Collaboration and Wiki Wrap-up
March 30, 2008With Wikis being an open information center, we as future educators will have to anticipate how the very nature of this resource will impact each student individually.
Please watch the video titled, How Does Collaboration Work? and provide a response which accounts for the perspective of a student who is shy or just not confident in the quality of their work. Will using a Wiki prove to be a positive or negative learning experience for this student? What suggestions can you offer?
Also, as another source of discussion think about what rules we should observe when monitoring the Wiki. Should we encourage students to write freely without strict adherence to the traditional rules of grammar, or should we instead require students to post only when their thoughts are completely materialized and polished. Remember that part of the beauty of a Wiki is that it allows us to return to our work and edit it as we desire.
I definitely think that a wiki can give a voice to a shy, less confident student. This would provide nothing short of a positive learning experience for that type of student because of the way of communication is used throughout a wiki. I find that it is much easier to voice my opinion through instant messaging, blogging,e-mail, or in this case through the use of a wiki because it is not face to face interaction. Being in front of peers is quite debilitating to some and wikis could ultimately eliminate that fear. Although this form interaction is obviously a necessity in the classroom, online collaboration gives an alternative route for shy and intimidated students who feel more comfortable typing their opinion rather than saying it. However, this could be seen as enabling a student to not involve themselves in class participation during school, but could easily be resolved with building up their confidence through the use of a wiki.
As ELA teachers, I think we should encourage students to write accordingly to the traditional rules of grammar only because the wiki is for educational purposes. Until the finished product is required, on the other hand, I think it would be fair to allow students to write incomplete thoughts because as it says in italics, wikis “allow us to return to our work and edit it as we desire.” Giving students the opportunity to work and build on their wiki is a great way to extend learning, however like I said earlier, the finished product should be polished and written properly since it will be a project dealing with English.
I think that the wiki can be both positive and negative for a student is shy and not confident in their work. A positive is that they get the chance to work with others to build their knowledge. As Jason Sutter states in the video, students get the chance to “build ideas together”. It is student-centered in that the students are teaching one another. The wiki can be seen as negative if the student is sensitive to be corrected. They may be hesitant to add information to the wiki because it may be wrong. Also, if another student edits or takes out their work, the shy student nay be discouraged from using the wiki again. A suggestion for this is elaborate to the class that everyone brings something different to the wiki and people should not be discouraged. As a teacher, I might possibly email or talk to someone who I knew was hesitant to use the wiki and make them feel more comfortable using it. I agree with Ashley that it gives students who are shy in school the opportunity to participate outside of class. The only thing I question is what do we do as teachers if a student who does not participate in class doesn’t participate on the wiki?
The “rules of the wiki” are a little confusing. I think that if the wiki topic pertains to something personal, grammar should not be judged as much as a wiki topic that is educational. If a student is expressing something personal on the wiki, we should look at content rather than grammar. However, teachers should address that while students are allowed to write for expression, some grammar rules apply, but I wouldn’t be meticulous about it as a teacher. However, where do we draw the line?
Alexis
Yea, I definitely agree with you Alexis. I would be more for content than grammar initially. Students can always go back and modify grammar, I think its more important for them to materialize their thoughts when they are first able to transfer them to words and sentences. I think that the process of creation and revision will promote ideas which will ultimately be more polished and well developed in the end. I think that Wikis may even promote better writing habits. Think about how many of us actually write multiple drafts of papers before handing them in — probably not many. Wikis will hopefully reinforce this practice.
I also think the content is the most important. I would not tell the students their work needs to be completely polished. However, I would ofer bonus for students who edited others grammar as well a their own.
jackie
Because the wiki is for the students’ English class, they should always use polished grammar. In order for the wiki to entirely be considered an English class assignment, the students must practice their literary skills. Students also need to understand that they are presenting their words for the entire world to read and so they should represent themselves accordingly. Students who edit their classmates’ grammatical and spelling errors are further practicing their literary skills.
I like how the video elaborates on the fact that wikis are collaborative. This further convinces me that, like a classroom, the wiki is a group learning environment. I appreciate that wikis are hands-on because everyone learns better when they are doing, rather than listening to their teacher lecture. This is a modern and smarter addition to teaching an English class.
I think that using a wiki would allow a shyer student to speak up a little more since they wont have to speak in front of everyone. Since shy kids usually do have a lot to say, its a great chance to get them talking.
