One of the emerging technologies and strategies being implemented in online courses is the use of wikis. "A wiki is an online collaborative writing tool/space that allows groups to collaborate, share, and build online content." (West & West, 2009 p. 3). The use of wikis as an instructional tool can support the constructivist approach to teaching and learning. Constructivism focuses on instructional design that are intended to create learning opportunities that allow learners to "build" knowledge as a result of active learning and reflective thinking. "A constructivist-based instructional approach seems promising to encourage adult learners to engage in more collaborative, authentic, and responsible learning in an online learning environment. Acquiring new concepts from studying the course materials and obtaining different thoughts from reading peers viewpoints and experiences posted online are some common gains reported by learners." (Ruey, 2009 p. 714-715). Creating wikis allows instructors the opportunity to develop a more significant social presence in an online class. Consequently, this in turn may increase the likelihood students developing cognitive and social presence in an online class. "Qualitative and quantitative data indicates that in order to create a community of inquiry for adult students, we should first generate an effective teaching presence with supportive features to reinforce the emerging of cognitive and social presence in an online learning environment." (Ke, 2010 p. 818).
If an instructor chooses to use wikis as an pedagogical tool, there are a few recommendations and aspects to consider. "Start small, find one or two activities within a course where student collaboration is a major element of the learning experience and use this as a test pilot. Students enter a class with a wide disparity of computer skills and it may be a good idea to ensure support by creating a student introduction page on the course wiki and develop a "we'll learn together" mantra so that students can see this as a collaborative tool." (Weyant & Gardner, 2011 p. 139-140). Due to the fact that a wiki is essentially "open access to the masses", faculty may want to consider how secure of an environment they would like to create for their student wiki pages. "The following questions will help you set priorities: (West & West, 2009 p. 9)
- How many people will be using the wiki?
- Do I need to have separate groups?
- Will these groups need to have access to one another's pages?
- How secure do the pages need to be?
- Should the pages be public or private?
- What amount of administrative control will I need?
- How skilled are my learners at using a computer and navigating the Web?
- Do my learners need to know how to use HTML?
- How concerned am I about formatting and page layout?
- Fee based service vs. free service?
- Do I (instructor) have the technical skills required to incorporate this teaching technique?
- Is technical and instructional design support available?
Additional Resources: Feel free to view the links below for more information about using wikis and pedagogical theories/practices:
10 Best Practices for Using Wikis in Education
7 Things You Should Know About Wikis
Wikis as a Collaborative Tool (Video)
Constructivism (Video)
Deep Learning
References:
Ke, F. (2010). Examining Online Teaching, Cognitive, and Social Presence for Adult Students. Science Direct: Computers & Science, 55, 808-820.
Ke, F., & Xie, K. (2009). Toward Deep Learning for Adult Students in Online Courses. Science Direct: Internet & Higher Education, 12, 136-145.
Ruey, S. (2009). A Case Study of Constructivist Instructional Strategies for Adult Online Learning. British Journal of Educational Technology, 41(5), 706-720.
West, J.A., & West, M.L. (2009). Using Wikis for Online Collaboration. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Weyant, L.E., & Gardner, C.(2011). Wikis and Podcasts: An Application in Undergraduate Management Education. Academy of Educational Leadership Journal, 15, (3), 131-142.
Hi Tom:
ReplyDeleteThis is a fantastic blog and blog post! Since this is my first time commenting on your blog, I will provide a more holistic return response.
(1). Layout: Excellent color scheme; good use of white space; and embedded graphics which underscores text content
(2). Feedback: "Courses that focus on collaborative, active, and deep learning". What a great message! This is what is so exciting in the Adult and Continuing Education field right now. Presently, instructors at the post-secondary level have the academic freedom to design, develop, and deliver engaging content material to their students; however, many do not have the technical, pedagogical, and instructional design training to construct courses to manifest the above tenets of engagement and student-student interactions. It is in these cases where institutional support is essential. Currently, at Syracuse University, the part-time division of the university,University College has development fund which will pay faculty members $20,000 to "design, develop, and deliver new summer courses and programs" in the delivery platform of their choosing: face-to-face; hybrid; or online (http://summer.syr.edu/innovative-summer-program-development-fund/). Any faculty member who is interested is assigned to a university instructional designer who works with him/her in the construction of the course. In addition, the faculty member must attend the Summer Training Institute session which professional development/training department which teaches instructional theory, methods, strategies and best practices.
