While this blog is primarily oriented toward a discussion of e learning, I am very interested in the intersection of learning theory, economics and my instruction of economics.
To that end, I am endeavoring to have a wide community of viewers so I have invited colleagues from a number of my learning communities to this blog to complete the one question poll to the left and to leave a comment at this site.
The poll question was prompted by my desire to see if James James Surowiecki's thesis in The Wisdom of Crowds can be easily tested. We will know the answer to these poll question within the next 15 months, so this seemed a reasonable way for me to test his argument.
Moreover, I am seriously giving consideration to the use of blog and wiki as delivery tools for the classes I teach online and to supplement my face to face instruction. Given the research available dealing with alternative assessment and the role of authenticity and constructivism in learning, I want to see how colleagues I have come to respect interact in this environment.
Thanks in advance for your vote on the poll and any comments you care to leave.
Your reply might include:
1. Your explanation/rationale for your vote on the direction of the US economy in 2008.
2. The consequence - social, cultural, political if your prediction is correct?
3. Your view of instructional technologies such as this and their efficacy in the classroom - either cyber or face to face.
4. Any other relevant issue or question you might wish to raise.
Greg
Showing posts with label wiki. Show all posts
Showing posts with label wiki. Show all posts
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Wiki comment and feedback
In EDUC 761 our class is reviewing various - Emerging Communication Tools and How They Might Influence Online Education in the Future. I have shared my experience with wiki and I have invited my colleagues to review the survey data on the left, leave a survey comment and post a comment as a reply.
Our reading and discussion in EDUC 762 has touched on peer to peer collaboration (our midterm is a good example of this), authentic and alternative assessment and recently, the challenges posed by 4 storms of E Learning that were predicted in 2004 and may already be here.
That said, after completing the survey to your left, if you would elaborate with a comment. You may reply to one prompt below or leave a comment based upon your own experience with wiki.
1. Of the benefits you identified in the survey, which is the most significant and why so you see this benefit as so important?
2. Are wiki now a part of your world as an instructor. If so, how do you use them. If not, are wiki evident in your various learning communities.
3. Share an example of peer to peer collaboration that you have used in the classroom (either face to face or online). Could a wiki have been used to support this collaboration?
4. Do you see wiki as an example of authenticity in activity or assessment? Why or why not.
I know you are all busy so thanks to those of you who take time to post a comment.
Greg@Az
Our reading and discussion in EDUC 762 has touched on peer to peer collaboration (our midterm is a good example of this), authentic and alternative assessment and recently, the challenges posed by 4 storms of E Learning that were predicted in 2004 and may already be here.
That said, after completing the survey to your left, if you would elaborate with a comment. You may reply to one prompt below or leave a comment based upon your own experience with wiki.
1. Of the benefits you identified in the survey, which is the most significant and why so you see this benefit as so important?
2. Are wiki now a part of your world as an instructor. If so, how do you use them. If not, are wiki evident in your various learning communities.
3. Share an example of peer to peer collaboration that you have used in the classroom (either face to face or online). Could a wiki have been used to support this collaboration?
4. Do you see wiki as an example of authenticity in activity or assessment? Why or why not.
I know you are all busy so thanks to those of you who take time to post a comment.
Greg@Az
Friday, February 8, 2008
Public v private - how should a wiki be constructed
A great discussion has sprung up in EDUC 762 regarding private v public settings for an educational wiki.
How do you weight in?
While here, if you have not voted in the survey on wiki use, give it a whirl.
Do the current survey results on wiki inform your comments?
I'll kick off our discussion by responding to the following excellent question:
So I wondered why your group chose to only complete a wiki to submit to the instructor knowing that your wiki could be subjected to vandalizing even with the private access. Not suggesting our classmates but, others who might obtain access.
This is a great question and really reflects back on the philosophy of the internet, social networking and community building. My response is grounded in my personal philosophy, experience with this tool and constructivist view point of learning communities.
Personal Philosophy
I am grounded in the moral philosophy of Adam Smith. Smith, in The Theory of Moral Sentiments presents a strong case that the link between individual liberty or natural liberty and society is personal responsibility expressed through virtue. The operative agent is an impartial spectator that aligns liberty with responsibility.
So my first response, is that I have tremendous confidence in my fellows.
Experience with wiki
If you think back to the survey (over on our left) one of the major advantages of a wiki is the archive functionality. Every page and page edit is saved in history. If a "vandal" were to attack any or all pages in a public wiki, the previous page would be restored and the vandal blocked from the site.
Our EDUC 762 group midterm project was a private one, a decision that I obviously find contrary to the essence of wiki, Adam Smith, Walt Whitman and inclusiveness. Having said that, the questioner accurately points out, the wiki could still be "vandalized".
But, the process of collaboration or the process of vandalizing is, I think, important to regard. Howl, was considered obscene (a form of poetic graffitti), Dali and Pollack are examples of those attacked by the cultural establishment as juvenile and "vandals" and early rap and hip hop were considered criminal. I am not saying that this wiki rises to high art, but a defining characteristic of wiki is collaboration and inclusivement (in my view).
So, I would welcome all collaboration which, at its heart could be viewed as subversive and ultimately vandalism.
A bit like the philosophy in The Leaves of Grass . . . . could Whitman have been anticipating the wiki (Me or I or our?):
What is commonest, cheapest, nearest, easiest is Me.
or
I too am not a bit tamed, I too am untranslatable.
or
Our freedom all in thee! our very lives in thee!
Constructivist view of learning
It will not be surprising that my philosophy of constructivism is founded on notions of personal liberty and responsibility, inclusiveness and a sense that, as Whitman and Ginsberg declare - are democratic and universal. The notion of American exceptionalism that was early on described in Democracy in America by Tocqueville identified five values crucial to America's success as a democratic republic:
(1) liberty
(2) egalitarianism
(3) individualism
(4) populism and
(5) laissez-faire
Perhaps these are important not only to wiki, but to the broader discussion of community building.
Click over to Public Wiki to view the wiki under discussion. The question at the beginning of this post focused on the Owyang assessment of weaknesses of wiki. Immediately above this analysis of weakness you can see a summary of strengths/benefits/uses of wiki that might inform your analysis of this topic.
Thanks to my classmates over in EDUC 762 for prompting this excellent discussion.
How do you weight in?
