A presentation introducing the various ways Web 2.0 tools can be brought into the classroom to enhance student learning

1. Harnessing the Power of Web 2.0 in
the Economics classroom
by Jason G. Welker
Zurich International Scool
welkerswikinomics@yahoo.com
www.welkerswikinomics.com

2. The why and how of wikis:
What is a wiki?
• Wikis are user-created websites
• Can be used as a traditional class website
• Teacher sets up outline, creates pages
• Students add content to pages
• For use as online study guide for test review
• Embedded widgets:
 Calendars, chatrooms, videos, audio, RSS,
etc…
• Teacher monitors students’ contributions
Examples of student-created wiki pages:
• Fiscal Policy and the AD/AS Model
• Market Failure - Externalities

3. Tips on using wikis:
• Create and publish clear rules for student use Free wiki sites:
• Require students to contribute as part of
homework grade
• Award a shared class grade for completion
• Award individual grades for contribution
• “Edit for credit” – Students can earn credit for
editing and formatting others’ work, or “add bling”
• Organization is everything!! The teacher’s job is to
keep the wiki organized, easy to navigate for
students and visitors
• Contributors must be approved! Allowing anyone
to contribute leads to SPAM!
• Allow anyone to view. Share your students’
creation with the world! (my wiki receives over
300 visitors per day, thanks mostly to Google
searches for Econ topics)

4. The why and how of blogging:
• Teacher can post links to and explanations of
Economics news articles
• Explain real-world applications of Economic theory
• Include discussion questions to spur debate among
students, who reply in comments
• Good for sharing media such as video and podcasts
• Blogrolls provides links to other online resources
Examples of Econ teacher blogs:
• Steponic’s Economics
• Economists do it with Models
• MV=PQ : a blog for Econ Educators
• Mikeroeconomics
• Welker’s Wikinomics Blog

5. Economists’ blogs: Teaching teachers
• Several well known economists write daily blogs
• Economists’ blogs offer readers an “unedited”, personal look
into the minds of influential economists
• Major micro and macro issues broken down for the casual
reader: blog writing is non-academic, jargon-free
• Readers can participate in the conversation through comments
Economists who blog:
• Paul Krugman
• Greg Mankiw
• Robert Reich
• Tyler Cowen
• Many, many more!

6. Tips on using blogs: CATEGORIES
AD/AS Model (39)
• Read others’ blogs often (and comment!) AP Economics (73)
• Write on your own blog often Balance of Payments(9)
Balance of Trade (25)
• Use humor! Banks (2)
• Require students to read and comment on blogs Barriers to entry (1)
Barriers to trade (16)
• Organize using “tags” or categories Basic Economic Question (9)
• Design is important (have fun!) Behavioral Economics(7)
• Embed digital media (YouTube videos, podcasts, etc.)
• Include discussion questions (to get the conversations started)
• Link to articles, websites, or blog posts relating to your course
Free blog
sites:
www.wordpress.com www.blogger.com www.edublogs.org

7. Student blogs
• Individual student blogs:
MORE work
 Each student keeps his/her own blog for teacher!
 Weekly writing assignment applying theories learned to
a story from the news
 Students read and comment on each others’ posts
 Teachers follow students using RSS
• Class blog: LESS work
 One blog for the whole class for teacher!
 Students register as authors, write one or two posts
each per quarter
 Teacher administers blog, grades students’ posts
Example: www.welkerswikinomics.com/students

8. The why and how of forums: Forum platforms:
• Allow students to carry on conversations online
• Allows for conversations you may not have
time for in class
• Discussions can be started by the teacher or by
students
• Students who are shy/quiet in class may be
more active and articulate online
• “Weekly discussion forum question” posted by
teacher
• Require students to respond to or start one
discussion per week
Example:
www.welkerswikinomics.wetpaint.com/thread

9. What is an RSS aggregator? Free RSS readers:
• Constantly updated “feeds” from websites
• Shows latest posts or articles from blogs and new sites
in a “widget” on your RSS page
• Provides links to full article. Allows readers to browse
the latest headlines from dozens of different sources in
one place
Why RSS?
• As Econ teachers, we need to stay updated on latest
applications of theory
• As teachers, we have little time to browse dozens of
news sites separately
• It’s an easy, enjoyable, and efficient way to stay
informed
• Allows us to “filter” the news for our students on public
RSS pages

10. How to RSS:
• Set up an account with an Aggregator service
• Create tabs for different categories of feeds
 E.g. “Econ News”, “Econ Blogs”, “Econ Podcasts”, etc…
• Add feeds to each category from websites (news, blogs, podcasts) you have
found and think are valuable for your students
• Direct students to your public page to find articles for use in class, or use it
yourself to find articles/posts
Example: www.netvibes.com/welkerswikinomics

11. Welker’s Wikinomics
Online tools for Economics students and teachers
• The Blog: www.welkerswikinomics.com/blog
 Nearly 500 articles (and growing) in 75 categories
 Teacher authors from four countries
 More authors welcome!
• The Wiki: www.welkerswikinomics.com/wiki
 200 pages of student-created content www.welkerswikinomics.com
 500 members/contributors, hundreds of thousands of visitors
• The Universe (RSS site): www.netvibes.com/welkerswikinomics
 Feeds from over 50 Economists blogs, news sites and podcasts
• AP and IB Economics study guides/lecture notes:
 Free, downloadable pdf study guides (over 400 pages) covering Basic Concepts,
Micro, Macro, International and Development Economics
 Includes hundreds of full-color graphs, definitions, examples, and explanations
 Student study guides hyperlinked to WW blog and other online resources
 Teachers can order the original lecture notes for use in their own classes.