Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Online role-plays
I'm excited after our experience with this online role-play to try this in the future. I've often had online discussions with my students where they've had the opportunity to give their own reactions to a topic and then react to each other, but I can see where this would be more effective in a role-play format. Students are often reluctant to share an opinion if they realize the public sentiment is against them. In my CIS Literature class right now, we've been discussing the poetry of Billy Collins and Mary Oliver. Though most students seem to prefer Collins' work, there are a few who feel differently. When they're writing under their own names on the class wiki, however, they don't necessarily feel comfortable speaking in favor of Mary Oliver (this discussion is viewable at http://msjohnsonwiki.pbworks.com/Poems+we+like).
In class I've often used face-to-face debate to discuss issues like this; these debates are most often successful when I assign students roles randomly. Even when the students don't necessarily agree with the side they're assigned, they often get caught up in the spirit of the discussion. Though I enjoy these classtime activities--as do the students--I think a supplemental online component would be really effective. There are always students who are unable to join in the class discussion for various reasons; sometimes their peers are simply too vocal to allow others to participate. In my own life, I've found that there is no better way to strengthen my own arguments and feelings about issues than to research the opposition's position. This is a valuable skill for students to gain and for us to teach.
Taking up a role that is different than my own position in our role play really helped me to solidify my own opinions. My role of Miss Frizzle thought that Google is, indeed, making us dumb. There are certainly several facets to this issue and my personal opinion, but, in the end, my position is the opposite. Through my teaching, I've found that the difference between truly successful students and those who merely get by often shows in the ability to use resources when available. Students who believe that Google (or other popular search engines) can give them every answer will never understand the subtleties that govern many-faceted issues like this one. They're looking for the easy, "right" answer that they believe is what the teacher wants. Students who truly feel an intellectual curiosity to learn may begin with Google and find some information very quickly. They will also, however, realize that searching out opposing viewpoints is equally important. It is rare when the first answer found is the only possible one.
In class I've often used face-to-face debate to discuss issues like this; these debates are most often successful when I assign students roles randomly. Even when the students don't necessarily agree with the side they're assigned, they often get caught up in the spirit of the discussion. Though I enjoy these classtime activities--as do the students--I think a supplemental online component would be really effective. There are always students who are unable to join in the class discussion for various reasons; sometimes their peers are simply too vocal to allow others to participate. In my own life, I've found that there is no better way to strengthen my own arguments and feelings about issues than to research the opposition's position. This is a valuable skill for students to gain and for us to teach.
Taking up a role that is different than my own position in our role play really helped me to solidify my own opinions. My role of Miss Frizzle thought that Google is, indeed, making us dumb. There are certainly several facets to this issue and my personal opinion, but, in the end, my position is the opposite. Through my teaching, I've found that the difference between truly successful students and those who merely get by often shows in the ability to use resources when available. Students who believe that Google (or other popular search engines) can give them every answer will never understand the subtleties that govern many-faceted issues like this one. They're looking for the easy, "right" answer that they believe is what the teacher wants. Students who truly feel an intellectual curiosity to learn may begin with Google and find some information very quickly. They will also, however, realize that searching out opposing viewpoints is equally important. It is rare when the first answer found is the only possible one.
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Wiki Wiki!
Using wikis in the Classroom:
I've played around with wikis before in my classroom, with varying levels of success. The most successful uses have revolved around my updating class assignments (much in the way we're using the ning for this course) or in having students do background research for various novels.
For this class, I've completely redesigned my wiki. The home page begins with the titles of the courses I currently teach and then branches off from there. For my CIS literature class, there are then subheadings with the title of each book and further assignments/discussion questions/tasks on the following pages. The other two classes will follow much the same format, though I don't have those completed yet.
Because I'm using one wiki page for all of my classes, the Sidebar only has links to the front page of each course; I don't want students getting confused about which pages they should or should not be accessing.
I like to put students in groups to find background information on a particular novel, time period, or author, and then have each group create a wiki which I link to from my page so they can all be viewed (though not modified) by the rest of the class. For example, my CIS Lit class reads the graphic novel Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi. I will break the class up into groups and have them research the following topics prior to our discussion of the book:
Each group will then do a 5-10 minute presentation on the information they've learned for the class. Because this information is on a wiki they can all access, it reduces the need for the other students to take notes and they can actually listen to each presentation. Additionally, creating a wiki for their presentation allows students to link to various sites so they don't have to paraphrase (or plagiarize) all the information.