While here, if you have not voted in the survey on wiki use, give it a whirl.
Do the current survey results on wiki inform your comments?
I'll kick off our discussion by responding to the following excellent question:
So I wondered why your group chose to only complete a wiki to submit to the instructor knowing that your wiki could be subjected to vandalizing even with the private access. Not suggesting our classmates but, others who might obtain access.
This is a great question and really reflects back on the philosophy of the internet, social networking and community building. My response is grounded in my personal philosophy, experience with this tool and constructivist view point of learning communities.
Personal Philosophy
I am grounded in the moral philosophy of Adam Smith. Smith, in The Theory of Moral Sentiments presents a strong case that the link between individual liberty or natural liberty and society is personal responsibility expressed through virtue. The operative agent is an impartial spectator that aligns liberty with responsibility.
So my first response, is that I have tremendous confidence in my fellows.
Experience with wiki
If you think back to the survey (over on our left) one of the major advantages of a wiki is the archive functionality. Every page and page edit is saved in history. If a "vandal" were to attack any or all pages in a public wiki, the previous page would be restored and the vandal blocked from the site.
Our EDUC 762 group midterm project was a private one, a decision that I obviously find contrary to the essence of wiki, Adam Smith, Walt Whitman and inclusiveness. Having said that, the questioner accurately points out, the wiki could still be "vandalized".
But, the process of collaboration or the process of vandalizing is, I think, important to regard. Howl, was considered obscene (a form of poetic graffitti), Dali and Pollack are examples of those attacked by the cultural establishment as juvenile and "vandals" and early rap and hip hop were considered criminal. I am not saying that this wiki rises to high art, but a defining characteristic of wiki is collaboration and inclusivement (in my view).
So, I would welcome all collaboration which, at its heart could be viewed as subversive and ultimately vandalism.
A bit like the philosophy in The Leaves of Grass . . . . could Whitman have been anticipating the wiki (Me or I or our?):
What is commonest, cheapest, nearest, easiest is Me.
or
I too am not a bit tamed, I too am untranslatable.
or
Our freedom all in thee! our very lives in thee!
Constructivist view of learning
It will not be surprising that my philosophy of constructivism is founded on notions of personal liberty and responsibility, inclusiveness and a sense that, as Whitman and Ginsberg declare - are democratic and universal. The notion of American exceptionalism that was early on described in Democracy in America by Tocqueville identified five values crucial to America's success as a democratic republic:
(1) liberty
(2) egalitarianism
(3) individualism
(4) populism and
(5) laissez-faire
Perhaps these are important not only to wiki, but to the broader discussion of community building.
Click over to Public Wiki to view the wiki under discussion. The question at the beginning of this post focused on the Owyang assessment of weaknesses of wiki. Immediately above this analysis of weakness you can see a summary of strengths/benefits/uses of wiki that might inform your analysis of this topic.
Thanks to my classmates over in EDUC 762 for prompting this excellent discussion.
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Second life, social networks and online learning
If you completed the survey to the left, I would love your comments and elaboration here.
I learned about Second Life from, of all people my spin teacher. Now Biray is an amazing teacher and very, very adept at staying current with instructional technology so I thought I should find out about this social network. So I rushed out and 6 months later, here are my thoughts and questions. I would love to hear what you all have to say.
In addition to the recommendation by Biray, I learned about social networking in the Graduate Certificate Program in E Learning and Online Teaching. Den, Susan, Datta Kaur, Kay and Lisa are accomplished facilitators and online mentors and, in one form or another, they have all pointed out the possibilities of social networks in the evolution of learning communities.
So, as an economics instructor, I became intrigued by the costs and benefits of these social networks and the impact that they may have on teaching and learning. Below find a representative sample of what my indepth use of google revealed.
I would say that, in order to build effective learning communities educators need to be aware of the boundaries of their discipline, some learning theory, some instructional design, a bit of assessment and some awareness of how their students interact and in what environments their students interact. All of these will inform how we develop and delivery instruction and what approach we use to facilitate our classes.
Further, if we see any value in constructivism, we need to be aware of, to quote Biray, "where our students are". If they are in social networks - Facebook, MySpace, Second Life, then perhaps we need to know a bit about these networks.
After all, our learning communities are not about us, they are not about our disciplines, they should be about how learners access and integrate content in an authentic and relevant manner. We should remember that authenticity and relevance are jointly defined.
So, here they are, a few sources about Second Life.
My next post may be about teaching economics on youTube.
University of Cincinnati Second Life Learning Community (UCSLLC)
The University of Cincinnati Second Life Learning Community will evaluate the feasibility of using Second Life, a 3D multi-user virtual online platform (3DMUVE), in online instruction for the purpose of distance learning and to enhance traditional face-to-face courses. Our major goals are to share and develop resources as we examine the use of the Second Life virtual environment for instruction, pool our talents to build reusable learning objects and spaces in Second Life, and ultimately create a web-based resource for other educators that describes our process, the results of our experience, and our recommendations for its future use as an instructional tool.
At colleges, real learning in a virtual world
They may be college teachers and students, but they're also pioneers — exploring strange new worlds that exist nowhere on Earth. That's because their classes and field trips take place only on computers, using an online digital world called Second Life.
Some 60 schools and universities have set up shop inside Second Life — most in the past year. They join a population that includes real-world business people, politicians, entertainers, and more than 800,000 other "residents" of the virtual world.
Getting an Academic Life in Second Life from the Chronicle of Higher Education
Colleges around the world are opening virtual campuses in Second Life, a three-dimensional, colorful environment that can be accessed via a computer. One of those campuses is New Orleans Island, which was built by Merrill L. Johnson, an administrator at the University of New Orleans. What is the appeal of Second Life, and what kind of classes does the university hold there? Is Second Life a useful distance-education platform or just frivolous entertainment? Mr. Johnson will answer those and other questions.
Unintended Consequences
Doug Simpson's weblog of research on the collision of law, networks and disruptive technologies.
Virtual worlds are increasingly becoming subjects of serious research by law and economics scholars as well entrepreneurs. Over the coming weeks, we'll be exploring a virtual world called Second Life, with the help of several embedded "avatars" living there, and comparing their reports with the thoughts of leading scholars in this emerging field.
