Do you wiki? I wiki. Come on, everyone does it. You know… all the cool kids wiki.
As it turns out, more than all the cool kids have a wiki. Both the beauty and the bane of wikis is that anyone can have one. The beautiful part of wikis being (largely) free is anyone with a notion can create one. They are easy to access thanks to sites like Wikispaces, Pbworks, Google Sites, and myriad others; also, since wikis use a simplified visual editor, the barrier that was coding no longer exists, which prevented many people from creating websites. The downside to wikis is that there are a lot out there that are ineffectively utilized. Prior to high quality, easy to create blogging sites like Weebly, Wix, Edublogger, and others people did not have an easy place to build a website, so they used wikis as a de facto websites or blogs. Because wikis are easy to access and use, we see a lot of defunct and misused wikis. A study in wiki usage showed that “most wikis that are used at all are sued for short-term projects and assignments rather than as long-term course platforms” (Reich, Murnane, & Willett, 2012). This explains why there are so many wikis out there that are not being used actively, but when wikis are well used and become a part of a teacher or a student’s learning toolbox we see exactly why wikis are important in education. An effective wiki provides a resource for people to collaborate, share resources, and provide feedback on anything one wishes to post. Ward Cunningham wrote: “A wiki is a body of ideas that a community is willing to know and maintain”; wikis need people to build a wiki and sustain it. There are characteristics critical to successful, effective wikis that separate them from ineffective wikis. The most critical factor that differentiates the effective from the ineffective is a wiki should be collaborative. In this case, collaborative means that more than one person should be making changes to it, adding content, and updating/editing frequently. By virtue of collaboration, the wiki is better than what it would be with a single owner/editor/content provider. To give the reader a visual picture of what makes a good wiki, check out the infographic: “What Makes a Quality Wiki.” In the Euler diagram, the convergence of all 4 characteristics represents a wiki that is strong in all aspects. I have evaluated four wikis which are represented by dots on the infographic. A great example of a collaborative wiki can be found at Vicki Davis’s Westwood Computer Science classroom. It shows how powerful it can be to publish student work. Each student has an e-portfolio with their own page on the wiki. If you check out the recent changes on the page (look in the upper left-hand corner for the “Recent Changes” page) you will see many different contributors. The power and value in a wiki is having knowledgeable, diverse collaborators who provide a wide spectrum view of a topic, see this blog post from Creative Education for more information on the importance of wikis for collaboration. Westwood High School’s wiki lands in the junction of resources, structure, and collaboration. However, it is not in the middle of the diagram because the lack of visual elements means the user has to work to understand the structure of the website. Some visual elements might enhance the users’ experience. Resources are a critical element for a good wiki. An excellent example of this characteristic is DiRT a digital research tool wiki. DiRT is a plethora of tools for digital research. What I like about this site is that every link I clicked on worked (which is a rarity with wikis and webpages). Additionally, as a graduate student in digital technology, all the tools on this site are applicable to my work; it’s like a one-stop-shop. DiRT is an excellent example of a wiki that has high quality resources that are valuable to its users. The DiRT wiki is strong in structure, collaboration, and resources. The one area in which it is a little weak is visuals. However, the lack of visual elements does not negatively impact the users’ experience mainly because of its excellent structure and clean template on the front page. Another characteristic of effective wikis is the structure of the site. If your information is not effectively organized then users will not benefit from the information on the wiki. If you want to see a wiki with a good structure check out the Discovery Utopia. Everything a user needs can be found on the left-hand column of the front page. The table of contents on the right-hand side links to anchors on the front page since it is longer than can be seen without scrolling down. Additionally, this website does a great job of showing how a teacher can utilize the functionality of a wiki to publish student work to a worldwide audience. Discovery Utopia wiki effectively uses all four characteristics. Students post their utopia creations on a single page in which they can view and interact with their peer’s utopias. This wiki serves as a great example of how wikis can be used collaboratively by teachers and students to co-create a rubric. The structure is clear and logical, and the visuals are welcoming but not overwhelming or distracting. For all these reasons, Discovery Utopia lands right in the middle of the diagram. The final characteristic of good wikis is visual appeal. While wikis are geared towards people who do not code and may not be savvy in digital design, it is important to make your front page inviting and appealing. For a good example of a visually appealing wiki, take a look at Newton Barwa Academy’s Homework Page. While it is obviously not a professionally crafted website, it is neat, clean, and inviting to the user. Your graphics, pictures, or interactives should not be overwhelming or take away from the purpose of the page, but a little personalizing of the front page is appreciated. The Newton Barwa School’s homework site has strong resources and structure. Where this wiki could be more effective is in collaboration. A variety of teachers have added resources which is great, but there does not appear to be collaboration among contributors. In other words, the pages are all single authored with no one adding on another’s page. With more collaboration and involving students in this process, the wiki could be more effective.
