skypecast + chat + wikis

This afternoon I participated in a discussion about the use of wikis in education; an interview with Vicky Davis who talked about her school wiki, and Adam Frey, one of the creators of wikispaces. I was interested in the topic, but more interested in the modes of communication and collaboration used - a combination of new technologies. We joined a skypecast at an advertised time, used chat to contribute comment or questions during the interview, and contributed to a wiki created on the topic.

There were around 18 people involved, mostly American educators, but also at least three of us from outside the US. The session worked seemlessly, with 10 or 15 minutes of question and answers at the end. It is clear to me that this would be an effective (and free) way to provide targeted professional learning sessions, with the session also then available as a podcast for those who can’t attend at the time.

The use of a wiki also enables the development of a shared record of the discussion. This could be further enhanced - we could have added comment on our own experiences as we listened, and provided links to wikis in education that we knew about.