Academic research on Second Life
Although you may not realise it, Second Life has a huge group of educators active within it, many of whom have been active for some time. The process of writing academic papers however, is long and sometimes painful. We are starting to see these papers appearing dotted around the place:
I learned about Second Life from, of all people my spin teacher. Now Biray is an amazing teacher and very, very adept at staying current with instructional technology so I thought I should find out about this social network. So I rushed out and 6 months later, here are my thoughts and questions. I would love to hear what you all have to say.
In addition to the recommendation by Biray, I learned about social networking in the Graduate Certificate Program in E Learning and Online Teaching. Den, Susan, Datta Kaur, Kay and Lisa are accomplished facilitators and online mentors and, in one form or another, they have all pointed out the possibilities of social networks in the evolution of learning communities.
So, as an economics instructor, I became intrigued by the costs and benefits of these social networks and the impact that they may have on teaching and learning. Below find a representative sample of what my indepth use of google revealed.
I would say that, in order to build effective learning communities educators need to be aware of the boundaries of their discipline, some learning theory, some instructional design, a bit of assessment and some awareness of how their students interact and in what environments their students interact. All of these will inform how we develop and delivery instruction and what approach we use to facilitate our classes.
Further, if we see any value in constructivism, we need to be aware of, to quote Biray, "where our students are". If they are in social networks - Facebook, MySpace, Second Life, then perhaps we need to know a bit about these networks.
After all, our learning communities are not about us, they are not about our disciplines, they should be about how learners access and integrate content in an authentic and relevant manner. We should remember that authenticity and relevance are jointly defined.
So, here they are, a few sources about Second Life.
My next post may be about teaching economics on youTube.
University of Cincinnati Second Life Learning Community (UCSLLC)
The University of Cincinnati Second Life Learning Community will evaluate the feasibility of using Second Life, a 3D multi-user virtual online platform (3DMUVE), in online instruction for the purpose of distance learning and to enhance traditional face-to-face courses. Our major goals are to share and develop resources as we examine the use of the Second Life virtual environment for instruction, pool our talents to build reusable learning objects and spaces in Second Life, and ultimately create a web-based resource for other educators that describes our process, the results of our experience, and our recommendations for its future use as an instructional tool.
At colleges, real learning in a virtual world
They may be college teachers and students, but they're also pioneers — exploring strange new worlds that exist nowhere on Earth. That's because their classes and field trips take place only on computers, using an online digital world called Second Life.
Some 60 schools and universities have set up shop inside Second Life — most in the past year. They join a population that includes real-world business people, politicians, entertainers, and more than 800,000 other "residents" of the virtual world.
Getting an Academic Life in Second Life from the Chronicle of Higher Education
Colleges around the world are opening virtual campuses in Second Life, a three-dimensional, colorful environment that can be accessed via a computer. One of those campuses is New Orleans Island, which was built by Merrill L. Johnson, an administrator at the University of New Orleans. What is the appeal of Second Life, and what kind of classes does the university hold there? Is Second Life a useful distance-education platform or just frivolous entertainment? Mr. Johnson will answer those and other questions.
Unintended Consequences
Doug Simpson's weblog of research on the collision of law, networks and disruptive technologies.
Virtual worlds are increasingly becoming subjects of serious research by law and economics scholars as well entrepreneurs. Over the coming weeks, we'll be exploring a virtual world called Second Life, with the help of several embedded "avatars" living there, and comparing their reports with the thoughts of leading scholars in this emerging field.
Academic research on Second Life
Although you may not realise it, Second Life has a huge group of educators active within it, many of whom have been active for some time. The process of writing academic papers however, is long and sometimes painful. We are starting to see these papers appearing dotted around the place:
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Images and Readings Worth Noting
Images descriptive of the topics analyzed by participants in the spring semester, 2008.
Module 3
Module 2
Module 1
Excellent readings on wiki - my midterm topic.
Wide Open Spaces: Wikis, Ready or Not
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Midterm
Our midterm in EDUC 762 is a collaborative activity. I have been paired with 3 other classmates (we are Group 3) and I will be researching wiki as assessment.
Below is a very rough draft of my participation.
Click on my wiki to see a formatted version - click here.
Greg Pratt
EDUC 762
Group 3
Peer to Peer Collaboration/Wiki
Spring 2008
Introduction to wiki, its uses & benefits
Introduction
According to Bernie Dodge (http://webquest.sdsu.edu/necc2004/blogs-and-wikis.htm) wikis were developed in 1995 by Ward Cunningham. The word means quick in Hawaiian. Cunningham's definition of a a wiki is the simplest online database that could possibly work. The archetypal wiki is Wikipedia, a collaborative effort with over a quarter million entries. Wikis allow open editing. Setting on the wiki can allow anyone can edit anyone else's writing, or undo a previous edit. This leads to a shared ownership of the collected work. To experience this, you can add an entry to Wikipedia or set up your own free wikispace on any of a number of wiki sites. If you have sufficient geek experience you can install your own wiki software on a server running Linux or Mac OS X. Most are open source.
Uses
In “Using Wikis for Summative and Formative Assessment” Marija Cubric outlines the following uses for wiki in instructional settings:
• Add (referenced) contribution to the weekly topic analysis
• Add definition to a topic discussion
• Review an article/web-site/standard relative to the topic
• Complete a practical task
• Develop essay
• Review the work of your colleague and provide comments
Her list reveals a dual nature of wiki, there is potential for academic skill development in writing, critical thinking, and other above the course level outcomes that learning institutions strive to achieve. At the same time, wiki provide a vehicle to develop collaborative skills and develop facility in the use of appropriate instructional technology for task completion.
Emma Tonkin in “Making the Case for Wiki” presents the uses for wiki in a broader context. She describes the following wiki uses:
Single-user Wikis
Talking to yourself may well be the first sign of madness, but what about writing to yourself? At first sight, it seems peculiar to imagine a single author making good use of a wiki. Wikis are collaborative environments, after all - or they're fast flexible multi-user web development platforms. What can one person do with a wiki?
• Brainstorming in the form of a wikiweb, which she describes as a concept map in wiki page.Or, rephrased, what on earth is the good of wiki software for a handheld or PDA (Personal Digital Assistant)?
• a single user wiki is a marvellous way of collecting and presenting information over a period of time.