These wikis are just examples of what constitutes a good wiki; all of them are excellent examples of educational wiki sites. It’s thanks to companies like Wikispaces and many others that have created open source web-based tools for people to use. The amount and variety of resources teachers and students can use has boomed in recent years. Now students, teachers, and parents can access a plethora of free resources for a variety of purposes.
Once upon a time, you could not purchase a new computer without having to purchase Microsoft’s Windows platform. And then, if you wanted to be able to type essays, letters, or other documents you had to purchase their Office products. Now, computer users can access Linux OS for free to run their computers, and Google Drive does everything the pricey Office program does- maybe not as easily, but for free. As I was perusing the internet for this blog post, I found a new suite of tools that I have fallen in love with! GoConqr is an educational platform on which users can create learning aids such as flashcards, mind maps, presentations, and more for free. For companies and institutions that want to create online courses and more robust resources, there is a Pro version. You can check out all the plans here. However, I joined with the Basic account, referred 3 co-workers and was bumped up to the Basic+ edition, which has all the functionality I need. If I wanted to get rid of ads and make my assets private, I can pay $21.95 for the year. I wanted to find a tool that would allow the teachers I coach to create quizzes that would prepare students for their Milestones test. On the Milestones there are questions that require selecting more than one answer, questions that are provided based on a student’s response to a previous question, and questions that require students to use the computer’s mouse. Google Survey and Microsoft Forms cannot do all of these types of questions. Initially, I looked at Zoho for a tool to use to create mock Milestones questions and quizzes. I found their survey tool Zoho Survey. I am super impressed with the survey tool because of a variety of different types of answer formats an author can use to solicit data. (check out the awesome survey I crafted as I explored Zoho). Students using this tool to collect data would fall in the ‘analysis’ level of Blooms Taxonomy because they would analyze the data they gathered and draw conclusions from it. Overall, I am very impressed with Zoho’s robust suite of tools, and I am impressed that they are free. I found GoCoqr when I was searching for an alternative to Zoho Challenge, a quiz creator, which is no longer supported by the company. My favorite GoCoqr tool is the quiz builder where teachers can use fill-in-the blank (also known as a cloze exercise) to measure student learning. Teachers with interactive whiteboards can use these assets as a station. Also, these resources work well with laptops, desktops, and touch devices. Below is an example of a cloze quiz I created. This tool is a great way for teachers to make quizzes that will prepare students for online testing situations.
A great tool for collaboration is GoConqr’s Mind Maps. Students can work together either synchronously or asynchronously just by sharing the link to the mind map. They can add pictures, notes, or documents to their mind map. This tool fall in the ‘create’ category within Blooms Taxonomy because it allows students to create an artifact using what they know to construct a unique product. With one click of the mouse, students can turn their brainstorming session into a set of notes. What a great way to gather ideas, information, and resources! Also, teachers can use this to build lesson plans, collaborate with PLCs, or develop collaborative content.
When I began creating a flashcard set in GoConqr, I could see how powerful it would be for special needs students. While flashcards are low on Bloom’s Taxonomy, falling in the recall category, special education students and English Language Learners greatly benefit from repeated exposure to new information over a period of time. Special needs students who need to learn vocabulary can use the flashcards on any device, and if access to technology is a concern, teachers can print out flashcards directly from the program. Additionally, these flashcards have a kinesthetic element to them when used with a touch device or interactive whiteboard which can engage special needs learners (“LEARNING STYLE (AUDITORY, VISUAL & KINESTHETIC) & DYSLEXICS,” 2017). It is amazing to see all the open educational resources available on the web. It is thanks to these sites that students can easily access tools to collaborate with anyone around the world. That’s power!
