“Wikis
are similar to other types of online communication tools, such as blogs and
threaded discussions, in that these are all asynchronous forms of communication
(West & West, 2009, Location 233). Although Wikis are similar to other
social areas, they differ in that anyone can edit or author information.
One
pro of using Wiki is that it is an equal terrain for collaboration. “Online
students have the capacity to become collaborative partners in the
knowledge-building process” (West & West, 2009, Location 187). The technology
information consumer needs to have practiced skills to decipher credible sources
and viable information, so that they may become shared participator. Secondly,
Wiki invites constructivism. “The students engage in interaction with the
learning materials, and by doing so, they can integrate new ideas and try to
make meaning of the new information” (as cited in Lari, 2011, p. 125). Wiki
conversation requires engagement, deep level thinking, and conceptualization for
genuine understanding to occur.
A
con is privacy. If using a Wiki in a Learning Management System, participation in
the Wiki community is “automatically ‘private’ to the students who have access
to the LMS” (West & West, 2009, Location 316). Furthermore,
some public Wiki domains have privacy settings. Another con is the loss of
control, as confirmed by Lamb “Both the instructor and students must… relinquish
ownership, and cede control to the group” (as cited in West & West, 2009,
Location 455). Although at first glance this may seem a con, student
responsibility is raised, organically developing ownership and commitment. This
Wiki experience “where peer groups play as important a role as a teacher in a
traditional (face-to-face) classroom environment,” depicts a more in-real-life
(IRL) experience (Hazari, North, & Moreland, 2009, p. 195).
Hazari, S., North, A., & Moreland, D. (2009).
Investigating pedagogical value of Wiki technology. Journal of information systems
education. 20(2). 187-198.
Lari, P. (2011). The
professor's guide to taming technology [Kindle version]. King, K. P. &
Cox, T. D. (Eds). Information Age Publishing. Retrieved from Amazon.
West,
J. and West, M. (2009). Using Wikis for online collaboration: The power of
the read-write Web [Kindle
version]. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Retrieved
from Amazon.
Your statement "The technology information consumer needs to have practiced skills to decipher credible sources and viable information, so that they may become shared participator," is very correct- with the amount of information that is out there, those that go online do need to consider the sources of information that they are looking at and that is one of the interesting points about wikis- common wiki sites are generally not allowed as credible sources in the classroom as most public sites will allow anyone to enter information. Setting the site to private can help with that, but then not as much info will go out so its an interesting problem.
ReplyDeleteAs I looked deeper into the wiki, I came across an article written by Workman (2008). While this article was based on a project that was done over 10 years ago, the author states that the biggest issue he had with the wiki was learning the technology behind it to be able to teach with the site and manage it overall. While technology has advanced by leaps and bounds, the privacy issues (and managing those) persists as a common problem, and if we think about it, that is a consideration for using any form of technology in the classroom--the instructor must be savvy enough to know the inside outs of the program as they will wear many more hats than just instructor when they take on IT support and privacy management roles.
Workman, J. (2008). Wikis in the classroom: Opportunities and challenges. Marketing Education Review, 18(1), 19-24.
MKHort, both you and Ksu1msm address the issue of the veracity of information going into a blog. Groupthink is a concern to me; as a facilitator I have often noticed that group members will take behavioral cues from a group "leader" who has a strong personality. Dron (2007) notes that such an individual can have unwarranted influence over a group--this is consistent with groups I have facilitated. More closely to your points, with insufficient critical thinking skills a group will create lousy knowledge, not the authentic and meaningful knowledge constructivists hope for (Dron).
ReplyDeleteYou cite Lari (2011). If I may ask, because both you and Ksu1msm are thinking around these issues.... Lari notes that "...wikis were developed more than ten years ago [but] they are still fairly new to higher education." Lari continues, "It has only been in recent years that wikis have been put to use in higher education...(p.122)." I wonder if higher education is a late adopter and hence not using best practices, and if rather than looking at scholarly articles, we would be better served to look at practitioner literature. What are your thoughts?
Best
--Les
Dron, J. (2007). Designing the undesignable: Social software and control. Educational Technology & Society, 10 (3), 60-71.
Lari, P. (2011). The use of wikis for collaboration in higher education. In King, K. P. & Cox, T. D. (Eds). The Professor’s Guide to Taming Technology: Leveraging Digital Media, Web 2.0, and More for Learning. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.
