This
is the final blog from the VLE, all about a collaborative wiki project we had
for 'Christmas homework', developing our knowledge of SEND issues. This is a
reflection on the wiki as a tool for learning.
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For Christmas, the wiki project
gave me a much better knowledge of ASD, as well as a new teaching and learning
tool that I will be aiming to use in my upcoming placement. My knowledge
of ASD (autistic spectrum disorders) was patchy at best. I had a good
understanding of Asperger's Syndrome as I taught a pupil on mini-block with the
condition, but was largely unaware of the range and scope of types of autism.
Through my research and the research of the others in my group, I feel far
better informed and aware of characteristics of ASD and techniques and support
available to me. The wiki, and its scope for collaboration, proved an
interesting method of completing this project.
Through collaborating over
email and through the comments section at the bottom of the wiki itself, we
were able to communicate with each other about a potential structure and any changes
we had made to the wiki and its content. Having divided up the reading, it was
more difficult to divide up sections of the wiki to work on - we had a
tentative plan for who would write what, but all seem to have collaborated on
every page. This was another strength of the wiki format - we could easily add
content to ensure a thorough and varied project. This could be used in a
group-work setting, especially over holiday periods, as no face-time is
necessary. It would be good for an extended research project, where each group
in the class is given a different topic, much as we have been. For instance, if
studying Cardinal Wolsey, one group could work on his rise to power, one on his
activities domestically, one on foreign policy, one on religion, and one on his
fall from grace. Rather than each student individually having to learn about
everything to do with Wolsey, this would create a pooled resource which would
be useful for revision and recapping later on in the year. This would motivate
pupils to read the work of others and the teacher could then guide them to
peer-assess too, developing their progress as well as their knowledge of
content.
However, I noticed several
things about the wiki format that would cause me concern as a teacher. One is
that there is no way to 'track changes' on the wiki - you can see who has
contributed to a page, but this contribution can range from writing 1000 words,
to just changing the font. This allows pupils to 'cheat' by not contributing.
This can only be checked if the teacher checks all changes to all wikis every
day to see what has been changed. Perhaps there is another way to set up a wiki
(with other software) which would track specific changes, showing what exactly
each pupil has done. That would also prevent students from deleting each
other's work or editing it to worsen its quality.
In its current form, I would
use the wiki tool with Sixth Form students as a trial, as I would trust them to
be mature enough not to abuse the freedom that the collaborative approach of
the wiki gives. The potential for the wiki to save classroom time, as well as
provide a more in-depth study into a particular topic, is excellent and I would
like to find a way to use this successfully in my practice, ensuring that all
pupils are contributing equally.
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