Reference
LEARNING STYLE (AUDITORY, VISUAL & KINESTHETIC) & DYSLEXICS. (2017). Retrieved February 23, 2017, from Dyslexia Victoria Online, http://www.dyslexiavictoriaonline.com/learning-style-auditory-visual- kinesthetic-dyslexics/ Reich, J., Murnane, R., & Willett, J. (2012). The state of Wiki usage in U.S. K-12 schools: Leveraging web 2.0 data warehouses to assess quality and equity in online learning environments. Educational Researcher, 41(1), 7–15. doi:10.3102/0013189x11427083
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My twitter self was hatched back in 2008 when I learned of this new phenomenon called microblogging at an American Library Association conference. The keynote speaker encouraged the audience members to sign up for Twitter and tweet during her speech, so I signed up. I think I tweeted once or twice during her speech and thought to myself: I don’t get it – what’s the big deal? Well, a social media visionary I am not! It took me four years to finally break out of my shell, and by that I mean change my profile pic from the generic egg new users given to an actual picture of myself. Flash forward to 2012 when I first attended a summer institute sponsored by Discovery Education. It was there I was encouraged to harness the power of Twitter to keep in touch with my fellow attendees from across the US and Canada as well as instantly share our ideas with our huge group. Since then I have used Twitter regularly to learn, share, and explore ideas, concepts, and thoughts on education. Twitter is critical to student learning in the 21st century. In order for students to discover the most up-to-date resources and research on any given topic all they have to do is search on Twitter. Teachers should be teaching students to search with hashtags to find information they seek. Because so many people use Twitter to share information and research, it offers the most recent information on myriad subjects giving students the best information possible instantly. Twitter and microblogging are not the only social media tools available to teachers and students. There are oodles of social media sites for people with special interests. For example, I joined a site called Bookcrossing. I am a reader, a lover of books, and a hugely annoying book-pusher. Nothing gives me greater pleasure than recommending a great book to someone then hearing back from them that they liked the book. It makes me feel like a matchmaker who has united two soulmates: book to reader. Okay, even I can hear the saccharin sickness of my book obsession! However, when I’m on Bookcrossing my annoying book-pushing becomes a game and a social activity.
Pottermore is a virtual world largely controlled by the programmers of the website. There is very little autonomy and creativity the user can harness. While this can be both good and bad, it has its limits as far as being highly effective in an educational setting. Playing in Pottermore is fun and exciting, but it is also limiting for the user. This is why I love Minecraft: Education Edition. Minecraft allows the user to build his or her own world from scratch or enter a pre-made world but customize it to their needs and wants. The educational applications of Minecraft are incredible. For example, a student who loves Harry Potter, or any other book, place, or land, can build it in their image. They can even invite others into their world to help build it and maintain it. Teachers interested in the educational use of Minecraft can start on the resource page to find lessons that link to standards for a variety of contents. Social networks and virtual worlds hold a lot of potential for all students. Higher order thinking skills are a must for a virtual world like Minecraft in which students have to figure out how to make the world do what he or she wants. This often takes grit because one learns in these worlds through trial and error. Critical thinking skills are essential if a user is going to make progress in their goals of taking part of the virtual world. English Language Learners (ELLs) and students with special needs can often learn the language and rules for virtual worlds easily since these worlds are highly visual. Students who typically eschew traditional learning situations may find this type of demonstration of learning more engaging because it is game-based. However, the most valuable part of using virtual worlds to support all student learning is that there is no one right answer or one perfect world or one set of right answers or actions.
