Since my second post on collective intelligence, I have had a chance to learn more about wikis and explore examples of them a bit further. Well, I am a fan to say the least, and I think being exposed to them has helped my understanding of the notion of collective intelligence. So much so, that I am a little embarassed by the naivete of my second blog!
I still have to come to terms with how web 2.0 technologies such as Facebook and Twitter could be used in an educational setting, if at all. Wikis, however, open up a whole new range of possibilites for education. On the one hand, it allows people with previously limited access educational resources, a chance to take part in innovative learning opportunites. Charles Leadbetter's Education innovation in the slums is a great example of that. It requires a great deal of creativity on the part of educators to make each learning experience relevant and engaging to students, wherever they may be. I also love how students can revisit or catch up on content they have either missed or don't understand. This can be pretty difficult to achieve in a traditional classroom environment.
What I loved about playing around with my own wiki, was the way you could incorporate everyday classroom strategies into each learning experience. For example, when introducing a new lesson or concept to students, teachers use activites to elicit students' prior knowledge in order to plan future lessons - diagnostic assessment, in other words. In a classroom setting, you might get students to complete a "Things I know about XYZ" chart to determine what they know about the topic. In a wiki, you could use a program like Wallwisher which is like an online notice board, to have students post their ideas about "XYZ". Students also get to read other students' responses, which may encourage further deeper thinking about the topic. The strategy of "Think, Pair, Share" can also be achieved online through discussion boards.
I love the creative potential of wikis and the other tools (which I am yet to explore) that can be incorporated into them to make the classroom a much more interesting place to be in. Once you get your head around the mechanics of the technology, web 2.0 tools really do promote 21st century skills. But more on that later....
Hey Trudy,
ReplyDeleteI think I'll have another go at wikis after reading your post, I was a bit discouraged after my first attempt (plus having about another billion things going on in my life). I think you make a good point about making making learning experiences relevant and engaging to students. I know from my own experience how engaging I find using technology to explore concepts and develop ideas. It is time-consuming, but never tedious and it's creativity is really only limited by one's imagination (and power outages!).
I have been having the greatest time building my wiki but the hours slip by very quickly. There is such an array of free software out there to add that extra level of interactivity but realistically, how do I expect to do this as a teacher. It's taken me hours to build just one page but that's also because I'm fiddling with text, images, tweaking videos etc Basically what I did in my previous life as a designer. No difference really - I guess I'm now a designer of education (does that sound too pretentious?). I think the very reason why I love creating this stuff (ie the level of creativity required to make a truly interesting and worthwhile educational tool) is the same reason why it will be difficult to pursue in "real-life" (ie real creativity is a very long, often harrowing, process). I am always looking to improve what I have done and consequently what I do is never really good enough. A pitfall of the process I guess. I would have made a great tormented artist!
ReplyDeleteOne important point to remember is that using new technologies gets much easier with practice. If you think back to when you first used MS Word or email, you probably took quite a long time to figure out more advanced functions. The same is true of wikis or any other tools - you do need to put some time into exploring them, but once you have figured out what to do, you'll be able to build them much more quickly (and you'll also find it easier to figure out how new tools work, as lots of the same principles underpin nearly all web 2.0 technology).
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