Blog Wikis110807

Engaging Students with Blogs and Wikis

the leader in social learning applications

I N S P I R E T H I N K I N G O N L I N E . ™

Zahra Safavian, Product Manager

November 8, 2007

© 2007 Learning Objects, Inc. All rights reserved.

Build knowledge by building wikis

Overview of Wikis

» Wiki - is a webpage that is easily editable. » Wiki means “quick” in Hawaiian. Everyone can

quickly and easily edit, change or delete text. » Sometimes interpreted as an acronym for

“What I Know Is”, a reference to the knowledge contribution and exchange

» Created in 1994 by Ward Cunningham – WikiWikiWeb


Primary Characteristics of Wikis

» Hyperlinking» Links between pages results in a multi-layered,

non-linear collection of information


Create 4 types of links:• Link to a new page to simultaneously create the new page and a link to the page.• Link to existing pages in the wiki• Link to other wikis or blogs in the system or to external websites.• Link to other spots on the same page – i.e., anchors

Primary Characteristics of Wikis (cont’d)

» Simplicity» Creating sites is quick and easy,

requiring no technical skill


• The rich text editor has an interface similar to Microsoft Word and other word processing applications.• Easily format the page and its content with text and paragraph formatting options, lists, tables, and more.• Quickly add images and other rich media content or upload documents.


» Easy-access Authoring


• Unlike a website or other web publication, wiki content is built collaboratively -- any member can contribute content to any page in the site. • Control is distributed across members. Instructors can assign membership to any student or group of students in the course.


» Versioning


• Users can revert to previous versions. Don’t prevent users from making mistakes, but make it easy for them to correct them.• Wikis are works in progress. Edits occur by many people over time, and each version

of each page is saved.• View the content contributed by any member of the wiki to determine contributions of individual students to group work.

Using Wikis in Education

» Wikis are useful for any activity that:» Involves the assembly, organization, or

annotation of a body of information, such as• Course outline for exam review• Research papers• Annotated bibliographies

» Needs or benefits from multiple contributors• Group papers• Course knowledgebase• Intra-departmental projects


Demo of Teams LX


Case Study: Duquesne University

» Location: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania USA» Title: Using Wikis to Enliven Group Projects» Who: Dr. Evan Stoddard, Associate Dean of

Liberal Arts


Case Study: Duquesne University (cont.)

» Team projects to improve conditions in a low-income community near the university

» Students use Teams LX to develop a community profile, a proposal, and final report

» Dr. Stoddard uses the wiki in class on a projector, reviewing and editing work as necessary

» In Stoddard’s view, Teams LX “has really livened up the use of technology in my classroom. I am excited to see students work together and develop a genuine sense of community. It has really changed the way students think and write, enabling them to be more fluid, flexible, and to work collaboratively across the boundaries of time and place.”


Group Research

» Who?» Professor Philip Farabaugh, Biology» University of Maryland, Baltimore County

» What?» Undergraduate and graduate biology courses» Students are required to collaborate to produce critical

reviews of recent publications relevant to an assigned topic• Assign a current, relevant topic to groups of students• Groups identify areas within topic for each student• Each student finds, reads, and analyzes at least 5 current

research papers, providing cross-references to other related research publications

• Compile a website that provides a comprehensive critical review of an area of research in their field

http://www.umbc.edu/bioclass/bio1414/wiki/index.php?page=Home


Project Collaboration

» Who?» Professor Paul Schacht» SUNY Geneseo

» What?» Students in critical writing and reading classes write

collaboratively» Project that studies the social history of Christmas in

America• Students collaboratively annotate Clement Clark

Moore’s poem “A Visit from St. Nicholas”• Create a hypertextual work in which key words and

phrases in the poem are linked to pages that explain them

http://node51.cit.geneseo.edu/WIKKI_TEST/mediawiki/index.php/Main_Page


Website Creation

» Who?» Professor Anne Sara Rubin, History» University of Maryland, Baltimore County

» What?» Students collaboratively build a website using

UMBC’s collection of Lewis Hine photographs of U.S. child labor in the early 20th century» Each student is assigned 5 images to research » Students write essays on their findings» They collaboratively pull the essays together and

organize with the actual photos, creating links between their work

» At the end of the course, the wiki is exported and made accessible on the web

http://www.research.umbc.edu/%7Earubin/HIST402_SP2007/8cf04a9734132302f96da8e113e80ce5.html


Experience the power of blogging

Overview of Blogs

» Blogs - short for web logs, are websites consisting of chronologically-ordered entries authored by one or more people

• “Weblog” coined in 1997 by Jorn Barger• “Blog” coined in 1999 by Peter Merholz

» Primary content in blogs is not built collaboratively, however people are meant to provide commentary on each others’ work


Primary Characteristics of Blogs

» Component Structure


• Blogs consist of a series of entries, each addressing a single concept, thesis, or time period. • Collectively, all entries in a blog are linked by a common theme.


» Chronological Ordering


• Entries are displayed in reverse chronological order and can be filtered by date.

• Time-based ordering is conducive to activities that involve thought and writing that evolve over time.


