Using Wikis

Even after a very long twelve hour day, I found that setting up my wiki was fairly straightforward and painless--just like a Web 2.0 tool should be. :)

One idea I have for wikis involves the staff here at Sylvester Elementary. There are five teachers in my building, myself included, who are a part of a Mi Champs team. We are a part of a cohort who have received a grant through MACUL to learn about technology and then share that knowledge with our coworkers. During one of our required training sessions this summer, we discussed the possibility of setting up a wiki that other staff members could visit to learn about ways to incorporate technology into their teaching. We envision other buildings using this to add to the volume of information available and let "iron sharpen iron", so to speak.

As far as using wikis for the students, I think it would be a great tool for those teachers who use project based learning. Long-term projects that require teams of students to work together could use wikis as a tool  to organize their thoughts and the various roles they play in putting together their projects. Resources could easily be collected and saved with created links. A task list could be easily referred to and edited as duties are assigned and/or completed. The wiki could also act like a e-portfolio of the students' work. Learning to use the wiki of and by itself would generate a tremendous amount of learning.

A more specific idea for using wikis in the classroom would be to set up a wiki for fifth grade math students. Pages could be dedicated to various topics in math and how students think of these types of problems. For example, a page could be devoted to long division. There are different algorithms for doing division and students all have their own preferred way of doing things. Students could add to the wiki how they think about and approach a problem, which would give perspective to another student who may be struggling in that area. Videos from teachertube could be linked to further demonstrate how to work problems. A page for multiplication of decimals, one for fractions, one for geometry, etc., can be created. Favorite math sites with games to help master particular topics could be added to the wiki. In time, a great resource would be created--all by students for students.

Setting up and Using Blogs and RSS Readers

             Establishing a blog through Blogger was much easier than I anticipated. I liked the options for layout, but wish there were more. If I were to have students develop a blog, I can see them spending too much time fussing over things like background colors, layouts, etc. Working with Google’s RSS Reader was a bit more of a challenge for me. I found no other way to subscribe to blogs other than copying and pasting URLs into the window for “Add a Subscription.” I found that using a Mac and Safari as my browser I had to do things a bit differently. In the end, I was glad for the confusion. Thanks to a link Dr. Horvitz sent me in response to a question, I learned how to work with Safari to subscribe to feeds. I now have Google Reader and a folder collecting feeds attached to my browser. A bit of overkill, but I like learning all I can about my Mac as it is still new to me and a big switch from using a PC.

            When considering The Cone of Experience and where on this spectrum blogs and RSS readers fall, I think it may depend upon the perspective we take. If, for example, we are speaking of the writer of the blog, then I think that just about all levels of the Cone can apply. The blogger usually has at least one, or a combination, of the types of experiences on the Cone in order to have a topic to blog about. However, if you are the one reading the blog, then I would say that the verbal symbols part of the Cone applies most often. Perhaps links to video and audio clips are a part of the blog. If that is the case, then more parts of the Cone would apply beyond the contact with the printed words. As for RSS readers, they allow us to access blogs, which are mainly written words, so verbal symbols would be the main part involved with this tool. With so many facets to content on the Internet that could be subscribed to, I am sure that other parts of the Cone could be involved. I look forward to reading the views of my classmates on this topic.

            Yes, kids can get up in front of a class and tell their peers and teacher of some experience, but blogs do the same thing plus a lot more.  A student’s audience is much broader than the children inside the classroom. Blogging causes a purposeful reflection of an experience or opinion and provides an authentic reason for others to write in response to the blogger’s posts. I believe that blogs provide a greater sense of collaboration with faster and more varied feedback than a traditional oral presentation or pen and paper essay. When Seigel was referring to WisdomTools Scenarios TM, he pointed out that, “The purpose of these activities is to help the learner reflect on the story’s relevance and contribute to it. Multiple points of view are discovered and new insights are learned through these asynchronous exchanges.” I believe that creating, reading, and responding to blogs do much the same thing. RSS readers simply provide us the means to stay current with the sites we wish to view on a regular basis and keep track of them. RSS feeds and readers are essential to keeping up with Postman’s “glut” of information.

