Wikis+in+Teaching+and+Learning+-+Summer,+Viterbo+Course

= ﻿ **How do you think wikis will change teaching and learning? Or** DO **you think they will? What do you see as their potential to change the way teachers and students read, write and collaborate?** =

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**Suggestion:** Why don't we each pick a font color (style, too, if you want) so that it will be more visually friendly and easier to see at a glance the thoughts of each person? How do you feel about including a photo of yourself? The next best thing to meeting in person. I will start us off - unfortunately a Christmas picture.======

Step by step directions for inserting an image are on Page 5 and following of my guided hands-on document, **Directions for Creating a Wki**. It is in the Course Documents section of BlackBoard; the actual file is called, **"Wikispaces 2: join and ceate your own wiki**. Let me know if you need further help.

Whitney (on the left in the photo with my little sister on the right): I think wikis will increase the collaborative nature of not only learning but of teaching. In my short teaching career thus far it seems that the days of teachers isolated alone in theirs classrooms are gone. Many are beginning to see the value of collaboration and wikis will improve and enhance this move toward a more collaborative environment. In addition, wikis will give us a new way to provide students with that collaborative environment. The wiki environment does not allow any students to coast in a group project setting. Students work will be evident in the history of the wikis used. Collaboration will become more of a must and everyone will be held more accountable as we begin to use wikis more in the world of education. Other educators are pondering this issue as well in places such as Facebook with interesting thoughts about the future of wikis in education.

One aspect of wikis I really think students will benefit from is the active participation, which has many positive side-effects. The wiki environment forces discussion in a sense; the discussion is expected. Wikis are not about writing an individual’s thoughts and opinions, rather, wikis are about writing with an expectation that others will actively participate. When writing for a live, participating audience, we are forced to examine our writing even deeper. I think this setting will spark a new or renewed interest in writing (a great teaching tool) for many students as wikis provide both that audience and purpose. Steve Hargadon notes the tidal wave of information that he feels will be more significant than that of the invention of the printing pressas a positive result of the use of wikis and other Web 2.0 tools. Additional positive side-effects of participation in wikis include more reflection opportunities for students, revision/editing opportunities, and direct feedback. Wikis are easy to edit and as a result we can continually change and improve the content contained within a wiki. The reflection and revision can be a continual process in which feedback is incorporated and used. Wikis really create a forum for ongoing conversation rather than a simple exchange. I have had students who get back assignments with my feedback and yet all they look for is the grade and then they trash the assignment. I see wikis as a way to make feedback more useful for students. Wikis provide educators with a tool that we can use amongst ourselves as well as with students to better the teaching and learning experience for students and teachers alike.

Overall, wikis provide vast opportunities for the world of education. This does not mean that everyone will immediately jump on board to this type of tool, especially public wikis (which Richardson favors) due to safety concerns. As with anything, it will take time for people to learn how to use wikis and about all the possible ways of using wikis in education. It will even take time for schools to implement policies regarding this type of tool, to provide support or training and for educators to set-up functional wikis for classroom use. In the past few weeks I feel like I have learned a lot about the possibilities of wikis, but I have also learned that there is still a lot about wikis that I do not know. There are so many tools out there to use with wikis that it is a bit overwhelming. In addition, while most have access to internet on a regular basis, we are not to the point where every student readily has access to the internet. Wikis and the Web 2.0 could really take off in a 1:1 setting in which students have laptops or such through the school, but many school are not there and may not be anytime soon. Wikis and other Web 2.0 tools will change the world of education, but I do think it will take some time.

﻿Brigitte - I had to look all over to find a picture of me. I am the main photographer in my family, so I am not usually in the pictures all that much. :-) This is one that I had my husband take so I could use it on Facebook to see which celebrity I most looked like. Apparently I don't pay much attention to celebrities, because I didn't recognize anyone on the list except Courtney Cox, and I don't see the resemblance. :-)