Lab Book
Students requiring a place to keep an online lab book or research notebook are in much the same situation as the 'single user' jotting down brainstorming ideas, except for a number of details:
• The students may wish to create an index and entries cross-referenced by date and by content.
• Page export facilities in various forms are useful, if not necessary; for example, if the student can export their completed pages as a well typeset PDF document, the results can easily be used and shared in a variety of scenarios, or even bound into a book and used as a permanent record.
Collaborative Writing
Wikis are available online, for anybody granted access, and usually include the vital versioning information that allows authors to track the history of their documents. They appear to be an ideal platform for collaborative authorship, and indeed certain projects such as the Wikipedia, an online encyclopaedia, have proved to be entirely successful.
Wikis destined for collaborative writing should therefore include:
• a page locking system
• a versioning system
• the ability to temporarily remove the edit functionality for a given page
Knowledge Base
Any good learning community needs to retain their experiences somewhere, and a wiki makes a reasonably good knowledge base.
My teammate Patrick M pointed me to the online journal The International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning. In a 2005 analysis of wiki the authors of this article conclude: “The wiki has clear potential in distance education, allowing users to brainstorm ideas with an unlimited number of people around the world, and to collaborate with them in exchanging files and developing webpages.” They go to articulate both a use and a benefit of wiki when they write: “It is hoped that an increasing number of educators will encourage their students to develop the simple online editing and sharing skills that make wikis useful.”
Benefits
Linda Schwartz, Sharon Clark, Mary Cossarin, and Jim Rudolph in a 2004 article from the previously mentioned online journal outline a number of benefits arguing that “wikis can provide an efficient, flexible, user friendly and cost-effective interface for collaboration, knowledge creation and archiving, and student interaction. Lack of standardized formatting across wiki programs makes WYSIWYG editing attractive. The need for minimal technical skills allows users to concentrate on content rather than on the technical process of writing, and reduces the need for student support.”
In Corporate Wiki Users: Results of a Survey Ann Majchrzak et al reported that a survey of 168 corporate wiki users disclosed three main types of benefits from corporate wikis: enhanced reputation, work made easier, and helping theorganization to improve its processes. These benefits were seen as more likely when the wiki was used for tasks requiring novel solutions and the information posted was from credible sources.
Cubric prefaced her analysis of the benefits of wiki by saying “Regarding the theoretical foundation of this work, it is obvious that wiki is a textbook example of constructivist tool for learning . . . “ Among the benefits she lists (see Appendix for full analysis) are just-in-time learning, “structured dialogue” via learning, and a movement toward “connective” writing. An interesting finding asserted that wiki help student employability by preparing them for teamwork, global audience and peer reviews and in general for the new business model where “collaboration is the expectation rather than exception”
Weaknesses & challenges of wiki as an assessment tool
Jeremiah Owyang outlined the following wiki weaknesses at his blog site
To me, public wikis are one of the most problematic of all the social tools. I’ve created, managed, or been part of several public wikis, and as soon as they get popular, they get vandalized. The challenge is that turning over that much control over to the crowd gives one person nearly 90% control of the content. Sure, you can revert it but it becomes a cat and mouse game. I deployed the industry wiki for the Data Storage Industry, and we had to lock it, and hand out keys to trusted members of the community due to vandalism, same with the ScobleShow wiki, which is permanently disabled. Wikipedia? Same thing. In my frustration, I wrote this piece on the problem with wikis is people.
Other weaknesses and challenges of wiki surfaced in our class include the unfamiliar format, the somewhat crude and confusing interface or view, the difficulty in attribution of authorship and time requirement. While this participant in our class revised their opinion, their first impression of wiki was: “In my initial assessment of the wiki earlier this week, I absolutely hated it, and wanted nothing to do with it. Because of it's minimalist-looking webpage, I was turned off from the very beginning, and it didn't look very user-friendly.” So what was accurately described as a “minimalist page was an initial turn off. This may pose a significant challenge to the generation of learners raised on high levels of participant controlled functionality that is aesthetically under the control of the individual. Another participant in the same class writes on our discussion board about wiki: “What happens if more than one person is making an edit to the same content in a Wiki? Common sense tells me that whoever clicks save most recent gets their changes posted on the Wiki. Where this confuses me is if I am spending a great deal of time modifying information in a Wiki, only to realize someone else overrides it...this could end up in much wasted time.” This latter concern “wasted effort” would effectively block the efficicacy of wiki.
The issue of time required is clearly a barrier or cost to the use of wiki. An innovator in the use of social networks in composition instruction writes: “I can think of other reasons for not rushing to accept social networking apps. The main one is time. I have my students using blogs, wikis, and RSS now. And I've been wanting to start incorporating podcasts and videos. But to learn how to use them (some of my students do use them, which is great!) effectively in my classes, I just don't have the time” (http://secondlanguagewriting.com/explorations/Archives/2007/August/HypefromtheMediaandfromW.html)
A member of Group 3, my collaborative group for this midterm activity writes on the E Learning for Educators blog: “Do you see wiki as an example of authenticity in activity or assessment? No as it is too uncontrolled for my taste and comfort level.”
Finally, one of my colleagues in my midterm collaborate group wrote: “I would emphasize to my students that most of what is posted in wikis could be unverified.” This is perhaps the most frequently raised objection to wiki.
Examples of application of wiki in an online classroom.
Below are a list of applications for wiki in online classrooms. I would argue that perhaps the strongest set of applications involve the writing process and the publication process. My colleague at Mesa Community College, Shelley Rodrigo, English faculty and Instructional Technologist wrote on January 7, 2008 on E Learning for Educators: “Peer review of writing projects in a wiki is always interesting. Using the page history is helpful for both the student to learn from their classmates as well as my tracking of student work. I also like having students co-develop resource pages using a wiki.”
• Add (referenced) contribution to the weekly topic analysis
• Add definition to a topic discussion
• Review an article/web-site/standard relative to the topic
• Complete a practical task
• Develop essay
• Review the work of your colleague and provide comments
• Brainstorming
• Lab book
• Collaborative writing
At least one learning objective connected to the use wiki.
Clearly a number of learning objectives can be both articulated, taught and assessed via wiki. The most common general area seems to involve writing. One learning objective that might be taught and assessed online would be to have an original work of academic writing be revised by both the author and a classmate. Thinking back to Shelley Rodrigo’s comments, it seems that an increased quantity, quality, and process as measured by revision in the writing process may be connected to the use of wiki.
