Ideas for blogs and wikis in the Ultranet

1. Collaboration in the Ultranet
Ideas for Blogs/Wikis and
Message Boards

2. Journals
• – Many require their students to write regular
journal entries. Blogs make it easier for
students to write and edit these posts and for
teachers to read and respond to them.

3. Book reports, literature circles
• Students often are expected to summarize and
react to books and other materials they’ve read.
Doing this in the form of a blog encourages
students to revise and rewrite their thoughts. It
also allows other students to comment on the
work of their classmates.

4. Creative writing assignments, short
stories, poetry
• A blog can be a great way to showcase student
writing, again with the options for other
students and even parents to comment on the
work.

5. Display and discussion of student
art work/photography
• since pictures, video and audio can be
embedded within a blog post, showcasing
student work doesn’t have to be limited to their
writing.

6. Student portfolios
• Blogs are excellent tools to keep an ongoing
record of student work since they offer an easy
way to categorize the assignments and find
them later.

7. Class discussions, current events
• – Time for discussion in class is limited and
some students may not feel comfortable
participating. Extending this process to a blog
allows everyone to participate, often with more
thought and a richness that’s not possible in
real time.

8. Class archive
• One student serves as the class recorder each
week, entering a summary of activities and
major learning. This provides help for students
who miss class and review materials for
everyone. The rest of the class can add
additional information and corrections in the
comments.

9. Role playing
• Students could write a blog in the voice of a
fictional or real life character and in the process
learn more about them.

10. Class newsletter
• Rather than the teacher producing a paper-
based record of what’s going on in class, a blog
would allow everyone in class to contribute. The
result is a living document with a built-in
archive.

11. Collaborative projects with another
class
• Classes anywhere in the world can work
together through one or more blogs.

12. Science experiment notebook
• Rather than have students keep a record of
their experiments on paper, a blog allows
students to enter and edit their finding from
anywhere

13. Post class assignments, upcoming
assignments, project help, calendars
and more
• Both students and parents can keep track of
what is expected and what deadlines are
looming.

14. Class suggestion box
• Asking students for feedback can be easily done
in a blog and allowing for comments could get
some interesting discussions started.

15. Communicate with parents
• A blog could provide parents with both
information and an option to comment.

16. Journal for teacher researcher
projects
• Rather than keep a paper journal that is seen
by only a few others, a blog offers to chance to
communicate with other teachers interested in
the same topics.

17. Tool for collaboration with
colleagues anywhere
• Extending that idea, blogs can be wonderful
tools for personal professional development
and a way to connect with other teachers.

18. Links and Videos
• Continue finding links, videos on teacher
tube, etc that are related to things you’re doing
in class and posting them on the blog.

19. Reflections
• Create discussion threads each week where
students reflect on what they have been
doing in class. Set aside some time each week to
look at what students have contributed so they
know the contributions are valued.

20. Reports
• Record students’ reading/oral skills and
upload them to the wiki so they can reflect on
their own ability to read/speak

21. Online Exercise Book
• Give students each a page where they can
complete writing tasks and edit them – an
“online exercise book”.

22. Photographs
• Photograph things that happen in class so
parents get a sense of what’s happening in the
classroom.

23. Exemplary student work
• Photograph/scan/record exemplary student
work and put them on a page (eg “Student
work of the week!”) and start discussions that
get students to identify the elements of that
work that make it exemplary.

24. • Create a middle unit newsletter once a
fortnight and pop it onto the wiki. Get students
to contribute to this.
•.