1. Blogs and Wikis in Blackboard NERCOMP - Blackboard User Group, December 6, 2006 Barbara Knauff, Senior Instructional Technologist Academic Computing

2. Session Overview Bb at Dartmouth Why blogs and wikis? Learning Objects implementation Use cases Tips

3. Dartmouth 4,100 undergrads 1,600 graduate/professional students 475 faculty 400-500 courses/term

4. Dartmouth Residential student body No distance ed programs Study abroad > 50% Face-to-face instruction at core of institutional identity Liberal arts Bb used as a supplement

5. Bb at Dartmouth 1999: adopted CourseInfo 2002: integration with Banner 2006: more than 2/3 of courses have active Bb site Cross-platform support crucial (40% Mac users)

6. Bb growth

7. Early uses of Bb Tool adoption weighted towards administrative functions Instructor disseminates content Students consume content One-way street: faculty to student

8. So what’s the problem? “… students do not always complete the readings, so sometimes come to class with no ideas and questions about new knowledge.”

9. So what’s the problem? “The issue with which I really struggle is that […] students seem to not want to think or take responsibility for their own learning.”

10. So what’s the problem? “Another problem that new technologies may address is the range of student competence […]”

11. So what’s the problem? “… students […] often seem unwilling to apply what they know to their classmates’ presentations.”

12. So what’s the problem? “… students […] want to be fed the ‘answers’ to the test questions.”

13. Deeper Learning Principles Social Active Contextual Engaging Student-owned Carmean, Colleen and Jeremy Haefner. "Mind over Matter: Transforming Course Management Systems into Effective Learning Environments." Educause Review, Nov/Dec. 2002, pp. 27-34.

14. Tools for deeper learning Discussion Boards Wikis Blogs or online journals

15. Shared attributes Asynchronous Collaborative Multi-media possible Text-centered

16. Discussion Boards Implemented in Bb Limitations: –Linear structure –Can be cumbersome to read –Focus on text –No cross-platform WYSIWYG editor –Cannot embed media in page –No commenting –Access: all or nothing

17. Blogs Simple web publishing Chronological presentation Shared or individual Support comments

18. Wikis “A web application that allows users to add content, as on an Internet forum, but also allows anyone to edit the content.” (Source: wikipedia)wikipedia A website (non-linear, hyperlinked) Collectively authored Supports comments

19. Blogs and Wikis in Bb Based on Building Block technology Enterprise clients only Learning Objects: http://www.learningobjects.com http://www.learningobjects.com Substantial cost Cross-platform support Excellent customer support Rapid development cycle

20. Basic clients? Link to free services from within Bb No seamless authentication integration No integrated assessment Recommended services: –PB Wiki: http://pbwiki.com/http://pbwiki.com/ –Blogger: http://www.blogger.comhttp://www.blogger.com

21. Teams LX “Teams Site” = wiki Nomenclature and icon switch =

22. Teams LX Create a wiki in any content area

23. Teams LX Assign name and description

24. Teams LX Grant editing privileges based on groups

25. Teams LX Grant editing privileges to individuals

26. Teams LX Set availability

27. Teams LX Set dates for editing

28. Teams LX Set dates for viewing/commenting

29. Teams LX Ability to create gradebook entry

30. Teams LX Ability to set text direction

31. Teams LX Cross-platform WYSIGYG toolbar –IE –Firefox –Unsupported browsers - can edit HTML

32. Teams LX Toolbar supports: –Word-like changes in display –Links –Images –File uploads –Special characters –HTML editing mode –pseudo-CSS

33. Teams LX Editing history for each page

34. Teams LX Version changes highlighted

35. Teams LX Ability to revert to prior versions Other tools: –Page list –Search tool –Export tool

36. Teams LX Assess Wikis (Control Panel)

37. Wiki examples Scientific Basis of Medicine Program (SBM.Program-AY0607):SBM.Program-AY0607 –Student presentation of medical case studies –Use of pathology images crucial

38. Wiki examples Whitman and Dickinson (ENGL.066.01-SU06):ENGL.066.01-SU06 –Class-built literary glossary –Class-built annotated bibliography –Tendency to append, not overwrite

39. Wiki examples Composition and Research (WRIT.002.04-FA06)WRIT.002.04-FA06 –Collection of sources –Class-built historical synopsis –Orphaned pages

40. Wiki examples Expository Writing (WRIT.005.13.14- FA06)WRIT.005.13.14- FA06 –Group web project instead of paper –Multi-media included –Course administration: signup sheets

41. Wiki examples Expository Writing (WRIT.005.01-FA06)WRIT.005.01-FA06 –Student-generated questions –Wiki functions like an erasable whiteboard

42. Wiki examples Biology & Politics of Starvation (BIOL.009.01-SSOC.009.01-WI06)BIOL.009.01-SSOC.009.01-WI06 –Final projects –Charts and images –Some poor design choices (colors, width)

43. Wiki examples Collaborative article (ORG.computing.curricular.CMS-article)ORG.computing.curricular.CMS-article –Used wiki as shared writing space

44. Wiki positives Student engagement and ownership Multi-media Sharing work in class / outside of class Wikis enhance other work

45. Wiki positives “Group writing doesn’t produce good papers - but the next individual paper will be improved” Engages deeper learning principles: –Social, active, contextual, engaging, student-owned

46. Wiki problems Confusion between general course wiki and wikis deployed in content areas Confusion between “edit page” and “new page” Concept of linked web of pages difficult Browser problems (Safari) Locked-up documents Assessment difficult Poorly designed sites, image sizing problems Orphaned pages Flashy instead of substantive

47. Wiki suggestions, 1 Brief & clear technical instructions Disable course wiki Clearly define expectations of wiki assignments Create demo wiki for students Consider “seeding” wikis/pre-establishing structure Don’t expect beauty Be aware of time commitment required

48. Wiki suggestions, 2 Be aware of file size quota Iterative process: –Create –Review and comment, feedback –Refine –Final Assessment –Consider separating process/product in assessment Require commenting

49. Journals LX Analogous to Teams LX “Journal Site” = blogs Nomenclature and icon switch =

50. Journals LX Single-page Multi-author Users can only edit their own posts Versioning Commenting No assessment tool Option: students can view only own posts Option: RSS feed

51. Sample journal assignments Individual reading or progress journals Group project progress reports Student blogs Peer review Link collection

52. Journals example Latinos in Media/Arts LATS.041.01- FA05 LATS.041.01- FA05 –Student link collections

53. Journals positives Easy for students to use Good replacement for some single-page wikis Alternative to discussion board

54. Journal problems Less used at Dartmouth than wikis Student engagement seems lower Few technical/conceptual problems –Browser problems Problems similar to discussion board: –Student motivation –Integration with course

55. Expo LX Formerly called “Backpack” Not deployed at Dartmouth Blogs, wikis associated with user Module-based (not course) Rudimentary permissioning E-portfolios Personal student spaces

56. Conclusion Contact: barbara.knauff@dartmouth.edu barbara.knauff@dartmouth.edu Slides: http://www.dartmouth.edu/~bknauff/NE RCOMP2006/ http://www.dartmouth.edu/~bknauff/NE RCOMP2006/ Questions!