Below is a very rough draft of my participation.
Click on my wiki to see a formatted version - click here.
Greg Pratt
EDUC 762
Group 3
Peer to Peer Collaboration/Wiki
Spring 2008
Introduction to wiki, its uses & benefits
Introduction
According to Bernie Dodge (http://webquest.sdsu.edu/necc2004/blogs-and-wikis.htm) wikis were developed in 1995 by Ward Cunningham. The word means quick in Hawaiian. Cunningham's definition of a a wiki is the simplest online database that could possibly work. The archetypal wiki is Wikipedia, a collaborative effort with over a quarter million entries. Wikis allow open editing. Setting on the wiki can allow anyone can edit anyone else's writing, or undo a previous edit. This leads to a shared ownership of the collected work. To experience this, you can add an entry to Wikipedia or set up your own free wikispace on any of a number of wiki sites. If you have sufficient geek experience you can install your own wiki software on a server running Linux or Mac OS X. Most are open source.
Uses
In “Using Wikis for Summative and Formative Assessment” Marija Cubric outlines the following uses for wiki in instructional settings:
• Add (referenced) contribution to the weekly topic analysis
• Add definition to a topic discussion
• Review an article/web-site/standard relative to the topic
• Complete a practical task
• Develop essay
• Review the work of your colleague and provide comments
Her list reveals a dual nature of wiki, there is potential for academic skill development in writing, critical thinking, and other above the course level outcomes that learning institutions strive to achieve. At the same time, wiki provide a vehicle to develop collaborative skills and develop facility in the use of appropriate instructional technology for task completion.
Emma Tonkin in “Making the Case for Wiki” presents the uses for wiki in a broader context. She describes the following wiki uses:
Single-user Wikis
Talking to yourself may well be the first sign of madness, but what about writing to yourself? At first sight, it seems peculiar to imagine a single author making good use of a wiki. Wikis are collaborative environments, after all - or they're fast flexible multi-user web development platforms. What can one person do with a wiki?
• Brainstorming in the form of a wikiweb, which she describes as a concept map in wiki page.Or, rephrased, what on earth is the good of wiki software for a handheld or PDA (Personal Digital Assistant)?
• a single user wiki is a marvellous way of collecting and presenting information over a period of time.
Lab Book
Students requiring a place to keep an online lab book or research notebook are in much the same situation as the 'single user' jotting down brainstorming ideas, except for a number of details:
• The students may wish to create an index and entries cross-referenced by date and by content.
• Page export facilities in various forms are useful, if not necessary; for example, if the student can export their completed pages as a well typeset PDF document, the results can easily be used and shared in a variety of scenarios, or even bound into a book and used as a permanent record.
Collaborative Writing
Wikis are available online, for anybody granted access, and usually include the vital versioning information that allows authors to track the history of their documents. They appear to be an ideal platform for collaborative authorship, and indeed certain projects such as the Wikipedia, an online encyclopaedia, have proved to be entirely successful.
Wikis destined for collaborative writing should therefore include:
• a page locking system
• a versioning system
• the ability to temporarily remove the edit functionality for a given page
Knowledge Base
Any good learning community needs to retain their experiences somewhere, and a wiki makes a reasonably good knowledge base.
My teammate Patrick M pointed me to the online journal The International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning. In a 2005 analysis of wiki the authors of this article conclude: “The wiki has clear potential in distance education, allowing users to brainstorm ideas with an unlimited number of people around the world, and to collaborate with them in exchanging files and developing webpages.” They go to articulate both a use and a benefit of wiki when they write: “It is hoped that an increasing number of educators will encourage their students to develop the simple online editing and sharing skills that make wikis useful.”
Benefits
Linda Schwartz, Sharon Clark, Mary Cossarin, and Jim Rudolph in a 2004 article from the previously mentioned online journal outline a number of benefits arguing that “wikis can provide an efficient, flexible, user friendly and cost-effective interface for collaboration, knowledge creation and archiving, and student interaction. Lack of standardized formatting across wiki programs makes WYSIWYG editing attractive. The need for minimal technical skills allows users to concentrate on content rather than on the technical process of writing, and reduces the need for student support.”
In Corporate Wiki Users: Results of a Survey Ann Majchrzak et al reported that a survey of 168 corporate wiki users disclosed three main types of benefits from corporate wikis: enhanced reputation, work made easier, and helping theorganization to improve its processes. These benefits were seen as more likely when the wiki was used for tasks requiring novel solutions and the information posted was from credible sources.
Cubric prefaced her analysis of the benefits of wiki by saying “Regarding the theoretical foundation of this work, it is obvious that wiki is a textbook example of constructivist tool for learning . . . “ Among the benefits she lists (see Appendix for full analysis) are just-in-time learning, “structured dialogue” via learning, and a movement toward “connective” writing. An interesting finding asserted that wiki help student employability by preparing them for teamwork, global audience and peer reviews and in general for the new business model where “collaboration is the expectation rather than exception”
Weaknesses & challenges of wiki as an assessment tool
Jeremiah Owyang outlined the following wiki weaknesses at his blog site
To me, public wikis are one of the most problematic of all the social tools. I’ve created, managed, or been part of several public wikis, and as soon as they get popular, they get vandalized. The challenge is that turning over that much control over to the crowd gives one person nearly 90% control of the content. Sure, you can revert it but it becomes a cat and mouse game. I deployed the industry wiki for the Data Storage Industry, and we had to lock it, and hand out keys to trusted members of the community due to vandalism, same with the ScobleShow wiki, which is permanently disabled. Wikipedia? Same thing. In my frustration, I wrote this piece on the problem with wikis is people.
Other weaknesses and challenges of wiki surfaced in our class include the unfamiliar format, the somewhat crude and confusing interface or view, the difficulty in attribution of authorship and time requirement. While this participant in our class revised their opinion, their first impression of wiki was: “In my initial assessment of the wiki earlier this week, I absolutely hated it, and wanted nothing to do with it. Because of it's minimalist-looking webpage, I was turned off from the very beginning, and it didn't look very user-friendly.” So what was accurately described as a “minimalist page was an initial turn off. This may pose a significant challenge to the generation of learners raised on high levels of participant controlled functionality that is aesthetically under the control of the individual. Another participant in the same class writes on our discussion board about wiki: “What happens if more than one person is making an edit to the same content in a Wiki? Common sense tells me that whoever clicks save most recent gets their changes posted on the Wiki. Where this confuses me is if I am spending a great deal of time modifying information in a Wiki, only to realize someone else overrides it...this could end up in much wasted time.” This latter concern “wasted effort” would effectively block the efficicacy of wiki.
