Engagement Activity 3

Creating a Wiki - Reflection

 

 

 

Image retreived from http://altamiroborges.blogspot.com.au/2011_11_22_archive.html

 

 

For this activity we were asked to create a wikispace and evaluaet the educational value of such a space in the classroom context. I must say that this is the first wiki I have created so I felt very  much like a fish out of water. After using this tool for a small period of time however this was a very easy medium/platform to become aquainted with. For this analysis I will be using the PMI model to scaffold the discussion.

 

Positives

 

- Very easy to use and set up

- Very functional

- Allows users/students to comment and add to disucssion

- Allows all media to be link/embedded

- Allows for student editing

- Discussion and group work

- Creates a platform where learning becomes diverse

- Allows the teacher to scaffold discussion through questions, links and other multimedia

 

Minuses

 

- Teachers control over postings is minimal

- When editing students work can become 'lost' when several students are editing at any one time

- Some students may not contribute to discussions due to this being a public (classroom) forum

 

Interesting

 

- A great way for teacher and students to discuss learning whilst involved in a topic

- May be useful as a platform for homework or group work

- A useful tool for the students to collaborate for a class presentation or group assignments

 

Through this evaluation I feel that the use of a wiki in the classroom would be a great asset to the learning of the students. Through this tool the students are collaborating with other students (where they may not face to face) and gaining insights and ideas that they may not have thought of. This is a great tool as it also is a 'blank canvas' in terms of the resources that can be implemented into the forum to enhance and guide (scaffolding) the students learning.

 

Of course there are some points of concern through the use of wiki's in regards to content, appropriate information and the monitoring of comments. Before entering into this type of learning forum clear boundries need to be set, contracts (student agreements) and permissions need to be signed.