2. Personal View " For me, wikis are one of the most powerful tools for learning and teaching. They are the epitome of a learner-centred environment and are capable of adding much needed breadth and depth to learning whilst at the same time strengthening learning relationships within and beyond the classroom, offering valuable recorded insight into both process and outcome”
3. Higher order thinking skills Lower order thinking skills Creating Synthesize all of the collected information and produce a wiki page detailing the main themes and global perspectives for presentation to a younger audience. Evaluating Use “Discuss Article” to draw conclusions and share a personal response. Compare and contrast all collected evidence to form an opinion. Relate your viewpoint to that of your peers Analysing Draw conclusions and develop hypotheses based on the collective knowledge of the group Applying Apply knowledge of one area studied to different areas studied by peers to draw conclusions. E.g A class studying the planets of the solar system. Students focusing on Mars can access the learning of students studying the other planets and look for similarities and differences Understanding Publish research in your own words, describe, compare and contrast. Paraphrase or summarise findings Remembering Recognise or recall information. Respond to “who, what, where or when” questions
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Editor's Notes
Establish ground rules - Ideally through negotiation with students Contributions should be required rather than optional. Require postings as a part of formal class work Wikis provide a meeting point for a variety of viewpoints and present an opportunity for each student to have a voice. Rules need to be established regarding valuing and respecting the contributions of others, what constitutes appropriate behaviour when editing or reviewing somebody else's content, and the use of posts which add no value to the discussion. The teacher must be seen to "be in the room" so ensure that you make regular contributions of your own.
Assume Nothing - The use of wikis has to be taught Include detailed wiki instructions or a link on the wiki index page Use writing frames to scaffold contributions, create consistent fields, for each user, manage structures which will in turn manage audience expectations Create and share rubrics for effective contributions Share examples of the learner journey as well as examples of user generated content. Demonstrate changes which happened over time and consider the reasons for those changes. Demonstrate how quality version comments can lead people to amend their work. Acknowledge positive contributions and dedicated contributors. Empower peer recognition.
Create a culture of trust in the wiki. Identity matters. Just as students are more likely to take care over their contributions because each contribution is tagged with their name they will be mindful of the fact that their teacher is in the room. Develop strategies for peer review which ensure that each student has the opportunity to benefit from the contributions of the rest of the group. Manage the peer review process to ensure that contributions and comments are read and acted upon.If the responses are not seen to be valued the process will not be seen to be valuable. Review progress as a class activity, highlighting high and low quality contributions and changes that occurred as a result of proximity to each others learning or comments from peers or the teacher. Discuss outcomes and see the completed or developing wiki as both an online and offline body of evidence to be used to add depth and breadth to the area of study.
No longer about access to information Forum exemplify the changing relationship between student / teacher and the nature of knowledge itself