Teachers must learn to structure learning so that the goal of the final product is not simply a check list of required items. Virtual worlds are one way to do this. But, as I write this post I can hear teachers put up the most common roadblock to utilizing web-based tools in their classes: not all students have computers or internet access. The Digital Divide has been a major concern in education for more than a decade. Paul Gorski states: “The “divide” refers to the difference in access rates among one or more groups” (p. 5). One way to think of the Digital Divide is to think of the Haves and the Have-nots. Teachers are reluctant to require web-based curriculum or assignments because students with computers and online access have an unfair advantage over the students who don’t have these resources. This view of equality of resources is not the most crucial view of the Digital Divide. As Gorski points out, access is only one part of the digital divide; the other part of the digital divide is the expectations that all students regardless of race, sex, disability, or socio-economic status be given the same opportunity to use these digital tools in their education and become proficient at using technology (p. 8). This point is also echoed in the National Educational Technology Plan and is referred to as the “New Digital Divide.” In the schools I work with, Fulton County Schools, the true digital divide comes down to the technology proficiency of a student’s teacher. Students have internet-ready devices in Fulton County. Middle and high schools are 1:1 and elementary schools are 3:1. In this instance, the Haves are the students with teachers who use technology frequently and integrate it into the curriculum. The Have-nots are the students who have teachers who do not integrate technology in their curriculum but rather view technology as project time or use it in a manner that makes students passive users rather than active users. For example, a teacher who plays videos they select and download for students to view are not giving students an opportunity to interact with the information, only receive it. A teacher who has students make their own videos and provides a platform for students to upload and view others’ videos is providing a rich context for learning. One way to nip this problem in the bud is to provide high quality, engaging professional development – such as coaching- to teachers. Another way to help teachers bridge the digital divide is to give them access to tools, websites, and apps that are easily to use and high quality so they can integrate them into the curriculum. Ongoing support with technology is also a must. Social media and virtual world provide an authentic audience for all types of users. Teachers hold the keys to the kingdom. References: Gorski, P. (2005). Education equity and the digital divide. AACE Journal, 13(1), 3-45. National Education Technology Plan. (2016, January ). Retrieved from Office of Educational Technology, https://tech.ed.gov/files/2017/01/NETP17.pdf Solomon, G., & Schrum, L. (2014). Web 2.0: How-to for educators (2nd ed.). United States: International Society for Technology in Education. Who taught you grit, the character trait that propels a person keep trying until a goal is achieved? When did you learn determination? Can you remember the first time tenacity paid off for you? These intangible skills, as Solomon and Shrum (2014) call them, are critical for students to learn as they mature into college and the workforce. Many of us learned these skills in school. Collaboration and interactions with students help to build these skills. While there is no doubt that these skills are necessary for students to learn, the question is can these skills be taught as classrooms move towards technology-based instruction such as personalized learning and blended learning? Honestly, if you want to see if technology can teach determination, perseverance, and tenacity all you have to do is watch a student play a video game obsessively until he or she have rescued the princess or defeated their deadly foe in battle. As a child of the 80s, I learned these traits quarter by quarter on the Pac Man machine in the arcade. Solomon and Shurm call for research to prove the transference of technology based lessons in the classroom. This is where I disagree with Solomon and Shrum; technology tools in the classroom are great ways to teach perseverance in the classroom. Kate Wilson’s blog Creating a Community of Learners with Coding states that coding, learning to program, creates perseverance because students are challenged to think collaboratively and critically. Likewise, Dr. Brian Davidson’s blog talks about the ability to teach non-cognitive skills; he points out that until recently these skills were learned implicitly. Davidson cleverly says that non-cognitive skills have been “caught but not taught” until recently in K-12 education. Personally, I would love to see if Minecraft an improve a student’s non-cognitive skills while building knowledge and meeting, or exceeding, content standards. Additionally, investigating coding tools, such as Scratch or other coding websites, as a way to build cognition and non-cognitive skills would be very informative. It’s tools like these that will engage today’s digital learners. Additionally, providing students tools and authentic experiences such as blogging, competitions, and challenge-learning opportunities can provide high levels of engagement that students thirst for in their