WikiSpaces: A Reflection

Technical Aspects – An Overview:

WikiSpaces is a digital classroom which offers a social writing platform for teachers and students. Not only can data be uploaded and shared to a network, but tasks can be set and student engagement measured. These are only the basic tools WikiSpaces offers; the organizer can create projects and events, or a new ‘Page’ for a new topic. The navigation is simple as the ‘Pages’ are listed in a permanent tool bar on the right of the page, allowing students to switch between subjects and content offered by their teacher seamlessly. Since WikiSpaces can act as a website, a Blog or an endless sheet of butchers paper it is an ideal platform to organise everything in one place.

The settings, meanwhile, allow the organizer (creator) of the page to invite new members by entering an email address. The invited member must accept, however, which may make the ‘Join Code’ option more suitable in a classroom situation. If interested in a tutorial on how to use the Join Code click here. Essentially, rather than enter each individual address, you can have WikiSpaces generate an URL address and Join Code. When a student visits your WikiSpaces via the generated URL and enters the Code they will automatically become a member. This is a relatively new feature – only having been introduced in 2014 – but has proved extremely popular. And since the creator of the page can change the settings to private – only members can edit the content – it ensures that no outside user can manipulate the Wiki.

One of the most alluring aspects of WikiSpaces for a teacher is the multi-author function. Unlike a website – which is static – and a Blog – which can only be commented on – WikiSpaces allows for collaborative and simultaneous editing. For example, a teacher may design a scaffold on a Page to develop students’ critical thinking in relation to the analysis of a literary text. Despite the fact only one member can edit the pre-established Page at a time, the content itself can be edited, added to or deleted. While this may present problems – loss of information, plagiarism – the idea of allowing multiple perspectives on a network will enhance teamwork and communication. And, if by some accident, critical information is deleted the ‘History Function’ can recover anything lost.

Customising WikiSpaces, unlike on a website or Blog, is limited. The basic layout cannot be altered, but the Pages themselves can be as creative as one can imagine. Images, GIFs, links, YouTube videos and the altering of text is all possible, allowing for originality and eye-catching content. In saying that, WikiSpaces is easy to use once one has navigated it for a short while. My initial reaction when creating an account was that the platform was cluttered – there were buttons everywhere! But after browsing and creating a practice page I realised it was not nearly as intimidating. Thus, limited experience is needed to maneuver it, but I believe that Generation Z will have no issues operating the layout quickly!

Learning Outcomes:

When faced with the question ‘What learning outcomes can [WikiSpaces] support in your classroom?’ my mind instantly thought of the Year 12 Biology example in this week’s Moodle readings. The point of the reading was that ICT can be integrated seamlessly into learning.

WikiSpaces, consequently, can:

• -          Support collaboration and individual study
• -          Personalise pathways
• -          Develop ICT skills and digital literacy
• -          Aid in comprehension via images accompanying text
• -          Aid in activities using scaffolding as multiple students’ can insert
         their input 
• -          Aid in evaluating online resources
• -          Aid in arranging and organising information
• -          Aid in students’ learning how to design their own space
• -          Aid students’ in learning how to reflect upon past work
• -          Aid students’ in synthesising a large mass of information

While all of these activities are performed on a digital platform they will support students’ in activities such as assignments; being able to view how peers scaffold will offer alternate ways to approach assessment and its completion. Evaluating online resources to use them in personal activities on WikiSpaces can act as preparation for exams or literary readings as it requires critical thinking. Arranging and organising information online can be a difficult task, yet will be an important skill for research assignments, class notes or even a cut and paste activity! The list can go on and on, depending on how a teacher constructs their personal WikiSpace.

Applying learning outcomes to pedagogy:

One point I deem most important from the above is that ICT, such as WikiSpaces, can aid in personalising students’ pathways.

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Research conducted by Andrew Fuller (2014) found that fostering students’ authentic goals and challenging them results in improved performance, self-confidence and self-esteem. A tool such as WikiSpaces in English or History could dramatically alter one’s pedagogy and the learning of pupils. Within my teaching context I would use a platform such as WikiSpaces as the centre point of information; a website, a blog, a digital classroom. Uploading weekly content not only allows me to go through it with my class, but it offers a chance for students’ to study the content at their own pace, return to it, or view it if they were away. Treating certain Pages as a website would allow me to upload information I wanted pupils to analyse or evaluate. Or I could ask them to complete a scaffold in order for them to organise and analyse their opinions. From there students’ are able to personalise their learning; they can take the information to their own page and conduct their own research. WikiSpaces is an amazing tool with unlimited opportunities.

Of course, I would still have paper copies in those times of power outages!

The SAMR Model:

If you would like to view my WikiSpaces (designed as a basic example) feel welcome to!