I love the idea of the collaboration. When the wiki is complete (maybe at the end of the school year) it would be so nice for students to have something to look back on. Something to show for their work and efforts.
When it comes to students who are no confident in their work, I can only say that introducing the wiki will be something that takes time for them. Even for me, I was a little shy at first because 1) I had never used the wiki before and 2) I didn’t want to post the “wrong way” or have people read what I had posted and be like “what is she talking about.” But in time I grew to really like the wiki. I think that, for shyer students, it will definitely eventually lead them out of their shell.
As far as the grammatical issue is concerned, I would encourage students to post thoughts and ideas that they are confident about, not just side-notes, and I think that doing this will enable them to treat their contribution as a “final draft” but something that others and themselves can revisit, beause that’s the whole point of the wiki. This concept also helped me when I first started contributing to the wiki because I felt that if I wrote something, and someone didn’t agree or wanted to add more, they would. This editing woudl benefit the entire class and allow me to see my response in a more concrete, in depth way. -Aut
Collaboration is what makes a wiki so great. To create something together as a class could only bond the students’ relationships and really serve as an experience to help ready them for the workplace. I see it as a positive tool for those too timid to speak out in class and would shine virtually. I don’t really see editing as a negetive aspect to wikis. We all need and receive instruction and correction and as long as it is done in a respectful manner, I think it’s fine.
I would have to agree with Jamie on the grammar bit. I feel we all need all the help we can get when it comes to grammar.It is a key part to the writing process.For a student to fully and effectively use their voice in an articulate, comprehensive way publicly, they need to practice the rules of good grammar. It is also our job to make sure they do it in a constructive supportive way without squashing their creativity. English teachers have been doing it to me my whole educational experience, there’s nothing wrong with it. Pat P
Everyone is making really good points. At first, I thought the grammer could be relaxed, like allowing the wiki to be completely the student’s space. But Jamie and Pat made good points about using the wiki as an ELA tool and therefore it should be used correctly. But either way, all students could get involved in wikis, especially shy students. It would also be a great opportunity for a teacher to bring a “shy” students wiki comments into the classroom.
While I do agree that the Wiki can give shy kids a voice, it can also be a place where students write things that they wouldn’t say in class, which could be a good or a bad thing. Overall, I think Wikis will provide our students with a positive learning experience because, as Pat said, they would be working together. This ultimately prepares them for the “real world” where they will be working collaboratively with their co-workers.
In regards to grammar, I agree with both Frank and Alexis that content is more important. Because of the edit key, students can always go back and correct their mistakes. Jackie had a good idea when she offered a bonus to students who correct grammar on their own or their classmates’ posts. After learning more about wikis and using them in one of my classes last semester, I know that they can bring alot to the English classroom!
Stacia
The use of a wiki would actually somewhat force the less talkative kids to contribute, and while this may be very challenging for many of them the more they do it the less nervous they would be to do it. This could even then transfer to the classroom if the student really starts to get comfortable.
Grammatically, while some of you make some good points against using correct grammar, I still kind of feel that they should be using proper grammar when writing, as after all, it’s and English class. Although, maybe assigning each student a certain number of lines to check and correct at the end of the year could make for a nifty grammar exercise…
I agree with what Stacia had mentioned when saying that wikis can encourage a class to collaborate beyond the classroom. I think using wikis and blogs as a part of a class curriculum creates a comfortable environment for the students to share ideas with one another without feeling limited. Of course there needs to be a set of rules for a class to follow but online collaboration can definitly make learning seem more casual and interactive. I see this as a positive experience especially in ELA.
I do agree that if the wiki is being used in the English classroom, then grammar rules should definitly apply. If students do not use proper grammar than it defeats the purpose of building writing skills which would be a positive attribute to this kind of experience.
I believe that using a wiki can be a positive and negative learning experience for a student. Students can feel open and feel positive and open about expressing their opinions. Also, students can feel intimidated by the interaction online, because some students feel more comfortable than others. I believe that students should have the freedom to write however they feel on the wiki unless otherwise told so due to an important submission, etc. Although, proper grammar issues is important it is crucial that students know how to utilize proper grammar rules.
I think that wikis are a great way for students who may feel very shy about presenting projects infront of the class to really be able to express their opinions and be creative without the social pressure. I believe that most teaching methods have negative and positive aspects. As long as teachers have instilled trust in their students and has given them the opportunity to express their opinions in a neutral atmosphere these methods will be successful.