classrooms. I’ve been in education for over 16 years, and when I started it was considered progressive for the teacher to have a desktop computer in the classroom; now students are expected to be on a device every day. Therefore, using technology to help students develop the critical skills they need in real life is a must. I see students in the future learning Python rather than French. Students creating a virtual world in Minecraft that explores the complexities of the real world as proof they understand the myriad issues that go along with a sensitive topic like immigration provides a safe place to learn about events that may never directly impact them. Back in the day when I stacked up quarters in the corner of the Pac Man screen to hone my mad ghost and dot eating abilities, I never imagined computers would drive educational experiences for students. When I became a teacher, I saw computers as a way for students to type their essays efficiently, but I did not see them as a personal learning tool. Now, I know that if educators don’t embrace technology students will suffer in the long run. 21st century learners must be highly proficient in 21st century skills in addition to content knowledge outlined in standards. The plethora of web tools provides access to learners with a variety of needs. Tools like Discovery Education and Newsela provide students with media in multiple languages, so English Language Learners (ELLs) can access assignments in their native language. Universal design provides students with all types of disabilities access to learning assets they would not be able to use in analog form. Regardless of a reading processing disorder such as dyslexia, all students can read an online text thanks to text-to-speech software. Barriers that used to cause students to have to attend special schools are broken down by 21st century technology. All students can learn 21st century skills while engaging in active lessons that connect them to an authentic audience. Blogging is one way to do this. Hanna Shekhter states in her blog post Why Teachers and Students Should Blog: “Students have an authentic audience for their writing and that has an impact on the quality of their posts and comments.” Having students to blog offers a rich learning experience. It is also an opportunity for students to learn intangible skills such as grit and resilience. Psychology Today says: "Teaching kids how to receive and give constructive criticism may allow them to reap the benefits of such comments...." When writing for peers and an authentic audience on a platform that invites comments will most likely generate some feedback that will not be completely postive. Students need explict instruction on how to handle these types of comments in order to learn how to take/use such comments in the most positive and constructive way possible. Sylvia Duckworth’s sketchnote on student blogging is a great source for making the argument for blogging in the classroom. There are many reasons to have students blog including many that reach beyond the classroom. Britt Watwood has posted a great resource for teachers looking to get their students blogging. He has created a list of blog posts supporting blogging in the classroom. I use the resources and experts he lists to find solid support to have student blog. Additionally, Richard Bryne provides teachers with resources and lesson ideas in his blog Free Tech for Teachers. Anytime I want to investigate a new tool or get a suggestion on how to implement a tool, I check him out. Both of these guys have great rationale for getting students blogging: authentic audience, writing for a purpose, authentic feedback. Their resources are thorough and range from entry level to advanced. Having a good rubric to evaluate student writing is valuable. This rubric by Karen Franker is thorough and easy for students to understand. Student blogs must be monitored as do the comments from their peers. Kathy Schrock has posted a rubric to evaluate peer Comments on students’ post. Additionally, doing some proactive digital citizenship work will help head off some issues. Below is a rubric I use to evaluate students blogs. With my students, I am mostly concerned about students developing their ideas and having engaging, logical content; therefore, my rubric focuses on these two elements. Since it is a writing assignment, I do also look at quality of writing. Blogging Rubric References
DeLoatch, P. (2015, May 2). The Four negative sides of technology. Retrieved January 26, 2017, from http://www.edudemic.com/the-4-negative-side-effects-of-technology/ Franker, K. (2010). A rubric for evaluating student Blogs. Retrieved January 26, 2017, from https://www2.uwstout.edu/content/profdev/rubrics/blogrubric.html OET draft grit report 2 17 13. (2013). . Retrieved from http://pgbovine.net/OET-Draft-Grit-Report-2-17-13.pdf Taylor, J. (2012, December 12). How technology is changing the way children think and focus. Retrieved January 26, 2017, from Psychology Today, https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-power prime/201212/how-technology-is-changing-the-way-children-think-and-focus Retrieved January 26, 2017, from http://www.schrockguide.net/assessment-and-rubrics.html Watwood, B. (2016, January 25). Should students Blog? Retrieved January 26, 2017, from http://bwatwood.edublogs.org/2016/01/25/should-students-blog/comment-page-1/ |
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November 2017
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