Wiki's and Collaborative Learning
Learning by collaboration and social interaction has been proven to be beneficial, especially when students are trying to solve complex problems that require higher order thinking (Woolfolk & Margetts, 2013). As a student, I personally find group discussion to be very advantageous in terms of understanding and comprehending lesson content.
The famous theorist Lev Vygotsky emphasised how children learn through the culture of their community and interaction, in order to become knowledgeable members of society (Woolfolk & Margetts, 2013). His theory suggests that cognitive development is achieved by engaging students in social settings, promoting inter-psychological development (Woolfolk & Margetts, 2013). Wiki’s, discovery missions, WebQuests and other collaborative educational activities satisfy Vygotsky's view, as they are designed to increase student communication skills along with furthering their understanding of a topic.
The famous theorist Lev Vygotsky emphasised how children learn through the culture of their community and interaction, in order to become knowledgeable members of society (Woolfolk & Margetts, 2013). His theory suggests that cognitive development is achieved by engaging students in social settings, promoting inter-psychological development (Woolfolk & Margetts, 2013). Wiki’s, discovery missions, WebQuests and other collaborative educational activities satisfy Vygotsky's view, as they are designed to increase student communication skills along with furthering their understanding of a topic.
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Wiki’s are a collection of many web pages and are a fantastic tool for the classroom. They can be set up initially (generally free of charge) and then edited in subsequent lessons by the students or the teacher. Students can build on and continuously edit group projects during the term, as they become more knowledgeable about the particular topic. Not only are the students learning the curriculum, but they are also working on their literacy, communication and social skills when they review and revise others' work. In a classroom setting, it is the flow and continual update of information that makes Wiki's so valuable (Ferris & Wilder, ND).
The above clip is a brief instructional video on 'how to create a wiki article' - it is easy to set up and subsequently edited. Furthermore, students can make links in their Wiki's to other resources for example audio files. The following link is to an audio file for learning Spanish - a great interactive tool that promotes student learning!
McGraw Hill - Spanish
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In addition to Wiki's, 'discovery missions' also promote social interaction as well as teach the students brainstorming skills. Effectively, students take ownership and address a mission that the teacher has designed and provided guidelines for. O'shea & Kidd (ND) summarise the Discovery Mission philosophy stating that "it empowers the student to take ownership of the process and the teacher to provide guidance rather than content". Discovery missions introduce students to leadership roles and problem solving, by integrating collaborative learning and promoting higher order thinking.
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Similarly to the above two collaborative learning tools, WebQuest is an online, inquiry orientated web activity that is an alternative to 'surfing' the internet (Summerville, ND). Scaffolding and guidance provided by the teacher can prompt students to adopt higher order thinking, which is required to complete a meaningful WebQuest. Students are intellectually challenged, having the opportunity to attack big, complex questions which result in real-world learning experiences. Integrating the internet into classroom activities is taking advantage of an exciting, state-of-the-art learning tool where researching and referencing skills are improved (Summerville, ND). WebQuests are applicable for young students who can produce something such as a diorama, or older students, who can complete a report or essay at the conclusion of the research task.
A popular game, that can be both educational and interactive is a "Wiki Race" or "Wiki Game" where students start on a particular Wikipedia site and race against each other by clicking on hyperlinks to get to a predetermined destination Wikipedia site. The first person to navigate their way through the encyclopedia to the end article or topic is the winner! The following link explains the rules in more detail.
Collaborative and social learning has been valued in schools, work places and other institutions worldwide. Introducing technology to aid the learning process is extremely beneficial for students and as a future teacher, I feel as though these tools are critical in establishing a sound and engaging classroom dynamic. Finger, Russell, Jamison-Proctor and Russell (2007) suggests that collaborative online environments are evolving quickly and becoming more and more suited to educational use; embracing the software has the potential to change not only what children learn, but how they learn.
References:
- Ferris, S.P. Wilder, H. (ND). Uses and potentials of wikis in the classroom. Retrieved from:
http://www.qub.ac.uk/directorates/AcademicStudentAffairs/CentreforEducationalDevelopment/e-Learning/E- LearningFileStore/Filetoupload,134940,en.pdf - Finger, G., Russell, G., Jamieson-Proctor, R., Russell, R. (2007). Transforming learning with ICT: Making it happen. NSW: Pearson.
- O'Shea, P., Kidd, J. (ND). Discovery missions: An educational tool for web 2.0. Retrieved from: https://learn.uq.edu.au/bbcswebdav/pid-250916-dt-content-rid-973071_1/courses/EDUC1049S_6320_22856/OShea%26Kidd%202013%20DiscoverMissions.pdf
- Summerville, J. (ND). WebQuests - An aspect of technology integration for training perservice teachers. Retrieved from: http://link.springer.com.ezproxy.library.uq.edu.au/content/pdf/10.1007%2FBF02822950.pdf
- Woolfolk, A. Margetts, K. (2013). Educational psychology. New South Wales: Pearson
- Youtube Clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CwiZIsaM7s