Instructors can cultivate collaborative learning and interaction between students, between students and their instructor, and with the course content through the use of blogs, wikis and journal activities.
Blogs
Blogs (short for “web logs”) are a type of website that is maintained by a single author or group of contributors. A blog is a collection of entries (or “posts”) of commentary, news or descriptions of events, and may include text, links, photos or video. The entries are commonly arranged in reverse chronological order, with the most recent post appearing on top. On the Internet, blogs are generally public to the world, although they may also be geared to smaller, more defined groups. Readers are able to respond to posts by leaving comments. One example of a group blog is Crooked Timber, a political blog run by a group of academics from around the world. Good ideas for using blogs in teaching and learning include encouraging reactions to class readings, course content or current news events; or for following up on class discussions with relevant links or materials.
Explore ideas about how to create blogs in Canvas.
Wikis
Wikis are a series of linked Web pages collaboratively created by many authors. They are collections of information organized with one topic per page of the wiki, and are available to the world to read and often to write. One of the most well-known wikis on the Internet is Wikipedia. Wikis can be used in teaching and learning to build a glossary of terms, create a knowledge base, write a collaborative document, create a collection of clarifications or explanations, organize signups for class presentations, or show the steps for working out specific problems in a math or science course. They are extremely flexible.
Explore ideas about how to create wikis in Canvas.
Journals
Journals, like diaries, are personal reflections. Ideas for using journals for teaching and learning include student reflections on internships, service-learning experiences, field work, or specific course assignments. They can also be a great addition to students’ e-portfolios.
Explore ideas about how to create journal assignments in Canvas.