The issue of time required is clearly a barrier or cost to the use of wiki. An innovator in the use of social networks in composition instruction writes: “I can think of other reasons for not rushing to accept social networking apps. The main one is time. I have my students using blogs, wikis, and RSS now. And I've been wanting to start incorporating podcasts and videos. But to learn how to use them (some of my students do use them, which is great!) effectively in my classes, I just don't have the time” (http://secondlanguagewriting.com/explorations/Archives/2007/August/HypefromtheMediaandfromW.html)
A member of Group 3, my collaborative group for this midterm activity writes on the E Learning for Educators blog: “Do you see wiki as an example of authenticity in activity or assessment? No as it is too uncontrolled for my taste and comfort level.”
Finally, one of my colleagues in my midterm collaborate group wrote: “I would emphasize to my students that most of what is posted in wikis could be unverified.” This is perhaps the most frequently raised objection to wiki.
Examples of application of wiki in an online classroom.
Below are a list of applications for wiki in online classrooms. I would argue that perhaps the strongest set of applications involve the writing process and the publication process. My colleague at Mesa Community College, Shelley Rodrigo, English faculty and Instructional Technologist wrote on January 7, 2008 on E Learning for Educators: “Peer review of writing projects in a wiki is always interesting. Using the page history is helpful for both the student to learn from their classmates as well as my tracking of student work. I also like having students co-develop resource pages using a wiki.”
• Add (referenced) contribution to the weekly topic analysis
• Add definition to a topic discussion
• Review an article/web-site/standard relative to the topic
• Complete a practical task
• Develop essay
• Review the work of your colleague and provide comments
• Brainstorming
• Lab book
• Collaborative writing
At least one learning objective connected to the use wiki.
Clearly a number of learning objectives can be both articulated, taught and assessed via wiki. The most common general area seems to involve writing. One learning objective that might be taught and assessed online would be to have an original work of academic writing be revised by both the author and a classmate. Thinking back to Shelley Rodrigo’s comments, it seems that an increased quantity, quality, and process as measured by revision in the writing process may be connected to the use of wiki.
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Wikis
In the space of 24 months I have moved from ground zero (only knowing about wiki through Wikipedia) to an informed novice in the area of wiki use in instructional settings.
Per the module 2 requirements the link for the wiki used in EDUC 762 can be found at
http://www.seedwiki.com/wiki/uofw_assessment_course/uofw_assessment_course?t&usermessage=&CFID=3621561&CFTOKEN=91691100&jsessionid=c2302632751164473998329
As a part of the requirements for EDUC 760 E Learning For Educators, the first class in the Graduate Certificate Program in Online Learning and Teaching I began a wiki - E Learning for Educators. My experience with this wiki reflected the following:
1. The dynamic nature of a wiki
2. The initial period of a wiki - great solitude. This is similar to blogging
3. The tremendous flexibility of wiki
4. Specific application as a documentation for a portfolio
5. An entry point for access to other relevant sites
Beyond these uses I do see potential applications for my students:
1. Authentic writing opportunities
2. Bring both authenticity, connectiveness (see paper below) and continuity to learning
3. Collaboration
4. Increased activity and ownership of learning (Scroll down on this link to see a list of courses using wiki)
"Where I’d like to see connectivism go is in the direction of personalized learning environments, or perhaps what Siemens calls “learning ecologies”. However, I’d like to take that idea in the K-12 realm to be a PLE that would follow the student through school, and then beyond. I think we can take existing technologies that build social relationships and harness these for learning AND instruction….
This is a great little paper on some of the changes organizations who need deal with training or education are facing due to the explosion of connectivism in society. George Siemens presented this “white paper” recently at the Google Developers Conference."
The full white paper
Greg@Az
Per the module 2 requirements the link for the wiki used in EDUC 762 can be found at
http://www.seedwiki.com/wiki/uofw_assessment_course/uofw_assessment_course?t&usermessage=&CFID=3621561&CFTOKEN=91691100&jsessionid=c2302632751164473998329
As a part of the requirements for EDUC 760 E Learning For Educators, the first class in the Graduate Certificate Program in Online Learning and Teaching I began a wiki - E Learning for Educators. My experience with this wiki reflected the following:
1. The dynamic nature of a wiki
2. The initial period of a wiki - great solitude. This is similar to blogging
3. The tremendous flexibility of wiki
4. Specific application as a documentation for a portfolio
5. An entry point for access to other relevant sites
Beyond these uses I do see potential applications for my students:
1. Authentic writing opportunities
2. Bring both authenticity, connectiveness (see paper below) and continuity to learning
3. Collaboration
4. Increased activity and ownership of learning (Scroll down on this link to see a list of courses using wiki)
"Where I’d like to see connectivism go is in the direction of personalized learning environments, or perhaps what Siemens calls “learning ecologies”. However, I’d like to take that idea in the K-12 realm to be a PLE that would follow the student through school, and then beyond. I think we can take existing technologies that build social relationships and harness these for learning AND instruction….
This is a great little paper on some of the changes organizations who need deal with training or education are facing due to the explosion of connectivism in society. George Siemens presented this “white paper” recently at the Google Developers Conference."
The full white paper
Greg@Az
YouTube short views on wiki
This short video makes a great reference to Mob Intelligence. I immediately thought of a book I highly recommend - The Wisdom of Crowds by James Surowiecki
Contrast the above YouTube view of wiki with the one below.
Monday, January 14, 2008
Reflective Journal 4
Week 4 - wow!
Our engagement as a class online continues to astound. I am so impressed and inspired by my classmates and their commitment to engagement. We have such a diversity of perspective, background and knowledge and they have combined in an online world of discussion, debate, support and respectful analysis.
The complexity and attendant challenge of assessment is continuing to engage and challenge me. The readings this week, in the context of our readings reminds me that the process of designing, delivering and assessing instruction is indeed daunting, particularly in an online environment.
