This is one method of supporting social co-construction of knowledge through collaborative communication. For example learners can read a novel that doesn’t have a complete ending, then write a last chapter, and post their submissions to a class blog for others to read and respond. Collaborating with other learners (authors) enhances their reading experience. This simple activity will help learners to think deeply about the book and about writing. It will also encourage them to write with a purpose, to think critically about what they write, to read what others have produced, and to compare their own work with the work of others. It is worth noting that having learners post their work on the Web inspires many of them to take their work more seriously by reflecting on what they are about to let many people read. (Jonassen, 1999)

Related articles

• Teaching Tips: Using Online Journals and Blogs – site maintained by eMINTS and the University of Missouri
• Using Blogs to Integrate Technology in the Classroom – page maintained by Glenco/McGraw-Hill
• Wikis – guidelines for integrating wikis into the curriculum can be found in the Wiki chapter of this book..

Integrating Oral Materials into Online Environments

• Apple Podcasting in Education Video Series – http://www.apple.com/education/resources/podcastingvideos/
• Educator’s Tips for podcasting – RECAP provides a series of “educator’s tips” covering a range of podcasting topics that are presented in a very concise way. The items are updated regularly and, where appropriate, they have included links to other web sites with further advice and information.
• Room 208 – Click on the Bit by Bit icon on the left-hand-side of the screen to listen to Bob Sprankle’s series of podcasts on how to podcast.
• Who’s Using Podcasting in Education and How – site maintained by Fordham University Center for Professional Development. http://www.podcastforteachers.org/Who’sUsingPodcastingInEducationAndHow.htm

Sources of Ready Made Podcasts

Here is a list of directories to educational podcasts. Educational podcasts range from university classes, to elementary school news, and from pay-per-download ebooks to free DIY (do it yourself) tutorials. All of these are worth checking out.

• Learn On The Go – Nice, clean interface; Nice organized list of university podcasts; Designed for public interest.
• Learn Out Loud – Includes a lot of pay-per-download audio books mixed in with the free stuff — made it somewhat confusing to me; Designed for public interest.
• Podcast Directory for Educators, Schools and Colleges – More educator and school-oriented (all levels) than the those above, though also includes professional training and learning about podcasting.
• The Education Podcast Network – Podcasts are listed by academic discipline so they can be used in classrooms and for home schooling. This one is the most school-oriented of these four directories.
• Open Culture: University Podcast Collection – A listing of links to university websites where podcasts can be found, with some comments on what is available.

• Educate – podcast directory for educators, schools, and colleges.
• Educational Feeds Directory
• Spoken Word – place to find and share audio and video recordings of spoken-word events and programs. SpokenWord.org is a directory and search engine of programs published elsewhere on the Web and submitted to our database by site users.