Les, I agree with you in that just about every group project I have collaborated on, there is almost always someone who stands out as the group leader, even if it's not officially recognized. I can see how this could debilitate the project and lead to group think, especially if they have a strong personality and are determined to make the project "theirs". However, I also think it can be a great thing to have a confident team member who takes charge and drives discussion. There's nothing worse than signing on to Zoom to discuss your project and everyone just stares at each other waiting for someone to chime in. Any thoughts (this is for the group) on ideas or techniques on how a strong personality can "relinquish ownership, and cede control to the group"? Personally I like Dr. K's technique of pre-project surveys to assess experience and comfort areas.
DeleteI have found the Nominal Group Technique (Delbecq, Van de Ven, & Gustafson, 1975) to be useful in managing power differentials, strong personalities, etc. I've used it for years, since I was introduced to it by Judy Hale (2007). Its drawbacks are that it can be slow and it requires an impartial facilitator to really do it well. I was excited to see a wiki variation in West & West (2009, pp. 95-97.).
DeleteOther techniques I think are useful are the establishment of ground rules with an explicit agreement that any member can all out any other member for violating them, and creating specific agendae for team meetings (Chou, Promes, Souza, Topp, & O'Sullivan, 2012).
Best
--Les
Chou, C. L., Promes, S. B., Souza, K. H., Topp, K. S., & O'Sullivan, P. S. (2012). Twelve tips for facilitating successful teleconferences. Medical Teacher. 34: 445-449.
Delbecq, A., Van de Ven, A., & Gustafson, D. (1975). Group techniques for program planning:
A guide to nominal group & Delphi processes. Glenview, IL: Scott Foresman.
Hale, J. A. (2007). The Performance Consultant's Fieldbook, Second Edition. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
West, J. A. & West, M. L. (2009). Using Wikis for Online Collaboration: The Power of the Read-Write Web. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Les, I agree with your thoughts around higher education being a late adopters of technology in the classroom in general. We're fortunate in this program to work with educators that focus on sound adult learning principles and choose to teach online. I do agree that looking to practitioners for directions is a fantastic idea. I was able to find some great articles about blogging on the ATD (Association for Talent Development) but came up empty handed with my search around wikis. Looks like it's time to dig back in and see what else is out there!
DeleteLes-
DeleteI agree with the difficulties of groupthink following a strong willed leader. There are some classes that I have taken that talk about team management and group design and one of the best things I have gotten out of that is finding the strengths of your group and deferring to them for expertise. Yes, one person will have to step up to get the ball rolling, but by first starting the discussion to see what group members interests are and areas of expertise are and then building from there can develop a team that will quickly take off and succeed. (not that no one can speak up if its NOT their area of expertise but having that person can help resolve some problems if they occur).
Additionally you asked about late adoption of technology when it comes to wikis. To that, I dont know. For me, wikis have a very specific purpose that wont necessarily fit with all class' objectives. For example, with the classes that I teach, I cannot really think of a single assignment I could write that would meet my objectives that would need a wiki. My school tries to keep up with technology, and we use wikis for staff collaboration, but I am not sure when I would use it for students.
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ReplyDeleteLes & Ksu1msm, in regards to the dominant leader in group projects, I too have experienced this, and sometimes I may be the leader, but not the dominant leader. Yet, as leader, I often intentionally lead from a position of "beside" rather than "in front.” I believe in constructivism and the apprenticeship model. Driscoll states that learners "are not empty vessels waiting to be filled, but rather active organisms seeking meaning" (Merriam & Bierema, 2014, p. 36). Great leaders can lead without giving verbal direction. They lay safe groundwork for exploration by group members. They convey knowledge through non-verbal communication and comfortably rest in silences so colleagues can beautifully construct. The social constructs of knowledge, such as wikis, blogs, discussion boards, "are central to self-directed learning, transformational learning, experiential learning, reflective practice, situated cognition, and communities of practice" (Merriam & Bierema, 2014, p. 37). The situated learning inside of the apprenticeship model leans towards "learning is an inseparable part of all of our interactions in the world" and "learning-as-participant" (Pratt, Smulders, and Associates, 2014, p. 105). These are preventative measures to keep balance in a shared learning environment. However, if prevention is not successful, then I lean on Forming Ground Rules (Creating Norms) (Wentworth, 2017). This gives opportunity for ownership.
ReplyDeleteMerriam, S. B. & Bierema, L. L. (2014). Adult learning linking theory and practice. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Pratt, D. D., Smulders, D., and Associates. (2016). Five perspectives on teaching: Mapping a plurality of the good (2nd ed.). Malabar, FL: Krieger Publishing Company.
Wentworth, M. (Last update 2017). Forming Ground Rules (Creating Norms). Retrieved from https://www.schoolreforminitiative.org/download/forming-ground-rules-creating-norms/.