Let's start with a clip from one of the many companies that offer free wikis for you to use. This one is from PBwiki.com. They claim that making a wiki on their site is as easy as making a peanut butter sandwich. Please keep notes while watching these.
I hope you liked that one. This next video focuses upon how collaboration really works. It is a good transition from our last session on Collective Intelligence.
So naturally, these 'beg the question' about ease of use. Is it really as easy as making a peanut butter sandwich? Well let's take a look at an explanation.
And this one shows you how wikis can help educators educate:
And lastly, we'll address the underlying issue all educators have about using Web 2.0 tools in education----SECURITY for our students.
Now I want you to take a break. When you come back we'll take a look at this 4-part online video course, created by the University of Wisconson-Milwaukee. It addresses some of the benefits and drawbacks of wikis. The great thing about it is that it is self-pacing and asynchronous just like this course. Again, I would like to remind you to take notes as you progress through these tutorials, so that you may post quality comments and insights when you have completed everything this week. If you feel part 1 is redundant then please skip forward to 2, 3, & 4.
University of Wisconson-Milwaukee
I hope you enjoyed the variety in this session's presentation and I would like to end this week's posting with a reminder that your Deliverable #2 (your wikichapter) should be posted to the wiki page. If you chose a different wikiservice then please just place a link our your name.
Also, please keep in mind that D3 is now eliminated. I also think that next week I'll post two sessions, so you can get a head-start on adding material for your Final Project DUE BY MIDNIGHT ON JULY 24TH. The end of the semester will be here before you know it, so please use the next week to get a headstart.As always, feel free to contact me if you have any questions.
DF
12 comments:
This session has already helped. There was so much that I could not get to work in the posting of the content when I uploaded it this week. The current format looks confusing, boring and incomplete. This is is largely due to the fact that I could not put my CADD drawings that I use in class in the wiki. I did not have the vision to realize that people would need the CADD software that I use to see all of the examples and student problems that I have created.
What graphic format did everyone else use? I had tried to put some pictures in, but they don't display.
Is it easier to link them from a webpage to display them?
Google docs is great. I didn’t realize that you can upload your own documents too (and share with people who don’t have gmail.) I will definitely be using this more in the future, working on units with teachers. We discourage the students from using Wikipedia as a resource in research. I hadn’t thought about the fact that it’s not PG. Looking at recent changes is a good suggestion for trying to determine what changes have been made (and how often.) I wonder who takes the time to make some of the entries- it seems like wikipedia comes up no matter what you research.
I put pictures in my saving them to my computer, then uploading them to the wiki, and then choosing them to go on the wiki page. The help section on the wiki is very helpful! I referred to it often!
Here are the answers to the questions from last week….
1. One of the pages on my wiki seems to be stretched VERY wide suddenly…so it no longer fits on the screen. All the setting are the same as before. Any suggestions? No--I haven't had that problem, but one thing you could try is to 'revert' back to an earlier version. If that works then you'll lose what you updated, so you'll want to copy that into another document first.
2. Is there any other way to embed or link a powerpoint or word doc other than making an attachment that gets listed at the bottom of the page and not with the rest of the text. Yes, if you signup for a free Google Docs account it allows you to upload Word Docs and PowerPoints and then also allows you to share them. This 'sharing' gives you URL and you can use this URL as a link into your wiki page. Another alternative is to upload the PowerPoint to Authorstream.com just like I do for our session backups. They also give you a URL.
3. I am also having trouble embedding video. Wetpaint only seems to acknowledge YouTube videos. I haven't used Wetpaint, but I know most of the wikis and blogs also give you the option to embed HTML code. Once you choose this option you can just paste in the 'embed code' from the video site that you are using. This should work.
4. Can AnswerTips be put in a wiki? how do you do it? You can, but it has to be placed on each page for it to work on each page. Here is the site to get the code: http://educator.answers.com/main/answertips.jsp once you follow the steps you'll have to paste in the code following the directions for above in #3.
5. Is there a way to make an interactive quiz or test in a wiki? Or a poll like Dave put on the blog? These would be very helpful at the bottom of every wiki page in my chapter. I haven't tried that, sorry, but it might be possible.
During this session, I was attracted to the idea of a wiki being a 3Dimensional document – the instruction is no longer one dimensional- teacher to student… and the comments made about its accessibility- that it is as “organic” an experience you can get on the computer I find to be true. I was one of those people who honestly thought the web was not going to be mine until I took a web design class. As an artist that is still a goal of mine but as a teacher this will do just fine. I am already fascinated by how my “trial group” of students is responding to the site. They have to do it outside of school because it is still blocked…so they end up teaching each other and giving each other suggestions while they paint in class. It is great to hear them making suggestions and encouraging each other to get involved. I have also been reminded of comments very early on about the reality that these are children of a “myspace culture”. So often when a student is intimidated by the wikisite another student will say…”its nothing- really- its just like myspace”.
