Waving at Education

I know, I know... It's been a very long time since I have written in this blog (but it's probably been almost as long since anyone has checked for new posts, so I may not have upset too many people (smile).

Today, I have something to write about that has been perking on the back burner for some time. When the news came out a couple weeks ago that Google Wave was publicly available, I wanted to write immediately about the event. I think this is great news, and I would like to let everyone know how much fun it is and how fruitful communication seems on Google Wave.

I just finished (re)watching a very good introduction to Google Wave by Gina Trapani. She carefully balances her enthusiasm for the application with acknowledgment of some of its difficulties. She also balances a strong desire to motivate people to use Google Wave with a clear articulation of the very best situations to use the application in. I won't try to summarize her work here. I would encourage readers to pursue viewing her video as they have time (but soon, please!). For readers (whoever you are) who don't have time for a 15 minute presentation like Gina's and you have an account with Diigo, you may well prefer to browse my links on Google Wave.

I am presently helping 6 students make their way through a course on business writing. Teams of two of them each are exploring the use of Web 2.0 tools in business. So, two are exploring Diigo, two, Google Docs, and two, Skype. That leaves Google Wave for me to explore and share with the class. Sessions (both face-to-face in the lab and online (using the Web 2.0 apps) have been exciting for me (and I think, for the class as well). Certainly when students consistently exceed my expectations in their work, both in terms of quality and quantity, I am a happy teacher. I'm sure this course will be over all too quickly, and I will have to seek out new ways to engage students in their education.