(3). Additional resources: Thank you for providing such a rich array of additional resources. The item I found most useful was the deep learning article and PBS video on the topic. A young girl in the video said "It is more than learning; it is experiencing" Experiential learning is the hallmark of adult learning, was being expresses by a preteen. Amazing!!! It was just inspiring to see what meaningful and relevant learning activities can do to promote self-efficacy, intrinsic motivation, creativity, and fun. Thank you for sharing!!!
Questions
(1). At the K-12, with the push for common core standards, standardized testing, and accountability, how could a classroom teacher promote deep learning, while trying to meet all the state and federal teaching requirements?
(2). At the post-secondary level, do you believe deep learning on a regular basis. If yes or no what are the indicators for your specific return response?
~Aja
Aja,
DeleteI apologize for the delayed response. I am now writing this response for the fourth attempt as my previous attempts did not save. (ARGGHHHHH!). Anyway, At the K-12 level I do believe faculty members can promote deep learning. I believe this can be accomplished by using the Flipped Classroom model. Students can be assigned work to do outside the class, such as watching videos/lectures and then be required to come back to class prepared to engage in learning activities that go beyond rote repetition and require more elaborative rehearsal or higher levels of cognitive skills as reflected in Bloom's taxonomy. I think they same can be said for the post-secondary level as I do not believe deep learning occurs to the extent that it should at this level.
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2011/01/18/106949/study-many-college-students-not.html
Tom-
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing all of the extra resources! I really enjoyed your explanation of the constructivist theory as it relates to the wiki.
Wikis are obviously a valuable tool for adult learners for many reasons. Wikis can also be a great tool for teachers as well.
As stated by Duffy and Bruns (2006), wikis can assist instructors in these ways...
-In distance learning environments, the instructor can publish course resources like syllabus and handouts, and students can edit and comment on these right on the wiki.
-Wikis can be used as a knowledge base for teachers, enabling them to share reflections and thoughts regarding teaching practices and allowing for documentation.
Have you ever made a wiki professionally?
If so, what did you use it for?
Duffy, Peter and Bruns, Axel (2006) The use of blogs, wikis and RSS in education: a conversation of possibilities. Proceedings online learning and teaching conference, pp. 31-38.
Rebecca,
DeleteI apologize for not responding earlier. My previous attempts did not save. Anyway, I have not created a wiki professionally. I have only created wikis for class. I must say, however, I am intrigued by the creation and use of wikis as a pedagogical tool.
Tom
Tom,
ReplyDeleteYour post was very informative. I do agree that wikis are really niche for collaborative efforts within the educational setting. While its a good place to post information on a subject in a organized manner, it seems that the strength is a groups work together and digging into the content. The availability to add different forms of media also helps the constructionist based instructional approach. When finding media on the internet, there is a lot to sort through, which may introduce some new topics to the learners.
In my experiences, these new topics can really help create a segway from the structured material in the class towards topics that fit my individual needs. The question is, as educators, how do we promote this interest in the off-topic ideas?
As for your blog itself, it was very nice to have some links at the end. I really enjoyed the extra effort you put in to include those!
Jacob,
DeleteYou raised an excellent question. In undergrdauate classes, especially freshmen and sophomores, I think you need to make these assignments points-based and required. Dr. Kay McClenney from the Community College Study of Student Engagement (CCSSE) has a great quote, "Students don't do optional." Now, she is hardly the first educator to notice this or make this claim but the point is, in a perfect world our students would come into every learning situation fully engaged, fired up, ready to "go the extra mile" and seek knowledge for the sake of knowledge attainment and learning. But, that really isn't the case. Don't interpret this as being negative but I think we need to provide the guidanace in a structured fashion and then let the students create their pathways to learning, with our guidance. Does that make sense?
Tom
Tom,
ReplyDeleteOne of your quotes struck a chord for me. "A constructivist-based instructional approach seems promising to encourage adult learners to engage in more collaborative, authentic, and responsible learning in an online learning environment. Acquiring new concepts from studying the course materials and obtaining different thoughts from reading peers viewpoints and experiences posted online are some common gains reported by learners" (Ruey, 2009 p. 714-715).