Now to get back on task. I think that WIKI's will change the way many people approach teaching and learning. The collaboration and sharing of information that is possible over distance and varied time frames makes a WIKI a valuable tool for educators and students alike. Even that fact that we are able to use this WIKI to learn new concepts and teaching techniques without ever meeting face to face is kind of amazing to me. Since the start of this class I have been out of my house for two weekends away, yet because I am able to get online from almost anywhere I am still able to learn and keep up with the class. Planning ahead helps as well. Educators will be able to utilize WIKI's to collaborate with each other as well as with their students. When I return to school in the fall I am planning to begin a WIKI to facilitate collaboration with my fellow guidance counselors, as well as maintain a WIKI for use with my students. The article Eight Ways To Use School Wikis : August 2009 ﻿was very eye opening for me. There are so many uses - the discussion board, sharing helpful links, disseminating day to day information. I can see how they could all be easily utilized by a school staff on a day to day basis. My principal puts out an email almost daily to update the staff, plus a weekly newsletter with upcoming dates and important reminders etc... putting the same info up on a WIKI would make it easily accessible for all staff and save some paper costs. However it will take time to get everyone on board and comfortable with these changes.

﻿One concern I have would be students or staff editing each others work, with or without their knowledge. It would be very easy for incorrect information to be passed off as fact. It will be important for everyone writing on the WIKI to realize the power of their words and to make sure that changes are made that are accurate and respectful of the work that was done by other authors. As an elementary counselor I work hard to convey to students that they are responsible for their actions, and that they need to consider the feelings of others before writing or speaking in a hurtful manner. I think that students can be very respectful and supportive of each other online and in face to face situations, but this behavior would need to be reinforced by the teacher on a frequent basis.

A WIKI could be a powerful tool in the teaching of reading and writing in that students are writing for a real audience and reading the work of other authors in their same age range. I am friends with many of my younger cousins on Facebook, and they are always posting about the things they are doing, and who they are with. Most of them have tons of pictures and some videos about what is going on in their lives. A WIKI gives the students in the classroom another way to be connected. Reluctant readers and writers may become more engaged while working on a WIKI, especially if the topic is one that they can share their opinion about. Kind of like an educational version of Facebook. :-)   I believe﻿ wikis will make a considerable difference in the way we teach content and in the manner in which students grasp and process the information. I think the benefit obtained from cooperative learning was witnessed many years ago. Discussion groups held in person probed students to think in ways they may not have considered and they were somewhat more prone to conveying these ideas once they became comfortable and felt as if they were a contributing component to the group. I believe wikis will offer that same comfort level to students when they begin to realize that collaboration stems from contributions of everyone. I always have to remind students that when brainstorming in class, there is no right nor wrong answer and the ideas are being used as building blocks laying the foundation on which we will shape our discussion. I believe this same concept applies to wikis.

 Through my experience in using wikis, I have determined that once I became a little more familiar with the process, I really began to experiment and found myself editing, deleting, and revising the information even if it was simply for the purpose of confirming the steps in my own mind. I think students will enjoy the hands-on experience and explore the possibilities even to a greater extent than I am capable of achieving. This will provide them an avenue for enhanced exploration and will hopefully encourage them to delve deeper into the information that has been presented by other students in class.

 As for the potential to change the way we read, write, and collaborate, the possibilities are endless. We do have some obstacles that I believe will need to be overcome. Students will need to be informed of the expectations and conscious of their writing technique. When papers are submitted, they know a grade will be given, but when writing on a wiki discussion board they may revert to the manner in which they text or write on Facebook, not paying as much attention to spelling, grammar, and technique. Several comments have been made previously by other students in this class concerning the necessity to develop and enforce guidelines.

 The use of wikis can greatly enhance our ability to collaborate and do so at the time that is conducive to a person’s individual schedule. Several articles I read mentioned the use of wikis to increase the comfort level of students that may otherwise exhibit inhibitions to responding in class discussions. I convey to students quite regularly how informative they are with the knowledge they possess and the quantity of items I learn from them. I think the collaborative nature of wikis will broaden students’ knowledge in subtle ways where they won’t even realizing the magnitude of information being learned. Students I have in class have always had reservations about communicating orally so I am hoping some of these inhibitions will be alleviated. I am anxious to test and analyze the outcome after using wikis for one year or even one semester.



I enjoyed learning so much from all of you these past 3 weeks. It has been informative, but also "safe" as I jumped headfirst into wiki usage and flowed right through into wiki creation.