The Great Pedagogy

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de Bono's Six Thinking Hats, WikiSpaces and Pedagogy

Participating in the de Bono’s Hat: Mobile Phones WikiSpaces activity was an interesting and eye-opening experience. Whilst the content was important – should mobile phones be used in classrooms? – the learning design of the activity was the true purpose.

The learning design: Participating in WikiSpaces.

The 21^st century offers educators the opportunity to design transformative pedagogy that will provide students with essential skills required to function. In order to do so, however, the pre-service teacher must understand how to employ such powerful tools - how to "seize the day".

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The Power of WikiSpaces:

WikiSpaces is not merely another social networking platform that allows educator’s to connect with one another. To be honest, that was my original perception of the site when asked to create an account. I thought: Great. Another site I am signing up for that I will never use outside of class.

After seeing the prospects it presents, however, my mindset has changed to: WikiSpaces may transform my idea of what defines astonishing pedagogy.

In the age of e-learning and digital pedagogy, using a WikiSpace as a fundamental tool within learning will support the construction of knowledge, certain ways of thinking and collaborative learning. Completing the activity myself proved that all of this can be achieved, especially when a scaffold such as de Bono’s Thinking Hats, has been constructed on the site. It is only one example of many of how technology can be incorporated to stimulate engagement and complex forms of thinking.

The power of subtle incorporation:

When I first approached the activity – and before I read and considered the criteria questions – I did not contemplate the WikiSpaces activity within the context of the other learning theories and frameworks. Now, however, I can see quite clearly how completing such a simple activity has led to a deeper understanding of multiple learning theories.

The six Thinking Hats (perspectives) create an opportunity for the learner to engage in a more complex way of thinking. Personally, I found the learning experience extremely helpful as I was forced to consider alternate points of view to the one question which resulted in a  multifaceted thought process, rather than a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’. The six domains relate to Bloom’s Cognitive Taxonomy as both offer approaches to thinking, learning, communicating and problem solving. De Bono’s Thinking Hats can also aid in the development of a learner’s Cognitive Domain.

The de Bono’s Thinking Hat activity is one which relies upon a scaffolding design in order to promote certain ways of thinking and construct a space in which collaborative learning is valued. In this century WikiSpaces offers a way to connect with peers and educators on a platform previously denied to many. If the two are considered in the context of the SAMR model, de Bono’s Thinking Hats, when initially introduced, can act as a basic substitution. By asking students to participate in the activity online and interact with other students, the teacher is offering an advancement to the augmentation level. This class has also progressed through the transformative and modification stage, as networking has resulted in the sharing of valued perspectives from near and far, which could not be done in a traditional classroom. 

WikiSpaces and de Bono’s Thinking Hats possessed multiple characteristics that resulted in my understanding of how they interrelated with the aforementioned learning theories and frameworks. The task itself, of combing technology and scaffolding, required a transition from mere consideration to sharing information online.

The benefits of WikiSpaces:

• ·         Offers a technological platform to gauge student contribution
• ·         Supports the construction of knowledge
• ·         Develops communication and ICT skills
• ·         Develops collaboration and use of Internet resources
• ·         Offers multiple perspectives
• ·         Is a new form of engagement to develop cognitive skills

The issues and drawbacks of WikiSpaces:

• ·         Students may become easily distracted by other options on the
        Internet
• ·         The editing tool is not designed for more than one person to use it
        at a time
• ·         It requires Internet connection
• ·         Possibility of plagiarism by other users
• ·         Information may become disorganised if not managed properly

WikiSpaces and its contribution to the learning of students:

WikiSpaces offers a transformative way to collect, integrate and organise a range of perspectives from all students. If integrated into pedagogies successfully the digital tool could increase student participation as it offers the chance to create an individual learning pace. The interactive resource will also allow for self-reflection, therefore allowing students’ the chance to see their progression throughout the term. This can act as motivation, as can being their own authors in comparison to researchers.

Supportive scaffolding and the collection of a range of perspectives:

The de Bono Thinking Hat exercise offered a scaffold in which one had to don a different ‘hat’ in order to consider multiple points of view. This developed critical thinking and problem-solving. The layout ensured that the learner had to consider their perspective in relation to one question at a time. For an end result this process may make the learner realise that their original opinion has changed due to viewing the question or information from new outlooks.   

Day 1: Technology Revolution

The 1st Wave: Generation Z

The Generation Z slideshow has altered my preconceptions of the students I will come to teach. I have interacted with many teenagers from the Generation Z category and have even taken multiple classes in my first professional practice. Previously I had the notion that Generation Z relied far too heavily on technology and deemed it a bad habit. I thought that it would make them lazy and offer far too many shortcuts. The slideshow, however, made me realise the importance of integrating and utilizing e-learning at its maximum capacity. By using technology as a tool and establishing it within my classroom pedagogy I will be able to offer a learning experience that each student can relate to on their own level.