» Viewing and Commenting


• Others can typically view work, so authors are motivated to formulate ideas and rhetoric with more care than something a single person – e.g., only the instructor – would read.

• Comments allow viewers to provide feedback to authors.

Primary Characteristics of Blogs (cont’d)

» Hyperlinks


• Link between entries or to external resources.• Authors easily incorporate specific references to articles, journals, and other publications to illustrate and support thesis.• Authors can also reference previously-written entries to provide more insight.

Primary Characteristics of Blogs (cont’d)

» Rich Media


• Easy to embed images, videos, and other media to support and complement the author’s thesis• Results in more engaging, persuasive content.

Demo of Journal LX


Using Blogs in Education

» Blogs are useful for any activity that:» Involves writing» Requires analytical reading» Progresses over time» Benefits from peer review or peer modeling


Case Study: University of North Florida

» Location: Jacksonville, Florida USA» Title: Using Blogs to Connect Theory and

Practice» Who: Deborah Miller, Assistant Director, Office

of Faculty Enhancement


Case Study: University of North Florida (cont.)

» School of Nursing program has a community-based curriculum built upon service-learning pedagogy.

» Guided reflection “helps ensure students develop an appreciation of the social, economic, cultural, political, and environment context in which their skills are practiced.”

» Faculty have always required students to document their experiences in a journal format. Journal LX has made it easy for faculty to efficiently organize students into groups and to “keep track of the continuous stream of student experiences.”

» Added bonus: Community partners who have access to the online course have used student reflections as a way to evaluate their own staff and processes and to contribute to the program.


Collaborative Writing

» Who?» Professor Deborah Gussman, Literature» Richard Stockton College

» What?» Rhetoric and composition course» Students are required to collaboratively write a novel

as part of their course work» Each student writes a different chapter of the novel

within the blog» Students can comment on each others’ work and the

entire novel can be read in the blog

http://caxton.stockton.edu/novel/


Collaborative Research

» Who?» Professor Tom Nelson, Rhetoric» University of Texas

» What?» Students are divided into blog groups according to

their interests, which are as diverse as politics, sports, movies, and technology» Students post weekly writings that relate to their

group’s topic» Each group must create their own rules for what the

group’s blog should include and the style, rhetorical goals, and length of each entry

http://www.cwrl.utexas.edu/node/233


Individual Writing

» Who?» Professors at Richard Stockton College

» What?» Interactive communication between instructors and

students» Students use blogs to annotate essays that are

assigned in the course » Example: Annotating a specific section of Slavery in

New England (http://caxton .stockton.edu/mumbet)» Example: Two different classes collaborate to annotate

Leaves of Grass (http://caxton.stockton.edu/log/)


Peer Review

» Who?» Will Richardson» Hunterdon Central Regional High School, New Jersey

» What?» Uses blogs in literature and journalism classes» Journalism class:

» Students collect news stories to write about» Provide commentary on each other’s work

» Literature class: » Students comment on and critique class readings

» Allows him to instill in students more awareness of their writing and their audience


Assigning and Assessing Blogs and Wikis

Communicating the Assignment

» Provide a clear overview of the assignment when it is assigned:» Purpose of the assignment» Expectations for the scope or depth of work » Expectations for the quality of work» Expectations for collaboration, if relevant» The grading rubric – how the assignment will be

assessed» Dates of availability of the blog or wiki for creating

content and/or viewing content

Assigning + Assessing Blogs and Wikis

Grading the Assignment

» Grading a blog or wiki is the same as grading any other assignment.

» The technology does not affect the grade.» Quality of the research» Credibility of cited sources» Organization of content» Quality of writing» Quality of analysis – if relevant» Persuasiveness of argument


Grading the Assignment (cont’d)

» Some considerations particular to blogs or wikis:» Has the author used hyperlinking effectively to

organize and present information» If grading a wiki, does the wiki history suggest that

all members of the group contributed equally» If comments were enabled, were students’

comments to their peers insightful and well-articulated?


Links» Uses of Blogs in Education (matrix)

http://www.edtechpost.ca/gems/matrix2.gif» “Scholars who Blog”, The Chronicle of Higher Education

http://chronicle.com/free/v49/i39/39a01401.htm» “Writing with Web Logs”, techLearning

http://www.techlearning.com/db_area/archives/TL/2003/02/blogs.php» Using Wiki in Education

http://www.wikiineducation.com/display/ikiw/Home» “Wide Open Spaces: Wikis, Ready or Not”, Educause Review

http://www.educause.edu/pub/er/erm04/erm0452.asp» “There’s Something in the Air: Podcasting in Education”, Educause Review

http://www.educause.edu/er/erm05/erm0561.asp?bhcp=1 » “Put it On the ‘Board: Tuning up Blackboard for Podcasting”

http://www.unl.edu/is/connectivity/connectivity_2006_09_a.shtml» “7 Things You Should Know About… Podcasting”,

Educause Learning Initiativehttp://www.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ELI7003.pdf

Thank you!

Blog Wikis110807

Education

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