Unfortunately, however, very little of this research applies to the K-12 level where the rules and restrictions are dramatically different from college. And, as a friend recently wrote in an e-mail "If there was substantial evidence to prove blogs raise those [test] scores...you'd have a mad rush and EVERYONE would be taking the time to learn how to use this new medium effectively in the classroom." [Weblogg-ed News]

1:43:01 PM    

This Wired article talks about the benefits of working in groups: "The evidence is clear: groups -- whether top executives evaluating a potential acquisition or sales reps and engineers analyzing a new product -- will consistently make better decisions than an individual. Companies have spent too long coddling the special few. It's time for them to start figuring out how they're going to tap the wisdom of the many."

1:20:07 PM    

A short article outlining the importance of creating a taxonomy: "Creating a taxonomy should be central to any enterprise content strategy. Without that framework, even the best technology may not meet expectations because of the numerous intranet sites and discrete pieces of information it has no way of interconnecting."

1:14:48 PM    

There are many reasons for blogs in the classroom. The one that stands out for me most as I use a blog in my summer gender and literature class is that students get the opportunity to write about the texts that we read and to see and respond to what others in the class are writing. They seem to find affirmation that they are puzzled by, frustrated with, amused by, or totally hating the same things about the texts.

1:08:47 PM    

I don't know when it happened, but Wikipedia has a stylish new design in mostly valid XHTML 1.0 Transitional (the front page validates, some of the inside pages do not) with a CSS layout to boot. They even have an option to turn off the single layout table used on their home page. The site seems much easier to navigate now and the organisation of the front page is a masterpiece of information architecture. When you've got over 250,000 articles just in the English version providing a useful home page is going to be a challenge, but Wikipedia pulls it off with aplomb.

Every time I visit Wikipedia I find something else to be impressed by. This time round it was the Community Portal, which provides resources for Wikipedia contributors including Things you can do, an Article of the week, a Tip of the day and a myriad of other links. This is seriously well-organised content. It's interesting to see how they deal with the challenges of 250,000 items in a single namespace as well.

Their recent Webby award for best community was thoroughly deserved. And yes, they even encourage people to collaborate on writing their press releases.

8:53:06 AM