Our midterm collaboration is a real learning experience. As I mentioned last week, I little friction has developed between another type A in the group and me. This is a humbling and challenging situation, trying to constructively resolve conflict can be a real difficulty for me. On the positive side, this conflict reflects the authenticity, diversity and learner centered nature of our collaboration. I have found little conflict in the artificial world, I mean, who cares. But conflict always suggests authenticity, so this reflects the level of investment in this project between by group mate and myself. The diversity at the heart of real assessment is here - not only in the differences between how I respond to this conflict, but in the manner the other individuals in the group respond and finally how our group responds.
This is exciting, in a weird way. The learning community that is Group 3 is evolving and teaching me a lesson I am working hard to understand.
Another positive to the constructive conflict in the group collaboration is the reinforcement this gives me to consider how my students will react. These feelings of frustration, less than, confusion, and helplessness will also characterize learners involved in conflict and the less mature learners may respond by withdrawal from the community. This is a key lesson from this experience to remember.
As to the midterm project itself - I feel pleased with my contribution and I am eagerly anticipating both my teammate's work as well as the final project. This last component is, at the heart of the disagreement or conflict in my group. Ironic, since the final project is the least important part of the process. Oh, when will I learn?
I have continued with E Learning for Educator blogging for the class and the additional surveys the are generating interesting and hopefully useful information.
Greg@AZ
Our engagement as a class online continues to astound. I am so impressed and inspired by my classmates and their commitment to engagement. We have such a diversity of perspective, background and knowledge and they have combined in an online world of discussion, debate, support and respectful analysis.
The complexity and attendant challenge of assessment is continuing to engage and challenge me. The readings this week, in the context of our readings reminds me that the process of designing, delivering and assessing instruction is indeed daunting, particularly in an online environment.
Our midterm collaboration is a real learning experience. As I mentioned last week, I little friction has developed between another type A in the group and me. This is a humbling and challenging situation, trying to constructively resolve conflict can be a real difficulty for me. On the positive side, this conflict reflects the authenticity, diversity and learner centered nature of our collaboration. I have found little conflict in the artificial world, I mean, who cares. But conflict always suggests authenticity, so this reflects the level of investment in this project between by group mate and myself. The diversity at the heart of real assessment is here - not only in the differences between how I respond to this conflict, but in the manner the other individuals in the group respond and finally how our group responds.
This is exciting, in a weird way. The learning community that is Group 3 is evolving and teaching me a lesson I am working hard to understand.
Another positive to the constructive conflict in the group collaboration is the reinforcement this gives me to consider how my students will react. These feelings of frustration, less than, confusion, and helplessness will also characterize learners involved in conflict and the less mature learners may respond by withdrawal from the community. This is a key lesson from this experience to remember.
As to the midterm project itself - I feel pleased with my contribution and I am eagerly anticipating both my teammate's work as well as the final project. This last component is, at the heart of the disagreement or conflict in my group. Ironic, since the final project is the least important part of the process. Oh, when will I learn?
I have continued with E Learning for Educator blogging for the class and the additional surveys the are generating interesting and hopefully useful information.
Greg@AZ
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Reflective Journal 3
Week three in EDUC 763 and we are rocking and rolling. I continue to be amazed and inspired by the quantity and quality of engagement by my colleagues. The discussion is varied, provocative, stimulating and reflects the diversity of educational philosophy, orientation toward learning and use of instructional technology.
The continuing discussion and response of my colleagues is in some contrast to one of my UofW certification classes last semester. In that fall class, evidently one of the participants off line contacted the instructor expressing frustration at the quantity of posting and replying in that class which, as an aside, was about 50 per cent of our class. The instructor made a remarkable decision and implemented a private e mail to a number of the more active posters (obviously I was one) asking that we reduce or even stop posting after a minimum of engagement.
I was stunned, as an teacher (online or face to face) it seems that of the number of approaches one might take to engagement, asking to reduce or stop is an odd choice.
Contrast that with this class, in which participants openly share their own reflection about the level of discussion, find reassurance with classmates and the instructor, and the engagement and discussion is allowed to continue.
I suspect that the emerging learning community in our class has more trust and those classmates who may feel frustrated or insecure have the confidence to express these feelings and the instructor is both strong and flexible enough to support diversity in the use of discussion online and still promote the organic level of discussion and engagement that the community and its members seek.
I was a tad disappointed with feedback from the instructor. I began our class early and invested considerable time and energy in my completion of module 1 activities. When the feedback was posted for module 1 near the end of our second module, one of my four "assignments" received a 0. I had completed a wiki activity, but in completing it so early in the class it had been overlooked by the instructor. The feedback sent was very kind and she did indicate I would earn credit for the assignment if I could point her to it (which I did do) or if I would go to the wiki and complete (which I also did do).
This was actually a another teaching moment - it reinforced to me my need to model my online teaching on that of the current teacher in terms of thoughtfulness and kindness, on Den O Connor in terms of quick turn around time in communication and finally on Susan Manning, in terms of organization and use of functionality of the CMS under use. My current instructor does not make use of the CMS gradebook for feedback and I think that the continuum of instructional approaches here in the Graduate Certificate program is a strength of the program - allowing participants to experience a wide array of approaches.
I must say, my feeling was a bit down after receiving my module 1 feedback (6/8) and I am certain I will earn credit for the wiki assignment, my reaction was surprising to me. I have considered myself intrinsically motivated, my reaction to module 1 feedback seems to suggest otherwise. Oh, well.
Midterm
Our midterm is a collaborative activity and I have been paired with 4 talented colleagues in class. I am so pleased to have avoided 2 participants who I encountered in the fall, 2007 classes. One of these participants starts late, has a bunch of excuses, and adds little in the way of value. But on the positive note, my group members are outstanding. I know one from the fall, 2007 classes and the other two, who I have come to know in this class, are truly committed professionals. The midterm should be a positive experience, it is a jigsaw activity and I am researching wiki and assessment.
I indicate my comments about my 4 teammates in my team evaluation. Pat and Kris are a delight to work with. Kris and I shared 2 classes in the fall, 2007 semester so when she was inadvertently left off a team for the midterm I immediately jumped in a and indicated that Group 3 (my team) would love to have her as a colleage. Marsha has been very busy, I expect she will quietly and efficiently be a major contributor. Deb is the ying to my yang. We have already encountered some constructive disagreement, indicating that this group activity is authentic. I will say, she is a tad of a control freak, making the wiki (she set it up as the sole administrator, leaving the rest of her team without admin privileges) private, a decision I still question, given the power of wiki.
