2.+Grant's+article--connections+to+classrooms,+class+discussions,+and+other+related+articles+and+media

=Grant's article: connections to classrooms, class discussions, and other related articles and media =

**Some quick research was done by Alice! **
As a team, working on our wiki, we wondered about the process itself. We wondered if the author's statements assumed 100% participation by all students, and the same level of effort from all. To what extent does this strategy allow slackers to get away with doing little?

As a result of this question, Alice started a class wiki project. She noted that students who usually like to ride on the coat tails of other students were suddenly in a precarious position of accountability. She immediately showed them the history tab of the wiki, and some eyes grew huge. We wondered: to what extent is the information in Grant's article idealistic? Alice's brief experience with class wiki projects did show that the keen students will still be the engines that make the project run, setting direction, using collaborative skills, organizing and prompting, but in the end the final product did show even contribution. Interestingly, the keeners used their collaboration skills to push the weaker students, and the history tab gave the accountability push they needed and do not usually get. Alice warned her students, telling them about the results of this article, and that they needed to draw from their collaboration skills. They also had clear criteria for what it should contain, but not what it would look like. It is surprising how Grant's wiki project results were so different from this typical, low-income group of Canadian students.

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===**Comments by current LIBE 477 students from discussions on Vista and from student blogs that relate to the article: ** ===

**Vista Discussion, Week 5 by Patrice Mauriks:**
As you point out Aaron, it is now so quick and easy to publish and/or access information online, while checking, authenticating, and legitimizing this information is much more time consuming. Will Richardson addresses this in his book, //Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms//. On page 37, he writes: ..getting a handle on the reliability of Web content in general and blog content specifically takes time, much more than you or your students are used to. He goes on to describe specific steps in the assessment process. This definitely underscores the importance of the teacher/TL as "guide". What I wonder is how many users, so used to "quick fix" access to information, would be prepared to undertake the arduous task of verifying its reliability. I think Gorman makes some excellent points.

**[|kathyeportfolio] writes on her blog:**
In the article, Meridith Farkas writes ”Wikis are an ideal tool for harvesting the collective intelligence. Wiki is web based, easy to set up, and allows people with little tech-savvy to add information.” This quote fits the conference committee to a tea. We want to be able to collect and share information with each other, plus some of our members do not feel comfortable using computers or technology. A Wiki allows people to collaboratively develop a Web site with no Web programming knowledge. Any member of the community can add to or edit the work of others”. This is exactly what we need!!!! Eventually, all the members of the Conference Committee will be added. Hopefully, we will arrive at a time when we can do some “…collaborative editing of a document or the creation of a knowledge base.” The people who are on the BCATML executive and the Conference Committee will not be there forever and perhaps this Wiki will be able to help future executives and committees.

**[|Kendra’s blog]**
…it just seems that in a lot of classrooms, students are very unmotivated to write. Oatman highlights how Wiki's can improve students' writing by giving them a purpose and an 'authentic audience.' I think that Wiki's would be a great tool to incorporate into a writer's workshop program (at any grade). It is inspiring to hear that in some places, teachers are gathering together to learn and share their knowledge / best practices on technology-enhanced learning.

**[|Ivana's blog]**
I have created a //wiki page ...// [|//http://booksaregreat.pbworks.com/EB-Library//] and am hoping my students will contribute to it. I have a bit of "tweaking" to do but am pretty excited about it! We have a website but it might be an idea to also have a wiki page where the teachers can add information ... a cooperative approach.

**Anita's Blog**
Self Reflection on Wikis

I am without a doubt convinced that wikis have a place in the schools and the libraries. They are convenient and easy and engaging. The students love them and are hooked when they are using them. I agree that we cannot hold back on what is new. Denying or refusing to use the tools does not serve the best interest of the students.

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**from Wesley Fryer in his [|"Get Wiki with it"] podcast:** =====


 * "This podcast is a recording of my presentation at the EncycloMedia 2008 conference in Oklahoma City on September 18, 2008. The session description was: This presentation focuses on helping teachers and students utilize WIKIS to effectively collaborate and learn."

**from []:**

 * "However, the technology here is merely secondary: what is more important is teaching people how this technology changes the social sphere so that students too can be empowered to engage the polis rather than being passive users of Word Processing programs. Knowledge of how to indent paragraphs on a computer or make bullet points for a Power Point presentation is meaningless without the more important literacy of how to use these new media collaboratively to create a different kind of knowledge. Literacy in modern society means not only being able to read a variety of informational formats; it means being able to participate in their creation, with Wikipedia serving as the marquee example."