This document discusses using wikis as digital writing portfolios for middle school English language learners. It provides background on wikis and outlines the presenter's experience piloting wikis with 150 students to collect writing in a collaborative, accessible online space. Benefits included peer and teacher feedback, draft revision tracking, and increased writing discussions. Challenges were the digital learning curve and potential for sabotage, though the presenter provides best practices like unique student usernames and explicit instruction in wiki skills to address these issues. Overall, wikis were found to enhance the writing process when structured and supported appropriately for students.

1. Easy Design, Transformative Results:
Wiki-Based Digital Writing Portfolios
Jeff Mattison
CATESOL – Oakland
April 13, 2012

2. Outline
Background on Wikis
My School Environment
Wiki as Writing Portfolio
Privacy Concerns
Best Practices
Demonstration
Conclusions
Questions and Answers

3. My School Environment
Suburban setting Netbook Academy
98% English Language 2nd year of pilot
Learners project
50% LTELL 150 of 834 students
40% RFEP have daily access
8% Newcomer in 4 content
classes
Middle Grades 7 & 8
Another 200 students
have access in at
least 1 content
class

4. Audience Needs Assessment
What is your:
School setting
Level of students
Experience with a wiki?
Partner share
I came to this session because I would like to...

5. Background
Definition (a la wiktionary.org)
Wiki: A collaborative website which can
be directly edited using only a web
browser, often by anyone with access
to it.
Derived from the Hawaiian word, wiki,
meaning “very fast”
Example Hosting Sites
wikispaces.com
pbworks.com
wikidot.com

6. Wikispaces.com
Advantages
Free for educators
No ads or banners
No email address
required for student
users
Able to create many
users at once

7. rm301authors.wikispaces.com

8. Qualitative Student Impressions

9. Quantitative Students
Impressions
Average scores on a 5-point Likert scale, N = 96
(1=strongly disagree, 5=strongly agree)
4.18 Writing with classmates using the wiki is more helpful than
writing alone on paper
4.09 The wiki was easy to edit my composition when I needed to
make changes
4.02 The wiki was easy to use to type my composition
3.89 I write better using the wiki than I do when I write on
notebook paper
3.76 I enjoyed using the wiki to write my composition
3.59 My writing improved when a classmate or teacher made a
comment through the wiki

10. Using a Wiki for a Writing Portfolio
Benefits Challenges
Cloud storage, no Digital learning curve
papers or USBs
Text editing glitchy,
Accessible for peer &
teacher feedback limited
In text comments Member integrity
pinpoint revision & Sabotage
edit needs
Plagiarism
Draft changes saved
Increased opportunities
to talk about writing

11. Young Learner
Privacy Concerns
DO DON'T
Give students unique Reveal full names of
passwords students
Restrict public Disclose school
access to wiki location or name
Require all users to Post pictures of
login before editing students without
parent permission

12. Best Practices
Class Management Wiki Organization
Student # as page name Map out design tree
Bulk user creator Use templates like
worksheets
Use tags to group pages
Learner Training Collaboration
Explicity teach wiki skills Pair students until
community develops
Contract for user
expectations Teacher sets the tone

13. Conclusion
Consider your own and students' tech skills
to decide how to structure your wiki
Support and encourage students to interact
with writing and each other via wiki tools
Initial learning curve takes time, but wiki
saves time in draft process
Wiki enhances the writing process at each
step with collaborative tools

14. Questions and Answers
Partner Share...
What has your experience been in designing
collaborative group work around writing, with
or without the use of technology?
One question I still have about using a wiki for a
writing portfolio is...

15. Thank you for coming!
Presenter contact information:
Jeffrey.mattison@salinasuhsd.org
Wikis
Presenter's Class
www.rm301authors.wikispaces.com
Presentation Example
http://tinyurl.com/wikiplfo