Having said that, I appreciate Deb's work pace and initiative, she and I are on the same page. It did take Deb a while to get Kris added as a full member to our wiki, but once that happened we were good to go.
Ok, having said that, I will comment on the concept mapping and the effort involved in learning a new tool.
Inspiration has wonderful functionality - I included audio in my map which my classmates can choose to listen to over in the EDUC 763 course site. The map for the module 3 assignment is uploaded as a comment or reply to this posting and as a unique post as well. Honestly, not worth the effort. I could do the same think in word using the drawing tool in 3 minutes, the 2 hours I invested (and it is worth the investment, the functionality in Inspiration is cool) will never be used my me in any setting.
The 4 storms outlined in The Perfect E Storm reading - while dated - are worth reflection. In particular the convergence of emerging technology(see the Horizon Report - 2008) with enormous demand by learners in the context of limited resources suggests that we may face a crisis of significant proportions down the road.
Of note, the above article listed 30 emerging technologies and number 3 was blogs, number 8 was digital portfolios (read wiki anyone?) and number 21 Peer to Peer collaboration (again read wiki) suggests that as a profession, we need to first be more alert to this emerging technology and two think how we react to them.
Page 12 of The Perfect Storm began to talk about Online Communities of Learning (which is what we have formed) and Communities of Practice. This is both exciting and challenging as our profession will need to change the way we look at the physical and intellectual boundaries of teaching and learning.
OK, another reflection that is too long and incomplete.
Greg@Az
The continuing discussion and response of my colleagues is in some contrast to one of my UofW certification classes last semester. In that fall class, evidently one of the participants off line contacted the instructor expressing frustration at the quantity of posting and replying in that class which, as an aside, was about 50 per cent of our class. The instructor made a remarkable decision and implemented a private e mail to a number of the more active posters (obviously I was one) asking that we reduce or even stop posting after a minimum of engagement.
I was stunned, as an teacher (online or face to face) it seems that of the number of approaches one might take to engagement, asking to reduce or stop is an odd choice.
Contrast that with this class, in which participants openly share their own reflection about the level of discussion, find reassurance with classmates and the instructor, and the engagement and discussion is allowed to continue.
I suspect that the emerging learning community in our class has more trust and those classmates who may feel frustrated or insecure have the confidence to express these feelings and the instructor is both strong and flexible enough to support diversity in the use of discussion online and still promote the organic level of discussion and engagement that the community and its members seek.
I was a tad disappointed with feedback from the instructor. I began our class early and invested considerable time and energy in my completion of module 1 activities. When the feedback was posted for module 1 near the end of our second module, one of my four "assignments" received a 0. I had completed a wiki activity, but in completing it so early in the class it had been overlooked by the instructor. The feedback sent was very kind and she did indicate I would earn credit for the assignment if I could point her to it (which I did do) or if I would go to the wiki and complete (which I also did do).
This was actually a another teaching moment - it reinforced to me my need to model my online teaching on that of the current teacher in terms of thoughtfulness and kindness, on Den O Connor in terms of quick turn around time in communication and finally on Susan Manning, in terms of organization and use of functionality of the CMS under use. My current instructor does not make use of the CMS gradebook for feedback and I think that the continuum of instructional approaches here in the Graduate Certificate program is a strength of the program - allowing participants to experience a wide array of approaches.
I must say, my feeling was a bit down after receiving my module 1 feedback (6/8) and I am certain I will earn credit for the wiki assignment, my reaction was surprising to me. I have considered myself intrinsically motivated, my reaction to module 1 feedback seems to suggest otherwise. Oh, well.
Midterm
Our midterm is a collaborative activity and I have been paired with 4 talented colleagues in class. I am so pleased to have avoided 2 participants who I encountered in the fall, 2007 classes. One of these participants starts late, has a bunch of excuses, and adds little in the way of value. But on the positive note, my group members are outstanding. I know one from the fall, 2007 classes and the other two, who I have come to know in this class, are truly committed professionals. The midterm should be a positive experience, it is a jigsaw activity and I am researching wiki and assessment.
I indicate my comments about my 4 teammates in my team evaluation. Pat and Kris are a delight to work with. Kris and I shared 2 classes in the fall, 2007 semester so when she was inadvertently left off a team for the midterm I immediately jumped in a and indicated that Group 3 (my team) would love to have her as a colleage. Marsha has been very busy, I expect she will quietly and efficiently be a major contributor. Deb is the ying to my yang. We have already encountered some constructive disagreement, indicating that this group activity is authentic. I will say, she is a tad of a control freak, making the wiki (she set it up as the sole administrator, leaving the rest of her team without admin privileges) private, a decision I still question, given the power of wiki.
Having said that, I appreciate Deb's work pace and initiative, she and I are on the same page. It did take Deb a while to get Kris added as a full member to our wiki, but once that happened we were good to go.
Ok, having said that, I will comment on the concept mapping and the effort involved in learning a new tool.
Inspiration has wonderful functionality - I included audio in my map which my classmates can choose to listen to over in the EDUC 763 course site. The map for the module 3 assignment is uploaded as a comment or reply to this posting and as a unique post as well. Honestly, not worth the effort. I could do the same think in word using the drawing tool in 3 minutes, the 2 hours I invested (and it is worth the investment, the functionality in Inspiration is cool) will never be used my me in any setting.The 4 storms outlined in The Perfect E Storm reading - while dated - are worth reflection. In particular the convergence of emerging technology(see the Horizon Report - 2008) with enormous demand by learners in the context of limited resources suggests that we may face a crisis of significant proportions down the road.
Of note, the above article listed 30 emerging technologies and number 3 was blogs, number 8 was digital portfolios (read wiki anyone?) and number 21 Peer to Peer collaboration (again read wiki) suggests that as a profession, we need to first be more alert to this emerging technology and two think how we react to them.
Page 12 of The Perfect Storm began to talk about Online Communities of Learning (which is what we have formed) and Communities of Practice. This is both exciting and challenging as our profession will need to change the way we look at the physical and intellectual boundaries of teaching and learning.
OK, another reflection that is too long and incomplete.
Greg@Az
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