Evaluating Emerging Technologies - Wikis Implementing Wikis in the Classroom Evaluating Emerging Technologies - Wikis Mark DeFoor ITEC 7445 July 15, 2014

What is a Wiki? Essentially, a wiki is a web page with an open-editing system. In the classroom, it is a collaborative tool that allows students to contribute and modify one or more pages of course related materials. Wikis also facilitate community building within a course.

Why Use Wikis? To encourage collaboration, students can put class presentations in a wiki. To encourage participation, students can share review notes and create a test review. For group projects, students can track projects to see which tasks have been completed. For the classroom, teachers can post class rules and the course syllabus on a wiki. Communicate with the community and post student work to let everyone see what their children have accomplished.

How Do Wikis Support the Vision for Technology Use in the School? The use of wikis support the vision of our technology department because wikis allow students and teachers to use network resources with tablets, laptops and smart phones. Wikis help teachers transition to a role of facilitator by incorporating technology into classroom activities. Students become self-learners as they learn to use technology as a means to access knowledge and solve problems. Communication between stakeholders is greatly increased and more efficient with the use of wikis.

How Do Wikis Support the Vision for Technology Use in the School? Wikis provide a vehicle for exercising most of Bloom’s higher order thinking activities. Wikis will become the prime source of information for all stakeholders. By posting assignments and sharing class notes, wikis will help in the reduction of paper use and expensive photocopy equipment.

Best Strategy to Ensure Equitable Access The target audience for wikis is all high school students in grades 9 – 12. Since wiki hosting sites are available on the Internet, it is imperative that we utilize our existing wireless network so all students can use their personal devices, or school devices, to access the web and become part of the wiki environment.

Technical Support for Implementation There are a variety of free and easy to use wikis that are relatively quick and easy to use. A few of the more popular wiki hosting sites are: Google Sites Wikispaces Pbwiki Wikis can be used through any device that has Internet access. However, laptops, desktops or tablets are preferable. Even though creating a wiki is a relatively easy process, I would recommend 2 professional learning sessions to show teachers first how to create a wiki site and secondly how to maintain a wiki site.

Limitations to Implementation There are several potential limitations that must be addressed prior to implementation. User license – do we want the entire school to use wikis are just specific content areas. This decision will have a financial impact on the school system. Accessibility – some wiki hosting sites may be block by school district firewalls. Editing – group consensus must be reached or collaboration could be ineffective. Leadership – without leadership, wiki content can become randomized and quickly get out of hand.

Limitations to Implementation Participation – depending on the wiki platform, it may be difficult for teachers to track individual contribution to a site. Privacy – it is difficult to keep content private. It should not be used as a secure forum to communicate with parents. Role Limitations – it may be difficult for participants to create unique roles in wiki collaborations.  This may present challenges for creating equitable distribution of tasks and may limit participation as individual responsibilities may be unclear.

Cost of Implementation The wiki site recommended for implementation is Wikispaces. Wikispaces Classroom is for education only and is free of charge. There is a Wikispaces Campus. It serves as an interface to a LMS. If a school wants to provide Classroom to all teachers and students, then it is a paid service. Starting price is $1,000 per year for a 100 user license.

Funding Sources for Implementation Because our school system currently has a 9 million dollar budget deficit and recently executed a reduction in force of 40 positions, it is recommended that our school not pursue the Wikispaces Campus, and instead focus on Classroom. This wiki platform can run on the existing school network infrastructure.

How Can Wikis Be Used Wikis are ideal for group projects that emphasize collaboration and editing. Research projects in which the wiki serves as documentation of student work Compiling documentation of useful terms or concepts related to the course Maintaining a collection of links where the instructor and students can post, group or classify links relevant to the course Building an online repository of course documents where instructors and students can post relevant material Creating e-portfolios of student work

Wikis Promote Specific Learning Goals Increase teacher capacity & improve student engagement. Teachers are working with their students in a modern, collaborative and social environment in seconds. They can monitor students' work as it happens so they can give feedback, assistance, and encouragement as needed. Teachers serve as facilitators and students take ownership of their learning.

Wikis Help Differentiate Instruction Improve Student Outcomes Flexible grouping and ongoing assessments gives teachers immediate and direct insight into student engagement and contribution. That means teachers can help those who need it most and challenge those who don't.

Wikis Promote Communication The classroom is flattened and no longer tied to the building and school hours. Parents and students expect to work, communicate, and share at times and places that make most sense for them. With Wikispaces stakeholders have a safe social communication network for the classroom. Teachers decide who can participate and when.‍

Research Supporting Wikis Students found wikis useful for arranging information and sharing knowledge. Instructors thought wikis made managing group work more effective (Elgort, 2008). Students recognized the potential of the wiki to support collaboration (Ioannou, 2009). It can be seen that wiki software could have the potential to support knowledge building networks and to be a useful tool in the shared repertoire of communities of practice engaged in collaborative learning (Grant, 2006).

Implementing Wikis The implementation plan would include: Professional learning opportunities for teachers during the months of August & September. Select 1 qualified, and willing, teacher in each content area (Math, Science, English & History) to beta test wikis during October & November. School IT Director and Dept. heads will monitor wikis and make adjustments in December for additional implementations 2nd semester. It is estimated that it will take an entire school year to fully implement the plan with 100% of non first year teachers participating by year 2.

Reflection As I continue to research the benefits of using wikis in the classroom, there are general consistencies that make them a viable technology tool for education. I am convinced that when used properly, wikis encourage shared knowledge construction among groups. They also prove to be a democratic tool by forcing students to take responsibility for their learning experience. I believe wikis allow students to operate in a flattened classroom by being able to publish and share material to anyone at anytime. If properly managed, wikis provide opportunities for students to teach each other and teachers to facilitate. Finally, wikis offer a more free flowing dialogue among students at the same time having structure needed to ensure the information that is posted is accurate and relevant. As a high school math teacher, I can absolutely see the benefits of using wikis in the classroom.

References Elgort, I., Smith, A. G., & Toland, J. (2008). Is wiki an effective platform for group course work? Retrieved from http://www.ascilite.org.au/ajet/ajet24/elgort.pdf Grant, L. (2006). Using wikis in schools: a case study. Retrieved from https://www.nfer.ac.uk/publications  Ioannou, A. & Artino, A. (2009). Wiki and threaded discussion for online collaborative activities:  students’ perceptions and use. Retrieved from http://www.ojs.academypublisher.com/index.php/jetwi/article/viewFile/010197106/12 yukon-math-differentiated-instruction.wikispaces.com cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/wikis/