Jeff+Nelson

How could a student use a wiki site for the classroom? When I teach Oral Communication, I usually incorporate one group presentation. In the past, a challenge has been, "How do I make sure everyone does an equal share of the work?" And, "Is it more fair to grade them as a group, or individually?" Sometimes, it was difficult for me to tell who did what, especially when the "work-horse" member would not want to point fingers. In the early 2000's, I began by having each student submit a confidential assessment of each member, but this was only accurate if each student was honest. Often, students would scramble at the last minute to put individual parts together into a cohesive presentation (this was before google docs), and this would sometimes lead to minor arguments within groups. Then, we started using google docs, and this helped quite a bit, but a wiki page can easily pick up where google docs fall short. Students can use a wiki to collaborate, and help each other edit, but the teacher can see exactly what was updated, when, and by whom. This takes the burden off of students to feel like they are tattling on other group members.

How could a teacher use this site? A teacher can use a wiki page to go paperless with their entire class, if desired. You can include helpful videos, links, documents, pictures, or anything else, and everyone can have instant access to it. If you want to do a collaborative project in class, such as a sample essay, it is easy to do so, and it can be saved for future reference. An additional benefit, is that, since it is online, parents can have access to it, which takes a large communication burden off of the teacher. Of course, a website can serve a similar function, but a wiki page allows members to add or edit content, and is more interactive, without the need for a moderator to publish each change.

What sites are you using as a teach? And how? Honestly, due to its initial simplicity, I often rely on google docs. I "publish" copies of play scripts, for example, and share the link with students. The downfall is that, if I make a change, I have to draw their attention to it, by making it a different color, or highlighting a "cut". It is not ideal, and frequently creates a situation in which someone is generally not up-to-date. My group of forensics coaches also frequently uses google docs for writing and editing student work. The same issues arise. Changes are usually accompanied by text messaging to notify or explain changes.