I also agreed with the fact that we have a responsibility to help our students use the technology that they “think” they understand. Digital citizenship seems like it will and needs to become as essential a part of all curriculum especially in regards to the correct ways to research, link, and cite references.
Dianne, your chapter is increadible!! I love the way that you have the different pages down the right side. I’ll have to figure out how to do that so I can divide my chapter more effectively. Did you already have background knowledge about wikis before taking this class? I am so impressed!
Kim Montour
Ah wikispaces.
Ironically this past Monday, I facilitated a session on wikispaces for 7 teachers in my building. I was really pleased to see the turn out (getting 7 of 50 is a HUGE accomplishment :-). But I always thought i had done everything and anything one can do on a wiki, and that's never the case. I find that i always learn when teaching others. I have a pretty solid hold on how to use a wiki, but when facilitating the 4 hour session on Monday, I learned from one of my co-workers who never used a wiki before (it had to do with locking and locking specific pages of your wiki from the public).
But none-the-less, I learned from them, and i am confident they learned from me.
From all those videos we watched, I have to say I picked up some other interesting tips and uses.
First, the collaboration. I have about 5 CFF teachers using wikis as 'resources and references' for their students. The collaborative aspect of STUDENTS making, sharing and collaborating a wiki for a project came to mind. Why have them type in Google Docs and share? They can compose an informational public wiki and share it with the world! This way, my teachers can simply view their wiki and grade it accordingly, plus it's no longer just 'shared' between 2 people, it's public to the web.
Secondly, I have to comment on the wikipedia portion. I admit, i am a skeptic. I have told my students to stay away from that site, and I probably still will. I do not like the idea of tossing to the wind the 5 criteria steps of evaluating a website (which wikipedia does not satisfy)
1. Accuracy
2. Authority
3. Objectivity
4. Currency
5. Coverage
I am skeptical to let/refer people to a free public site without the credentials that a .org, .edu, .gov site may or may not have. I saw the error percentages were similar to that of other online encyclopedias like Britanica, etc. But i just cannot get my mind around such a PUBLIC source as a reliable source. Please feel free to disagree, I will not be offended. It's simply lack of confidence and if those videos didnt convince me, i'm not sure what will. I do not care for Wikipedia :-\
Well, back from vacation...I've jumped in...admittedly a lot behind...but it is true how powerful this tool could/can be. I'll post the link of what I have so far, with a caveat that most compare talking about interest rates and money just behind the dentist and public speaking...but here's what I have so far; an introduction to the dangers of borrowing in my Personal Finance course....Coach P's Wiki has helped immensely.....
http://loomis.wikispaces.com/
Hi All,
I’ve checked out everyone’s wikis and I am so impressed. Mine pales in comparison! I have the basics down, but am having difficulty trying to incorporate the features I am noticing on your wikis. First off, when I try to put up a video I can only get the link which will then take you to the video. I also had a heck of a time with the font. (Which I read someone else did, too.) I had to change the font section by section and sometime sentence by sentence. It was extremely time consuming! Then a few sentences wouldn’t change, so I finally went back into word and copied and pasted which I probably should have done from the beginning. Then I tried editing certain sections and then saving it, but it went back to the original. I like how Kim and Karen’s wikis have the notebook as the background. How do you do that? I also really want to utilize the navigation feature on the side of the wiki where you click and go to different pages. It gives the wiki such a well organized appearance. I can’t seem to figure out how to do that. Any input is appreciated!
~Derri
I promise the next time I post I will reflectupon session 9. I would do that now, but I am at RITTI and left my notes at home.
I am posting now because as I drove to RITTI today I came up with a question that I hoped you all could answer. I loved one of the comments fron the session - the teacher had her elementary students post a repot on her wiki and they needed to include two links within their paper. WHat a great idea. But here is what I thought as I figured out what I will have my students do this year: if my wiki has a creative commons liscence that lets everyone use, modify, and share, does that also aply to what my students have posted? If there are 28 essays or reports or poems are they then "up for grabs?" But the person using the info from my wiki could be required to cite, so that would take care of it, right? I'd love to hear what the other teachers (especially those of you that are or have taught English) and Dave think.
Again, I will post later about my "I wonders" for this session.
- Kim
Hi,
Montourk's question about the use of student essays on the wiki sounds similar to an issue on turnitin.com, a plagiarism checker our school subscribes to (a great service which really opened my eyes as to how much plagiarism really goes on: the first year of use I caught 7 papers, 3 of them grossly plagiarized--I cringe when I think of how many cases I missed in the past). The service allows you to check papers against other student submissions which, of course, led to a lawsuit. Turnitin now requires instructor permission before allowing a download of the text of a student paper from another class or school.
