Wikis: student-centered learning. Good for making the students the experts. It would be cool to give each students an objective for research which, on its own, is incomplete. Then each student would contribute his expertise to the wiki. The class’s contributions would come together and give the reader the big picture.
“Wiki etiquette” would need to be taught; removing others’ contributions is not acceptable, formal English, positive and constructive comments only, etc.

I read a blog about the use of cellular phones in a classroom. I’d like to see students use their full capabilities to complete their classwork; it is the classwork that needs to changed based on the tools available to them. Our generation of teachers will be the ones to either pioneer our students’ usage of new tools and information streams, or to stick our heads in the sand. If we choose the latter, public schools run the risk of becoming irrelevant. Their jobs and lives when they finish school will be in a connected world; disconnecting them at school does them a disservice.

At what point do we consider removing filtration and teaching students skills to cope with an internet which is filled with things they ought not see? It opens up a huge can of writhing worms and I don’t know how to handle it, but I think eventually we’ve got to find a way to do it. Any ideas? Any research on this topic? Will it ever be possible or even desirable? It would represent a HUGE shift in thinking for our schools and our nation.