The creation of the wiki for this week was certainly a
learning experience. Whilst I had experienced using a wiki in the previous week
with the de Bono’s hat exercise, actually creating a wiki opened my eyes to its
learning potential. My wiki can be accessed here.
Below I have analysed the learning potential of the wiki
using the PMI analysis. There were several similar characteristics to both the
blog and the wikispace, with the latter however more suited to collaborative
learning. Wikispaces, as discussed in an
earlier blog, can be described as utilizing the connectivist and social
constructionist theories. The teacher can create a scaffolding in order for
students to construct ideas and build of each other’s ideas, in a realistic
scenario (Snowman et al.,
2009, p341).. Thus not only does it allow students to become more
self-regulated and independent learners, but also provides students with a
network of knowledge form other students.
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Pluses
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Minuses
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Interest
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|
·
Is a great collaborative learning tool.
Students can edit and add to each other’s work. In particular an excellent
tool for group assignments (network).
·
User friendly
·
Student centred approach, whereby
the teacher takes on the role of the facilitator.
·
Can
be accessed outside the classrooms and for distance leaner’s – global
learning
·
Makes
education participant-centred
·
Encourages
students to be active and engage throughout the semester in an interactive
way
·
Assists
learners improve their writing and literacy skills. Students would also get
better at writing reflections.
·
Students
can update their work.
·
Allows
the teacher and student to see changes in a learner’s opinions and ability
over time.
·
Creates
an informal learning atmosphere that engages learners.
·
Saves
paper and reduces costs
·
Assists
multi-learner types
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· Students can edit each other's work without
permission.
·
Information can be easily copied from other students.
·
Some students may rely on the
information posted by other students in the wiki which maybe not necessarily accurate.
·
Students would need access to the
internet at home to engage.
|
·
It is a perpetual work in progress
·
Provides students a structure for
their responses.
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Students
must be taught how to use the wikispace in a safe way, with ethical and legal
matters in contemplation when they edit the page. They should be informed of
the dangers of posting contact information, personal information and
photographs on the internet. In particular in regards to photographs, parental
consent must be sought. Students will also need to be made aware of the
relevant school policies on their usage and about referencing and plagiarism on
their wikispace. In regards to collaboratively learning, students must understand
that there is an etiquette when it comes to editing other student’s work in a
wikispace and a discussion with the other students involved should take place first.
There a
many potentially ways I could see myself integrating a wikispace into the
classroom. For instance, it could be utilized for group assessment for senior
hospitality students. The students could be required to plan a function using
it. The groups would be able to have a page that organised who would bring
and/or make what dish. Students would then be required to use the wiki to create
pages and write about the particular theme they have chosen and provide
research on menus. As a follow up students could upload photographs of the
event and collaborate a review of how successful the function was. In assessing
the students, I would also be able to see the level of contribution of each
student through examining the history function.
References
Snowman,
J., Dobozy, E., Scevak,J., Bryer,F., Bartlett, B,. & Biehler, (2009).Psychology Applied to Teaching (1st ed). Milton
Queensland Australia: John Wiley & Sons.
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