Great points, Christina. Often those students who might find F2F interactions as somewhat intimidating will find the online interactions easier to manage.
In my experience, this is the technological version of Cooperative Learning (CL). I was introduced to CL in the early 1990s. http://www.intime.uni.edu/coop_learning/ch3/history.htm
This cyber version offers the same advantages:
Pasted from site above
snip......
"Kurt Koffka: Groups are dynamic wholes featuring member interdependence"
"1960sDavid and Roger Johnson:Impact of social interdependence on achievement, relationships, psychological health and social development, mediating variables (positive interdependence, individual accountability, promotive interaction, social skills, group processing)
1970s Dean Tjosvold: Research in business and industry setting
Assumptions of social interdependence theory:
1.Cooperative efforts are based on intrinsic motivation generated by interpersonal factors in working together and joint aspirations to achieve a significant goal "
And I imagine the same limitations present themselves. Some students may dominate, others do not do their part, and so forth. I wonder if a really good facilitator wouldn't benefit from CL training? Its very specific and addresses the pitfalls.
Indeed, CL and differentiated learning strategies would benefit instructors attempting to distribute the learning process. Using Wikis and Blogs do require facilitation by the instructor but also well-designed projects and relevant outcomes to keep students focused and progressing. Have you used either in your own teaching, Virginia?
Wikis and Blogs enable students to become authors and share information and experiences. Generation Y's love facebook for this reason, the ability to share an interact virtually with anyone.
Wikis and Blogs can also help students find their individual "voice" in learning, Marilu. That is because the environments are immediate and based on continual publication of ideas and thoughts. These can be used not only to help students learn how to collaborate with others but also to find and develop their own individuality within the learning community. Great tools!
I have found that be teaching someone else a topic, I am forced to be more knowledgable about the topic and therefore feel I know more about it. I see wikis and blogs as being ways for students to see themselves as "teaching" others about the topic they are writing about and therefore learning it better. With wikis, the ability for others to participate in your learning enhances their learning and the groups understanding of the topic.
Yes, Kristin, and now with Twitter and texting, students have even more ways of communicating with each other and publishing and networking ideas. Therefore, it is a question of which tool is most accessible to the students and which supports the learning outcome best. There may be even more than one tool used in a course for these purposes. My sense is that current students don't mind the variety of tools but what has not changed is the need for intentionaly and purpose in their use.
Blog entries can be used to provide students with learning reflection opportunities. Having each student journal their own responses and actions for the learning process enables assimilation of course content with already existing knowledge and skills, as well as providing mechanisms for sharing their viewpoint of the learning process with others in the course and the instructor (all while practicing crucial thoughts-to-written-communication skills!).
Using wikis in a course can be a lot of fun! Having students build their own page (perhaps for use in place of a blog or other journaling tool), while also providing shared pages for group collaboration and cooperative work provides opportunities to practice many skills – ranging from group dynamic and work concerns, such as whether to make corrections to work done by others, up to decision-making and evaluation processes, such as determining whether posted content together addresses objectives for the assignment. I use wikis in many of my courses (as well as online discussion forums), even though we meet face-to-face in a classroom. Students greatly enjoy them and clearly improve their communication, writing, and thinking skills. It is crucial to emphasize what ‘meaningful contribution’ to an online discussion or wiki page means, so students do not resort to copy/paste or simple ‘conversational’ postings. Students are clearly gathering, processing, and then producing knowledge!
Yes, Michelle, your experiences sound similar to my own as I have used Wikis and blogs with students. It is interesting how students engage well using these tools and seem to find a more confident "voice" in their learning process. Thank you for sharing ...
I have to remind my students several times not to use Wikipedia, too, and I still get at least one person who lists it as a research source. Sometimes I want to limit sources to hardcopy only.
I think it is important to help students express what they really think and feel. Many students tend to repeat back what the teacher said or what is in the textbook. Students need to learn how to think critically. Blogs and Wikis are tools to motivate the students to think about topics and issues. The instructor can pose a question or two and let the students respond to the initial question(s) while their classmates respond to what others in the class post in reply to each other.
So, Cleve, there is likely to be more Wiki-like sources for students and even compiled by students. Often these can provide interesting information, however, I agree that students need to know the difference between those and research sources. Both can exist in a paper or project as long as they are cited correctly and used appropriately, in my opinion.
I've seen students using Wikipedia - and other internet forum - as an answering source for multiple choice exam questions on side-by-side computer monitors and split screens. In my opinion, that defeats the purpose of trying to get students to become producers of knowledge and provides a method of cheating on an assessment. The internet was the actual test taker by the process of eliminating wrong answers and/or identifying the correct answer.
So, rather than the WIKIPEDIA model, how can Wiki technology increase collaboration without losing rigor, Carl?
Blogging is almost like journaling. The student is creating knowledge and can use their creativity when blogging.
In today's society. Students have a natural tendency to want to post to blogs or other forms of media response areas. This is especially evidenced by the increased use of social media. It doesn't only give them. Anonymous opportunity to post, but at the same token, it does give them the freedom of speech that they may have not experienced before, and the traditional classroom
People in general seem to have the tendency to want to retell a story in the order and format in which they understood it the best. A blog gives him this opportunity as well as gives him the opportunity to provide their own insights or highlights to a particular situation, as well as enter their own opinion
This is a very good point in that Wikipedia and about.com are not necessarily a positive reason for cement tool in that they do not exhibit a scholarly approach to the topic. They are more in a sentence, a huge blog from which one can get an abstract view or idea regarding a particular topic and then forge ahead with the base knowledge of information. It is by no means to an end.
As with forums and blogs is very important for the instructor to keep them on a guided path. It is very easy for the participants in the blog to get slightly off-track and enter into a new subject or topic, especially if it's something that interests them, immensely. Additionally, without adequate research information could be imported which may not quite possibly be accurate or effective for the use of the particular form.
Yes, M. Clinger. It sounds like you use blogs with your students. How does this technology help support their learning, in your experience? Do you have "kick back" from any students when you ask them to use the technology? Has your integration of the technology in a course changed over time? If so, how? I found that I had to replan the actual assignments and also provide quite a bit of context and direction for the students beforehand so that their work would be focused and helpful to them. What do you think?