While I have limited experience with wikis, I do believe they have the potential to provide all of what is suggested in the quote above plus, most likely, more. However, I sometimes wonder about the accuracy of the information posted on websites. I know we tell our students that simply because something is posted on the internet does not mean it is correct. While that seems relatively obvious, there are those who believe the opposite and act accordingly. So while wikis provide a forum for individuals in a group to provide personal viewpoints and experiences, at what point and how can one separate the wheat from the chaff? It is common for students in online courses—and often required—to make positive and/or negative comments about the postings of their peers. This is a good exercise for a variety of reasons; however, does someone’s comment that he or she “thinks” my comment is right or wrong actually make it right or wrong? Is it the responsibility of the instructor to make decisions about what is correct or incorrect or is the entire process nothing more than an exercise in intellectual exchange? In the realm of adult education, it may be the case that those with less experience with technology will be more likely to believe anything that is posted and/or less motivated to follow up to discover whether it is true.
Just some wandering thoughts on a Sunday afternoon!
Lynn
Lynn,
DeleteI believe this is when we need to teach students to be "consumers of information" as well as developing critical thinking to be able to delve deeper into the subject matter to determine whether or not something is true, credible, or even accurate. I think if we create learning opportunities that promote this level of cognitive ability, such as debates and critical thinking, or problem-based learning, then maybe we can more effectively address this topic.
Tom
Tom:
ReplyDeleteGood job on your blog post!
What did you find to be most interesting in your research of wikis for this blog post?
With your comment concerning learners being more engaged in online discussions where collaborative learning among peers is less common, why do you think this is?
The point you mention about “starting small” with wikis for instructors is a wise recommendation. When an educator is first beginning a new method of integrating technology into their curriculum, I believe the instructor should not have high expectations of the students when relating to specific instructions for how the technology, such as wikis used to develop course projects. When an instructor is new to implementing technology in the coursework they are teaching, this might be a good opportunity for there to be a higher level of flexibility of the requirements for the assignments utilizing the particular technology the teacher is promoting.
Even when an instructor is advanced with a particular form of technology they are interested in promoting for their assignments, adult learners have various levels of experience with technology and it can be helpful for the educator to consider the background of the “average” student in the course and/or provide tutorials for getting started and navigating. Another notion for instructors to ponder is because the world encompasses multiple forms of technology accommodating adult learners with various needs (Kasworm, Rose, & Ross-Gordon, 2010), this doesn’t mean they have experience with the specific technology to be integrated into the curriculum for their coursework. “The rushing rate of technological change and its integration into daily life requires that people of all ages continue to learn constantly” (Kasworm, Rose, & Ross-Gordon, 2010), p. 424); therefore, as an adult learner, it can be beneficial to be open-minded to learning about new technologies and not only what they have used in past experiences. When I developed my first wiki project as a master’s student, I remember how time consuming learning new technology and all the features within can be. However, my ability to remain open-minded and patient to learning something “new,” helped me through the process. I asked questions and helped teach myself to use the technology when needed.
I personally can admit to being in the “habit” of utilizing the “same” form of technology as a method for developing projects that allow for flexibility, such as those in my current position. The concept of utilizing what I am familiar and competent with, in addition to what is the quickest method for completing a project due to time restraints often seems like the best answer when time is not always on my side. I can honestly say that with my “new and improved” knowledge I have recently gained of technology recently, I am eager to make more time to try new programs that may not only be more visually appealing, but also promote greater efficiency. Although, I am not an adult education instructor, I am learning how valuable wikis can be in administration and within other organizations. I can understand how wikis can be beneficial in organizing information and ideas for projects I am involved in with volunteers as a director and administrator of a non-profit organization. Wikis can be an excellent resource for practical, community collaboration (King & Cox, 2011), not solely in higher education learning environments.
I have always looked at the development and contribution of wikis from a student perspective and have not given a lot of thought to the benefits they provide to instructors and helpful points to consider. Through the wiki posts, I can definitely see the value wikis provide from an administration standpoint.
Kasworm, C.E., Rose, A.D., and Ross-Gordon, J.M. (2010). Handbook of adult and continuing education. Thousand Oaks, CA.: SAGE Publications, Inc.
King, K.P. & Cox, T.D. (2011). The professor’s guide to taming technology. Charlotte, N.C.: Information Age Publishing, Inc.
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