The 2nd Wave: Big Thinkers

The key ideas I pulled from Big Thinkers are as follows:

• Do not allow your students to grow bored
  (Have surprises within the classroom)
• Create a safe environment
  (Emotionally and mentally)
•  Teach students tools to use in the real world, alongside facts
  (Analytical, long-term planning, problem solving)
• Video games, in this day and age, can be used as an example within one's pedagogy
  (Use the basic idea of starting at a 'base' level and building upwards to find each child's academic capabilities in order to help them grow)

All of these key ideas relate directly to my pedagogy and how I want my students to learn. Personally, I find the above ideas particularly important in order to keep the attention span of Generation Z. English and History are two subjects in which literature has always been traditional in the sense that it was a printed text. In the 21st century, however, literature encompasses a far wider variety of texts and offers new ways in which to develop one's teaching style. By wielding technology in a positive way - making e-learning activities interactive or combining the two - one can create an environment in which students are always surprised. The implications this would have for my classroom, however, may not always be 'safe'. Generation Z are supposedly better team players than their predecessors, but bullying - unfortunately - is still present within the schoolyard. If not monitored, technology within the classroom can cause negative situations. It may also, as discussed in the following section, hinder originality.   

The 3rd Wave: TED (Creativity in the 21st Century)

"Because [education] it's one of those things that goes deep with people, am I right? Like religion, and money, and other things." 

- Sir Ken Robinson on TEDTalks.

Personally, Robinson's TEDTalk was the presentation which spoke the loudest to me. His case that we are educated out of creativity is one aspect that I do not want to take place within my pedagogy. The 21st century is a place of many wonders and yet it is dreadfully stuck in the past. This was not apparent to me until Robinson introduced the facts: every education system on earth has the same academic hierarchy - Math and Languages on top, with the Arts at the bottom. This affects students' learning as the system previously told children that their interests in anything creative will amount to no job.

Technology, and digital literacy, has changed this.

The benefits of using ICT in classrooms reflects upon the shortcomings of traditional classrooms and pedagogy's at the same time. The 21st century has seen the creation of thousands of new jobs which previously did not exist. By e-learning becoming the pedagogy itself, teachers are able to offer students a glimpse at what digital literacy can offer them. Jobs in Digital Media and Graphic Design now rely upon creative and original students, which traditional pedagogies and curriculum attempted to squash. As a teacher, our job is to help students' make something of their creativity.

Pedagogy in Practice

Pedagogy	What does it “look like” in practice	What does it NOT look like in practice?
Facilitating deep knowledge through higher order thinking.	Facilitating infers that your role as a teacher is to make higher order thinking easier for your students. It infers scaffolding and support but not delivery. Using Bloom's taxonomy one could propose that this means that students are supported in analysing, evaluating and synthesising information	Although conceptual knowledge is important, teaching students’ information that they can recall and re-present to you is not higher order thinking. A 30 minute lesson would not really be what this looks like either given the time it takes to formulate critical thinking appropriately and justify it thoroughly.
Facilitating collaborative learning in which conversations are important.	Collaborative learning is extremely important and is a great tool in one's pedagogy. Not only does it allow the teacher a chance to gauge each student's level of knowledge, but it also offers the students a chance to learn from one another. Studies show that collaborative learning increases higher level thinking.	Conversations are important, however if not kept on track students' may move onto topics with no relation to the course. The teacher should also not enforce opinions, and rather allow students to come to their own conclusion of a topic.
Supporting students in knowing how they learn best.	Addressing the learning strengths and needs of students' is important as a child will not learn if frustrated. A teacher can use the SAMR model in such a case. Integrating technology will promote individual learning with guidance from the teacher.	A teacher cannot expect all students' to learn alike. This is why standardized testing is an issue, as well as only using a handful of mediums in one's pedagogy. A range has to be offered, otherwise a student may not reach their full potential.
Planning learning that is problem-based, and situated in real life contexts.	Offering relevant contexts increases engagement in learning and	It is not asking students to merely study and memorize a textbook.
Is relevant to students, and connects to their background knowledge.	It draws upon previous topics and assessments and is something they will use again.	It is not something completely new and irrelevant. Teaching unnecessarily will lower trust.
Supports learning that is owned, controlled and managed by students themselves.	The SAMR model, again, can be applied here. Technology allows students' to learn at their own pace and develop activities of interest to them. The teacher will guide here.	Not talking 'at' the students and dictating activities day after day.
Is socially supportive, engaging and values cultural knowledge/s.	By using information and resources that are interesting and offer a connection to culture, teachers are able to create a safe learning place that promotes acceptance.	Unlike in traditional classrooms, thousands of resources are available at the touch of a button. It is important to engage students' in a multicultural classroom. There is no longer room for biased material and prejudice.
Is supportive of the development of active citizenship, and strong group identity.	Collaborative learning ties in with strong group identity, and can be supported through group activities. It allows for growth in being responsible and accepting one's role in a discussion.	Asking students' to remain quite and limiting discussion within the classroom will stump development of identity.