Via Wikis and Blogs students can become producers of their own knowledge because they are applying what they have learned to something of their own. I recently had a class where I seperated several of the topics we had covered in courses past and had the students prepair a presentation on each of them for the class. I noticed that they really retain the information if they are able to teach each other. It was also a good review for them. With wikis and blogs students have the oportunities to present the information in their own way and presenting it to others helps them retain the information and using it outside the classroom helps to give them that "real world" application of the knowledge which is so important.
Great insights, Gil. Do you have some examples of how you have used either effectively with students?
Wikis become a clearing house of information that students can add to as they learn, then make it accessible to others. It's informational and "objective".
Blogs are an online diary that's reflective. (subjective)
Both disseminate information and are examples of process learning.
gg
Great points, Anwar. Your examples continue to support the idea that instructional technology does not replace the importance of the instructor and the need for instructors to guide the learning process.
Wikis and Blogs can be used as a great active learning and particiapting tools for students who are taking Blended or Online corses. The inputs as well as feedbacks from students from different geographical locations also enhance the Blended and Online learning with more collaborative methods.
However, students must be made aware about using the Wikipeadia as a learning source and it is not acceptable as academic resource. I have seen lot of my student tried to use Wikipedia as a source of information and I had to remind the group several times.
Anwar
Houston, Texas
I agree with the boundaries comment. Students can go far astray without them. Wikis do encourage participation in information at the peer level as well as the expert who can help steer the edit process.
Great points, Afrodite. So making sure that the blogs remain on topic...like responding to journals in more conventional settings.
The use of blogs in the classroom can be very effective, but I believe that an important aspect of having an effective classroom blog is to have some methods of monitoring it in place. Blogs allow students the opportunity to express themselves. I do not believe in stunting a student's creativity, but in order for blogs to remain on topic, not stray to far from topic or not to be inappropriate, there needs to be some monitoring.
Thanks for the suggestions, I will give it a try.
-Chris
Yes, Chris, Wikis provide a great collaborative tool. Try blogs sometime as a tool for self reflection or journaling. I have used it successfully with students to create an ongoing annotated bibliography of relevant texts (with graduate students0. It helps students to track their own thinking more systematically through a course.
Blogs and Wikis (I much prefer the later) allow the students to add their own evaluations to the knowledge that others are sharing. It is a discussion based format, which by default instigates learning and involvement. New ideas come to those who have discussion with others, it is almost like having a second set of eyes to look something over.
-Chris
Yes, Francis, the use of Wikis and blogs can be very successful in a learning environment - of course maximizing the differences in those as well as the similarities.
My use of wikis and blog has been minimul but when implemented has been effective. The students can use the wikis/blogs to transfer knowledge aroun the discussion and to have the knowledge archived for a wider distribution. Knowledge and learning are produced by the interaction of the students related to a topic.
I think the wiki idea is one my university probably needs to explore a bit more. Currently they aren't allowed to use wikis as references because they ARE authored by the community at large, and may not always contain accurate information. However, creating our own wiki with the instructor facilitating and monitoring could be a very valuable tool. Again, that places the responsibility on us as instructors to really think, plan and structure so that the wiki is a valuable collaborative tool, rather than an iffy source of outside information.
Indeed, Samia, and it is so important for instructors to be committed to the development and support of those communities in order for the process to be both successful and valued.
Angela, I agree fully with your remarks regarding the impact of Wikis on interaction. In the earlier forum, i had shared with the team that we had resorted to wiki's in some of our course discussion boards for this very reason. It reminds me of what Senge called for in the 90s when he spoke of communities of knowledge where one builds on the informational foundation of another. I strongly believe that this is in line with the double loop learning we often preach.
Samia
Great points, Angela! ...and this can move the students closer to actual knowledge construction rather than simply information sharing - that is, building on ides and modifying ideas towards new knowledge.
Dr. Reynard,
I find wikis and blogs can greatly enhance student interaction. The student becomes a participant rather than just an observer or spectator. New ideas and concepts can be generated. A challenge to "idea generation" involves the integrity of the information created. Boundaries and parameters must be established.
I agree, Tomi, and one of the greatest benefits of each of these is that students gain opportunities to raise and develop their own voice in learning and, therefore, raise their confidence as well.
Wikis allow students to edit and add to a document they are reading and therefore be authors as well as editors. This reinforces critical thinking and reading comprehension. Blogs allow students to journal about their learning experiences and receive feedback from peers on their comments.
