How could you imagine physically organizing student collaborative "wiki groups" to create a project? What strategies would you employ to prevent students from writing over other students' work?
What are the possibilities that wikis offer in a 1:1 classroom that just are not possible in a traditional classroom?
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
5 comments:
As an elementary school teacher my first strategy with a classroom wiki would be model, model, model. I would set clear expectations for the students and probably treat the wiki more like a blog, having students clear changes through me prior to changing a classmate's post on the wiki. Currently I have three computers in my classroom and limited access to our computer lab(once every six days)so managing a wiki effectively and in a timely manner would be a challenge. And while I am hestitant to say my kids 'can't' do something because of their age I think a collaborative project on a wiki would take a lot facilitating from the teacher or perhaps a trained volunteer.
In a 1:1 classroom I envision students working simultaneously on a wiki with information evolving as they work collaboratively. Although it would be time consuming on my part, I think I would have 4 - 6 students working on a wiki at a time rather than a whole class wiki. I think kids would be more receptive to the changes being made to their posts if the students they are working closely with are making the changes. My students are currently working on a project about composers, posting information to voicethread and creating a group powerpoint. I could see transitioning from a group powerpoint presentation to a wiki as a way to present their information.
The first step to organizing a "wiki group" in the classroom must include verifying AUPs for students and a discussion of appropriate discussion behavior on the wiki. Teachers should set it up so they know who is allowed to post to the wiki. Many wiki spaces also provide a separate discussion area for each page. The expectation could be set so that students can debate changes to the page here. Teachers could review those changes prior to editing the main page.
Wikis offer the opportunity to participate in a discussion/creation of a project at your own pace, without the fear of criticism in class and with ample time to get your thoughts and research together. It also provides a unique opportunity to share with others outside the classroom, which I think brings a certain pride of contribution to the work.
I could see using a wiki to have students work together to create a meaningful extension of something we discussed in class. Of the top of my head--themes in Beloved with close textual analysis, whitman's poetry. My concern about creating meaningful interaction was echoed in the reading we had to do. So much of online discussion can seem forced. It is difficult to design meaningful wikis that challenge students, establish meaningful educational experiences and do not demand so much prep work and monitoring on the teacher's part.
I can imagine using a wiki in a style similar to Paideia teaching, in which one segment of the class participates in active discussion (with teachers as facilitators) in what is known as the "inner circle" and the other segment actively observes and evaluates in what is known as the "outer circle." In the next discussion, those two segments switch roles. I think this would enable active use of the wiki without getting overwhelming or repetitive results.
I think you can use a variety of strategies for preventing the deletion or writing over of student work such as asking students to use individualistic colors, fonts, or formatting to distinguish their works from others. There is also the option of maintaining archives of additions to wikis so that you can maintain a record of changes.
The main difference between using a wiki for class discussion versus traditional classroom settings is that a physical artifact or document exists that preserves the learning as it takes place and allows students to return to that learning. I think that this could be very valuable as students strive to understand and retain information in academic settings.
I like the option of the written archive of the thoughts the Mrs. Murphy brought up. This means that students who do not usually participate in a discussion might feel more comfortable, as Nancy Zeiss said. That certainly seems to be the case in Elluminate when students can write comments on the whiteboard that is open for them. In that format, they can also be online with audio feeds with just a microphone or even with video if they have a camera. It seems to give them the freedom of being heard and not seen.
I think the key is time and planning especially in a 1 to 1 environment. As Ctuttell said "hesistant to my kids can't" but at the same time a little help in the classroom to get them started would be essential. The article on the large economic's class in Switzerland made it clear that older students are hesitant to change their ways and in fact according to their data resent the need to even try. So for that I wish I was in the elementary school, but I am not going there. I tried it for one day!
Post a Comment