I just finished going through the Curriki, a fantastic idea. The curriculum in our department is a mess mainly due to a former ass. superintendent who forced us to write a curriculum in a pretty chart matching texts to GSE/GLE's but refused to let us include any concrete lesson strategies or identifiable tasks (I guess that would make the chart to busy). Consequently we are developing curriculum drift and overlap and never know for sure what the students have covered. Curriki seems like the perfect answer because it puts control back in the teacher's hands...assuming that everyone in the department agreed to use it. Anything that fights the top-down approach where non-teaching administrators dictate content and teaching strategies in the classroom is an important, perhaps revolutionary tool. Great potential there.
I'm Back. Watching the videos about wikispaces showed me how to link to a page within my wiki. Several of the people described wikis as very organic and intuitive. I agree and feel that I could have figured out how to link this way, but I was too rushed or too afraid to “mess up” all of my prior work. I know I can access older versions, but I need to play around with that function before I will be confidant that I am doing it correctly.
I love the way the people in the video addressed the benefits of an eduwiki. One said that it was a way to “honor” student work. What a great comment to use when persuading reluctant parents of a wiki’s value. Another comment was that by requiring students to post online for the world to see the student would have more “incentive to do things the right way.” This is absolutely true with students. As a student myself I have often reminded myself that the work I am doing for this class and for RITTI will be online for my colleagues and the world to see so I’d better put in my best effort. Imagine the peer pressure among teens and preteens! Another valuable way to think about a wiki is that they can provide an opportunity for reflection. With reflection being such a large part of GBP (especially portfolios) any tool that can help facilitate thoughtful reflection is invaluable.
A question I had after watching the wiki videos was whether I can have a different password on each page of my wiki. If I have a page for each of my classes, could I have a different password for each. But then if they link into other pages within the wiki (or common pages within the wiki) would that work?
I definitely plan on initiating digital citizenship into the course expectations for my honors class and will spend an entire class period on this topic. This class will be my test group and if all of my technology integration works out I will roll all of the classes into it next year.
The videos about wikipedia were interesting although I have to admit, they were a bit “dry”. I am still conflicted about allowing students to use it. I think that I would start to allow it as a starting point instead of starting with a Google search. Students would need to get a second source though. I wouldn’t want them citing Wikipedia still. Maybe that will change with time. Even though the traditional encyclopedias are not current and can have some agenda they are not subject to malicious vandalism the way a wiki can be.
mgriff – some of the departments in my district have turnitin, but mine does not. I wish we did, although my students don’t have enough research based projects yet to make it worth while. In Warwick that doesn’t really start in English until 9th grade. They do a lot of that in science and social studies at the middle level in Warwick.
Working with sixth graders, I have tried both ways with Wikipedia, having them not use Wikipedia as a reference source for their science fair projects,and last year they could use it. For me, it's one of the first places I go. Most of the time I "sort of know" what I'm looking for, and I want it confirmed or I'm looking for a word.
Last year I did let them use it as a resource, because I felt there were bigger issues that needed attention. Report writing is at least a year long project. I'm also going to look more at the "Simple English Wikipedia" and see if it would be easier to use/understand. Even if students don't reference it, it can be a fast source of information.
The videos did surprise me with the controversy and vandalism that goes on with Wikipedia.
I think having the information confirmed from another source will be the way I'll go, along with more teaching/experience for them and me on evaluating on-line sources. I'll need to put more time and effort into that process. I'll do it in conjunction with lessons I'm already teaching for the most part.
It is easier to tell the students "only use the public sites with .gov, .org, .edu and maybe in the beginning that's what I'll do. I hope to integrate the Accuracy, Authority, Objectivity, Currency & Coverage lessons and then let them expand their on-line choices.
From our own lessons, I've become much more aware, and it goes both ways. I was searching the documentation of a site and found a biology text that was written by someone who seemed to be an excellent authority etc.. I could understand it etc., but it took a lot of work for me to find the author's credentials etc.and feel fairly certain this was something that would be OK to use. It should have been easier.
Plagiarism is a major concern. What was the plagiarism checker that was mentioned earlier in this class? I thought it was on Nick's site...but I didn't see it. DC
I found the tutorials on how to use wikispaces very informative. With Diane’s assistance and watching the video, I now understand how to upload a video to my wikki. Now I just need to figure out how to use the navigation bar on the side. The videos are helping me to understand the significant influence wikis can have on teaching and learning.
As I was listening to the online video regarding Wikipedia, I realized that it never occurred to me that the information posted is constantly being edited. (Prior to this course, I didn’t even know what a wiki was.) On one hand, I think it is great that different people can voice their expertise on subjects. On the other hand, I worry about misinformation and unsuspecting people taking that information as factual. I guess it really comes down to how crucial it is to evaluate the content of the material using the 5Evaluation Criteria. As mentioned in the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee video, even supposedly trustworthy sites such as, .gov and .edu can have inaccurate information. It is up to us to make sure we are getting the accurate facts.
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