Wikis for Collaborative Learning and Knowledge Construction

This week we have been asked to create a lesson plan in which a wiki is used to foster collaboration and construct knowledge. The unit I have put together is over Ancient Greece. This unit will focus on historical content and accuracy, reading comprehension- specifically compare/contrast skills, writing, technology & mapping skills.
The students will work on their group wikis primarily in the classroom so that they are able to have guidance from the teacher if needed and guide each other through this collaborative creative process. Creating a wiki gives the students some creative license, but also lets the students analyze the content and determine what they think is the most important information about Ancient Greece.

Title: History of Ancient Greece

Target Audience: 6^th Grade Social Studies Students                                            

Learning Objectives:

Students will describe important features of daily life in Ancient Greece.

Students will understand where Greece is geographically located and know the significance of the geography of the surrounding area.

Students will compare and contrast the civilizations of Ancient Athens and Ancient Sparta.

Students will compare and contrast the climate and terrain of Greece to the climate and terrain where they live.

Students will understand the significance of the contributions of Ancient Greece to today’s society.

Students will be able to create a collaborative Wiki and understand basic formatting.

Materials Needed:

Internet, smart board, laptop cart or computer lab access, Athens/Sparta compare contrast worksheet, outline maps of Greece and surrounding area, excerpts from the Odyssey, video note packet, dry erase trade route maps, Wiki FAQ handout for students.

Instruction/ Learning Procedures:

   

o    5- 45 minute technology sessions in class, if more time is needed to complete the Wiki it will be done at home.

o    9- 45 minute class sessions for Ancient Greek content

o    2- 45 minutes class sessions to present Wikis to the class and conference with the teacher about the project.

Additional class time may be needed depending on student needs.

The teacher will have a Smart Board lesson for each section of the unit along with appropriate videos and internet sites.

o    Students will be in groups of 4 for Wiki collaboration.

o    Students will compare/contrasts Athens & Sparta in groups of 2.

o    Students will complete maps of Ancient Greece individually.

o    Students will write a 4 paragraph compare/contrast essay of the U.S. government & culture vs Ancient Greek government and culture- groups of two.

o    Students will complete a Greek god or goddess Glogster individually- homework.

  

Evaluation: Ancient Greece map rubric. Wiki Collaboration rubric; peer evaluation and self-assessment. Compare and contrast essay rubric. Glogster rubric.

                    www.ascd.org   

Learning Activities:

• Create a Wiki incorporating the major themes of Ancient Greece; include graphics, references, and hyperlinks.
• Map of Ancient Greece-color, label, and create a key.
• Note packets will be distributed for all videos watched during the course of this unit.
• Compare and contrast essay of U.S. culture and government vs Ancient Greek culture and government.
• Greek god/goddess Glogster homework assignment.

Day 1- Intro to Wiki *add content, edit, basic formatting, students will be able to play in the sandbox. –Wiki how to video on YouTube- *students will have the opportunity to explore other educational wikis

Day 2- Geography of Greece *locate on a map; describe important physical features and how they helped/hurt Greek society/culture; Map of Ancient Greece- label, color, create key. Short video with note packet about Greek geography/features.

Day 3- Agriculture & Trade *With rocky soil, what can Greeks grow? Where did they get the rest of their food and other important items? Dry erase maps to trace trade routes; What did Greeks trade with other countries? Culture?

Day 4- Begin Wiki in class *establish group norms and roles *define important content *create *trouble shoot –Wiki FAQ handout for students-

Day 5- Athens- government, daily life, people *type of government *men/women roles *children in Athens *agora/culture *navy –British Museum daily life in Athens-http://www.ancientgreece.co.uk/

Day 6- Sparta- government, daily life, people *type of government *men/women roles *children in Sparta *military *culture?? –British Museum daily life in Sparta- http://www.ancientgreece.co.uk/  *Begin compare/contrast essay on Sparta & Athens

Day 7- Wiki- collaborate, write, add new content to group wiki during class

Day 8- Conflict in Ancient Greece- Trojan War, Peloponnesian War, Persian War –video with video notes packet-

Day 9-Religion *polytheistic *Mt. Olympus *Olympics * gods & goddesses –assign god/goddess Glogster

Day 10-Wiki- collaborate, write, add new content, edit

Day 11- Greek Culture & Contributions- Art & Architecture *statues, pottery columns, famous buildings *power point on Greek art & architecture

Day 12-Greek Culture & Contributions- Literature & Philosophy *excerpts from the Odyssey for analysis *short video with notes on great philosophers

Day 13- Compare & Contrast- U.S. government & culture with Ancient Greek government & culture. Four paragraph essay with a partner.

