretend you are interviewing Abraham Lincoln on the eve of the Civil War".
       The second item I have only recently come to understand is a Wiki. A Wiki, I've learned, is a website that allows a group of people to discuss, add and edit content. It is a great exercise for class discussion, most importantly because it can take place outside  the classroom. Koopman's article points out that a Wiki would allow a student who says "I always think of something smart to say after the discussion is over!" to harness an idea and send it out any time to her peers for evaluation and criticism (2). Again, the focus is on individuals working collaboratively; every student's idea contributes to a larger whole that will hopefully encompass the entire range of the class's syllabus and expectations. Speaking specifically for me, I found the suggestion in Morgan's and Smith's article the most in creating a Wiki for my own academic purposes. They said it is important to organize the Wiki based on subject; not every Wiki is a jumble of scattered information. Also, I appreciate that Wikis normally have links to other related Wikis (4). Such a relationship on the Internet seems to assure a student that there will never be a case where they are left behind in an intellectual desert. There will always be some way back to collaboration and information.