Year 9 ICT - a brand new approach to teaching

Well - new for me.
The emphasis in this whole unit will be on collaboration. We will focus on four units - blogging, wikis, podcasts and social networking.
Already we have covered blogging and I can see the benefits. Students have to make at least one blog entry per week and comment on someone else's blog each week. It has been terrific because

• I get some idea how much they are taking in
  
• I can see who is doing the work
• It is much easier to give feedback (in the form of comments)
• It is much easier to assess (as long as you have developed the criteria beforehand)

We are now starting on wikis - the students get to modify the course's wiki - which they have initially been very excited by but also very intimidated. Students actually have a say in what they learn - revolutionary! At the moment I am confining them to changes to the content part of the course ie what is a blog, how can they be used etc.
Eventually I want them to have a say in the assessment of the course - very empowering. Also I want them to use what we have learnt in other subjects.
More to come....