Day 14- final in class Wiki time- collaborate, edit, add new content…

Day 15- Wiki presentations to the class

Day 16- Project conference with teacher

                                                                       

Wiki Grading Rubric

Student Name(s):

Assignment:

____ 5 pts A collaborative effort (as seen in the history) IF IT IS A GROUP WIKI. – 5 points

Several participants have contributed. Wikis are collaborative. Each person brings their strengths

and contributes things that they are good at to the project.

____ 10 pts Visual appeal

Graphics are used as needed and add to the message. Graphics are not distracting and used where

needed to further explain a topic. If does not look cluttered.

____ 10 pts Organization

A table of contents is used, headings and underlines are used appropriately.

____ 10 pts Hyperlinks to sources

An effective wiki hyperlinks sources and gives readers additional information about the topic.

Because most people tend to not trust wikis (they don't know the authors), you must include a

variety of hyperlinks to be considered an effective source of information. As people follow your

hyperlinks, they will begin to look at the information you've linked to. They will learn that you

are an authority and that you've "done your homework." Make sure that you have checked your

hyperlinks and that they work.

_____ 15 pts Original, intelligent wording

The effective wiki summarizes information but never copies it! (Cite your sources.) The wording

is intelligent and meaningful and jargon is not used. Wikis may be read by a global audience and

authors must keep that in mind.

_____ 15 pts Spelling/Grammar Punctuation (-1 each up to max)

_____ 35 pts Assignment criteria met.

TOTAL POINTS out of 100 pts    _______________          Final Grade Earned  ___________

For more information on how wikis can be used in the classroom:

http://www.educatorstechnology.com/2012/07/teachers-guide-on-use-of-wikis-in.html

References:

www.glogster.edu

http://www.ancientgreece.co.uk/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xxQLmys9tI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxj9Wbc_IOY

http://ancienthistory.pppst.com/greece.html

http://k12online.wm.edu/WikiGradingRubric.pdf 

www.middleweb.com

Using wikis for student collaboration - Case study

Wikis: The Pros & Cons for Adult Learners

With the rise of social networking in the 21^st Century, people of all generations have become more tech savvy. So many people stay connected with family and friends and even find jobs through social networking sites. Why not bring the social aspect into learning? People learn from one another and encourage each other to broaden thoughts, find deeper meaning and even change the way we think.

Social learning can be difficult when adult learners are also online learners. It is very difficult to obtain the social, collaborative aspect of learning when class members all live in different zip codes. One way this has become possible is through collaborative learning spaces- wikis.

There are many pros to using wikis in adult education. As noted by King & Cox (2011), Wikis can be used in many different ways.

1. student journaling                                                                        
2. personal portfolios
3. collaborative knowledge- group work & projects
4. research coordination & collaboration
5. curricular & cross-disciplinary coordination
6. coordinate & organize academic conferences

      Other positives to using wikis are that they require limited technical skills, so students will be able to focus on collaboration with out too many technical difficulties (King & Cox 2011). If technical issues arise, many wikis provide technical support for users. There are also many free wiki sites. So anyone can create their own wiki without subscribing to a wiki site. 

In adult distance education courses, wikis are primarily 

used for research collaboration and group projects.

 

Wikis are easy to create, change and track. Although some students may be worried about altering someone else’s work during the wiki process but there really is no need to worry. The term WIKI  actually comes from the Hawaiian word wikiwiki, which means change quickly (King & Cox 2011). It is very fast and easy to edit and restore a wiki. 

As stated in King & Cox (2011), when adults are presented with self-directed learning opportunities, the greater their chances of learning the information. Creating a wiki is a self-directed learning opportunity where individuals not only take control of their learning, but can add information to the web environment in which they interact with other interested members (Hazari, North, Moreland, 2009).

One final pro for adult learners using wikis is that work created can be used later for job interviews and electronic portfolios.

Of course, where there are positives there are always a few negatives. Some cons that I feel can be overcome are students may be unsure of the technology/ wiki formatting and students may be unsure of their role in the group because they have not previously worked with the group members before (Hazari, North, Moreland, 2009). After creating several wikis and playing around in the “sandbox” or “playground” that the instructor has provided, students should gain confidence in their abilities. Other students in the collaborative group may have more experience in formatting and could possibly take over that role. As students start to interact with their group mates via Skype, Vale, email etc… they should become more familiar with one another.