I have read and seen so many wonderful uses for wikis. As wiki creation and editing gets easier and easier, the days of stagnant websites are over. I think they will combine the information content like a website with the collaboration freedom of a Web 2.0 software. The benefits of a wiki outweigh the pitfalls. Many pages can be locked to prevent important information from tampering. And monitoring of classroom pages will have to be the norm. You will be able to do everything in one place.

Employment over the past 10 years has slowly been shifting from commuting into work to working from home. I am wondering if learning will ever so slowly move in that direction also. Employees are somewhat able to shfit their work hours to when they are available, most productive, or inspired. Just like that is an upside for the employee, it can also be a benefit for the employer. Students working on wikis or submitting blogs at home or on weekends are working when they are inspired. Some students might not feel comfortable speaking in class and adding to a discussion. Others might be good at doing literature responses right after completing the chapter rather than waiting a day or two to talk in class. Brainstorming collaboratively can take place whenever rather than just trying to fit it into 1 period. For all these reasons, I think teachers will get a much higher quality product from their students with much more retention.

But just like working from home, working online is full of responsibility. Because of the lack of direct instruction, I am sure there will be/are some students who do not work well with this type of freedom. All this freedom of time is how we are moving toward a global economy, global information, and now global teaching/learning.

Wikis have wonderful potential for expanding learning because of the ability to share ideas, opinions, and writing pieces. Before, the students wrote for the teacher. If there was an exceptional piece of writing or thought-provoking comment, it was shared the next class period. Now all the students' opinions and writings are seen by all their peers. How the audience has shifted! This promotes higher level thinking because of the need to see it written down and the thought of many eyes upon it. Just like so many things kids think are dated, worksheets in one classroom will be met with a resounding moan after the students encounter 1 or 2 teachers using wikis for a majority of their assignments and information. Hopefully this will push more teachers into it full force, so we don't lose the student's interest.

As I was thinking about how this will change not just learning, but also teaching, I remembered something from another class I am taking in Green Bay. The technology teacher (who was teaching on a smartboard from her wiki) was talking about a high school student who is going to take a mission trip for 3 months this fall with his parents. They are going to try to put everything he needs on wikis and have him post all his assignments that way also. WOW! That takes the freedom of learning with you wherever you go. It saves everyone time and energy on both sides, and the student still gets to take a very exciting and important trip. Joanie - Sorry, I forgot to identify myself above. I am the one with Oliver, my American Eskimo dog. Amie - Thanks for clarifying that! It kept me awake all night wondering. lol Kate - Sorry it took me so long - life tried to jam too many things in too few days and my head just got above the waterline. If you ever ponder moving down the street from your parents, call me first :) I'm the one with the purse, in case you were wondering.

The biggest thing I see arriving in education that wikis will be one tool for accomplishing is a seamless idea of how/when learning can occur. It will take time to adjust for everyone, students, parents, admin, teachers, and the world as a whole but learning when one is in the "zone", when he/she has energy and interest isn't really new. My high school kids e-mail me at odd hours and with questions that their peers could also field. Wikis would allow a common place to gather for kids in education - a place where they could bounce things off each other, in context of learning, get ideas, vent, etc. while also providing the tools and prompts that guide their learning. I don't, however, wish online interaction to completely replace human presence while learning. As an adults I found it challenging to set aside the proper amount of time to read, ponder, research and then build my wiki - I can't imagine that all high school kids would flourish without some actual human interaction. All kids need more than just subject material from us - so incorporating web 2.0 tools with learning is important but not exclusively. I also wonder how many of you would have wanted to learn high school algebra or geometry on a computer. Math still lacks good, easy, intuitive ways for kids to "work out the math" on a computer as well. I have no doubt that will come with tablets, etc. but it has been a few years with those devices and no one is bragging about any tool I've heard of to accomplish the task of working out math problems.

I do share some concerns of the rest of you - privacy, permissions, editing of work, deleting of work, etc. As with any new technology, those things will work themselves out. I have had the pleasure of working with a small group of 9th grade at-risk students whom we supplied with laptops this year. Every adult involved was nervous about some form of theft, cyber bullying, homework copying issue. We encountered a few situations we expected and a few we didn't imagine, but we managed and the kids learned more about the responsibilities of learning, so in the long run it worked out better than expected. I'm hoping wiki adoption will be the same - we'll figure it out as we go!  