Reflections on Postman and Reigeluth & Joseph Articles

     My initial reaction to Postman was one of complete disagreement, but with rereading and thinking about his points, I have come to agree with him to a degree. When the author of “Of Luddites, Learning and Life” wrote, “…new technologies may not always solve significant problems or any problem at all. But because the technologies are there, we often invent problems to justify our using them.” I found myself thinking of the times I’ve seen colleagues (and myself) using some web 2.0 tool just because it was “cool” not because it was truly needed or there was no other way to get a point across. We used it simply because it was there and we knew the kids would get a kick out of it. This is not, in my opinion, the proper or best use of technology. However, there are certain students who need some motivator to engage them at times. If this is the reason or the problem that technology can fix, then I am for it. Thinking of how the internet, if not properly managed and supervised can create problems with regard to surfing inappropriate sites, I found myself agreeing with Postman when he stated, “And we could be clearer about what we are getting into if there were less cheerleading about, let us say, the use of computers in the classroom and more sober analysis of what may be its costs intellectually and socially.” Such costs could also include the over use of games, for instance, on a particular learning point if a student has mastered that topic. Because it is fun and the student is engaged, doesn’t mean real learning is taking place. Perhaps that student needs to move on to the next learning goal, which may be best learned working with a peer who could not only help with the learning of the subject matter, but also provide an environment within which to learn the very important skills of cooperation, listening, and the sharing of ideas.

     When Postman states that, “…new technologies do not, by and large, increase people’s options but do just the opposite.” I immediately thought of myriad examples that refute this opinion. With tools such as netTrekker from Michigan Learn Port, I can locate resources that provide teachers with differentiated reading levels to meet the needs of all learners in our classrooms.  Skype allows for the exchange of ideas with students in completely different parts of the country or world where perspectives are totally different. Technology can expand horizons, not shrink them. Technology also gives students the means to show what they truly know in ways that best fits their learning styles. They can write with paper and pencil, if they so choose, to tell us what they learned, or they can choose to create a digital poster with Glogster if they tend to be a visual learner. Slide show presentations, video creation, blog entries are a few examples of how technology can provide options to allow students to learn and grow in the ways that best suit each individual learner. Then there is the entire area of assistive technologies that open doors to people who otherwise may be drastically hindered. For these reasons I strongly disagree with the position that technology takes away choices.

     The Reigeluth and Joseph piece brought up issues that our district is currently engaged in. The idea of taking the focus off of time and placing it on achievement made me think of how our high school will soon be providing students options to graduate in less time or more time than is traditionally taken. Learning focused educational systems is what we all are in the business of being. Yes, in times past, the focus has been on getting through the book/curriculum or teaching the material instead of teaching the student. The use of technology to track learning has become a huge part of our existence. Tools such as Data Director allow us to look at assessment information immediately and therefore direct our instruction at the needs of our students. Progess can be monitored from a variety of perspectives with the use of technology and can be improved with resources such as Read Naturally and Lexia. Study Island can be prescriptive based on students’ learning needs.

     To make the paradigm shift Reigeluth and Joseph spoke of with regard to standards-based assessment systems is one that I believe will be a difficult change to make. Teachers see the need and value in this, but parents, who were educated under the “Industrial Age” model, still believe that a letter grade tells them all they need to know about their child’s learning. Through surveys and direct communication with individual parents and parent advisory committees, I can see that this shift will come slowly.

     Overall, my position regarding the use of technology in education, at this point in my own learning process, is that blending our instruction using a variety of methods, tools, and resources is the best approach to reach all learners. We live in a technology infused world and our students need to learn to see technology not only as a means of entertainment but as tools for productivity and collaboration. However, not all of society is animated or digitized. People will always be. Relationships will always exist. Therefore, the human element should always be THE factor in the learning process of children. Technology can and is a wonderful way to assess, track, access information, etc., but alone it can not grow civil, productive, caring adults.