One con that cannot be avoided are wikis do not have much security. If not password protected, anyone can post irrelevant, incorrect, or inappropriate information (King & Cox 2011). If students use a free wiki site, there are always advertisements that cannot be removed.

If adult learners can see past a few minor issues, then I feel that wikis are a valuable tool for collaboration and collective thinking. They are easy to use and provide a way for students to become active contributors and content producers (Hazari, North, Moreland 2009) who are in control of their learning.


For more information the link below will take you to a great article about how teachers can use blogs and wikis.
http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/feb09/vol66/num05/Learning-with-Blogs-and-Wikis.aspx

West, J., & West, M. (2009). Using wikis for online collaboration. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

King, K., & Cox, T. (2011). The professor’s guide to taming technology. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.

Harzi, S., North,A., Moreland,D. (2009). Investigating pedagogical value of wiki technology. Journal of information systems education. 20(2). 187-198.Retrieved from: http://search.proquest.com.er.lib.k-state.edu/docview/200157232?accountid=11789.

Blogging vs Message Boards for the Adult Learner

Which is better, blogs or message boards? Is one more motivating than the other? I supposed that depends on the adult learner using the technology.

Both are a well suited for distance learning, independent research and provide a sense of community- a place to share what one has learned with others. Both are used for evaluation and constructive criticism. 

However, message boards seem rather cold and sterile compared to the creative element that blogs provide. Blogs are more personal and people often get more personal on a blog than they do on a message board.

When using a message board, your audience is limited to the professor and the students in your

class. While this can be motivating, no one wants to sound uneducated when among the educated, some may be even more motivated to go above and beyond knowing their work will be published for the world to see. According to Santos (2011), students who know they have an audience other than their teacher write more credibly, accurately and carefully. 

Both provide a way for students to let their voices be heard. Some students may be comfortable with the message board because they are unsure about posting for all the world to see. Others may relish the fact that world is their oyster!

Another great question is, what happens to all of those message board posts when the class ends? Answer: They are gone! Blogs can be accessed 24 hours a day 7 days a week! So not only can a blog post be retrieved at any time, they are organized and information is easy to find.
Blogs are organized chronologically and message boards are organized by topic.

There are many great things about blogs. They are free. People can access information and sources at any time day or night. Information is organized and links are easy to find. 

There are also a few cons to blogging. One is that many adult learners will be hesitant to learn yet another new form of technology. Another is that if not properly maintained, blogs may contain "dead" links (Oravec, 2002). There is a certain amount of time required to maintain a blog and keep it updated. Bloggers don't want to leave their readers hanging! Privacy is also an issue. Remember, anyone can access your blog, so be careful of what you put out there! One more danger in the world of blogging is blogging itself! Because blogs are free, there are tons of blogs out there! Blog overload can be a problem (Oravec, 2002). 

SO... the question still remains. Which is better, the blog or the message board? I say the blog!
Blogs are used not only for educational purposes, but also out there in the real world. If the purpose of higher education is to prepare students for new careers and climbing the corporate ladder, shouldn't those students start using real world technology while in school? Yes.

As stated by Oravec (2002), blogs have many business apps and are used in work group communication. Many companies maintain blogs for customer outreach and updates on products and services.

Learning how to blog while in the safety of your University can only be an advantage when one is required to blog in the workplace. Maintaining a weblog over the course of a semester etc... can give students a sense of discipline needed to become a professional (Oravec, 2002).

If you are clinging to that old tired message board and have doubts about blogging, consider this. Message boards are more back and forth, question/answer and will eventually become inaccessible. Blogs are expressive individual thoughts, which may or may not result in a reply but may still cause a reflection- 24 hours a day, 7 days a week (Hacker, 2012).

References:

Oravec, J. (2002). Bookmarking the world: Weblog applications in education. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 45(7), 616.

Santos, A. (2011) Blogs as a learning space: creating text of talks. Contemporary Issues in Education Research, 4,(6), 15.

M. Hacker (2012, October 12). Blog vs discussion board.
[weblog comment] Retrieved from
http://blogs.oregonstate.edu/hybridflc/2012/10/07/blog-vs-discussion-board/

pictures courtesy of:
theedublogger.com
www.businessinsider.com
the filmscript.blogspot.