I have also witnessed students creating a wiki on their own initiative (once I've introduced them to it). In my CIS Composition course, students are in writing groups for several weeks at a time. These writing groups provide their main (and sometimes only) feedback for several drafts of several types of essays. One writing group, after learning how simple a wiki was to create and manage, created their own wiki as a environmentally-friendly method of sharing papers. They were able to post papers for one another, comment, make changes (which were tracked), and do all of this on a schedule that worked for each of them.
All of this being said, I can imagine several challenges in working with wikis in the classroom (aside from the standard lack of access to technology argument). When modifying a wiki page, only one user at a time can make modifications. If groups are working on a project during class time, it's likely that they'll need to modify the same page simultaneously. While working around this is not difficult, it can cause the type of frustrations that make insurmountable issues for less technologically-inclined students. Additionally, students can spend so much time playing with format and aesthetics of their page that they lose track of what they're really supposed to be working on. I have several students who get distracted by shiny things, and wikis provide one more opportunity for that.
www.msjohnsonwiki.pbwiki.com
I've played around with wikis before in my classroom, with varying levels of success. The most successful uses have revolved around my updating class assignments (much in the way we're using the ning for this course) or in having students do background research for various novels.
For this class, I've completely redesigned my wiki. The home page begins with the titles of the courses I currently teach and then branches off from there. For my CIS literature class, there are then subheadings with the title of each book and further assignments/discussion questions/tasks on the following pages. The other two classes will follow much the same format, though I don't have those completed yet.
Because I'm using one wiki page for all of my classes, the Sidebar only has links to the front page of each course; I don't want students getting confused about which pages they should or should not be accessing.
I like to put students in groups to find background information on a particular novel, time period, or author, and then have each group create a wiki which I link to from my page so they can all be viewed (though not modified) by the rest of the class. For example, my CIS Lit class reads the graphic novel Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi. I will break the class up into groups and have them research the following topics prior to our discussion of the book:
- Ancient history of Persia/Iran-before 1921.
- Recent history of Persia/Iran-beginning in 1921.
- History and importance of the city of Persepolis.
- The Shahs of Iran-definition and historical importance.
- US/CIA involvement in the leadership of Iran.
- Islamic Revolution.
- Iran/Iraq War.
- Today’s Iran.
Each group will then do a 5-10 minute presentation on the information they've learned for the class. Because this information is on a wiki they can all access, it reduces the need for the other students to take notes and they can actually listen to each presentation. Additionally, creating a wiki for their presentation allows students to link to various sites so they don't have to paraphrase (or plagiarize) all the information.
I have also witnessed students creating a wiki on their own initiative (once I've introduced them to it). In my CIS Composition course, students are in writing groups for several weeks at a time. These writing groups provide their main (and sometimes only) feedback for several drafts of several types of essays. One writing group, after learning how simple a wiki was to create and manage, created their own wiki as a environmentally-friendly method of sharing papers. They were able to post papers for one another, comment, make changes (which were tracked), and do all of this on a schedule that worked for each of them.
All of this being said, I can imagine several challenges in working with wikis in the classroom (aside from the standard lack of access to technology argument). When modifying a wiki page, only one user at a time can make modifications. If groups are working on a project during class time, it's likely that they'll need to modify the same page simultaneously. While working around this is not difficult, it can cause the type of frustrations that make insurmountable issues for less technologically-inclined students. Additionally, students can spend so much time playing with format and aesthetics of their page that they lose track of what they're really supposed to be working on. I have several students who get distracted by shiny things, and wikis provide one more opportunity for that.
www.msjohnsonwiki.pbwiki.com
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Seward, Nebraska
My slideshow is a sequential story, of sorts, about my home town: Seward, Nebraska. I tried to hit some of the highlights and parts that were important to me. This is the type of project I would use at the beginning of a term with my students (see next post).
My slideshow is a sequential story, of sorts, about my home town: Seward, Nebraska. I tried to hit some of the highlights and parts that were important to me. This is the type of project I would use at the beginning of a term with my students (see next post).
Slideshow and Voicethread
I see where this project could be quite useful in the classroom. Often, at the beginning of a new semester, I have students present "get to know you"-type speeches where they have to include information about themselves and what's important to them. As a speech, this causes quite a bit of anxiety for students at the beginning of a new term. If, instead, we were to create slideshows with students giving their own narration and linked them all online, it would alleviate much of that problem.
I felt a little like I was creating my own episode of Pop-up Video (which I have always found entertaining), when I was commenting on individual moments of the slideshow. This is a project which would really allow students' creativity and originality to come through. I am excited to try something like this.
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