Contact Information:

Dr. Derek Weber

Assistant Professor of Biology

Raritan Valley Community College

email: dweber@raritanval.edu

phone:  (908)526-1200  x8985

What is a wiki? Description of Session: Group discussion of curriculum needs Explanation of a wiki Demonstration Homework

What is a wiki?

A wiki is a platform which promotes collaboration amongst its users.  Individuals or groups of individuals are able to edit shared pages and author materials available to the entire wiki community.  This short video really encapsulates the beauty of a wiki:

Description of Session:

Group discussion of curriculum needs

The participants will be broken into small groups to discuss potential projects that may involve student collaboration and/or the construction of an online learning community.  These ideas will be shared with the audience in the hope of sparking discussion and new ideas.  Here are some articles to help you to start to think about the effective uses of group work:

• Lou, Y., Abrami, P.C., and d'Apollonia, S. (2001) Small group and individual learning with technology: A meta-analysis. Review of Educational Research, 71: 449-521.
• Blumenfeld, P.C., Marx, R.W., Soloway, E., and Krajick, J. (1996) Learning With Peers: From Small Group Cooperation to Collaborative Communities.  Educational Researcher, 25: 37-40.
• Ocker, R.J. and Yaverbaum, G.J. (1999) Asynchronous Computer-mediated Communication versus Face-to-face Collaboration: Results on Student Learning, Quality and Satisfaction. Group Decision and Negotiation, 8: 427–440.
• An, H., Shin, S., and Lim, K. (2009) The Effects of Different Instructor Facilitation Approaches on Students' Interactions During Asynchronous Online Discussions. Computers and Education, 53: 749-760. 
  

Explanation of a wiki

We will introduce the concept of a wiki and present ways in which I have incorporated them into the science curriculum.  Here are some resources to review before our session:

• Elgort, Irina (2007) Using Wikis as a Learning Tool in Higher Education. Proceedings ascilite Singapore 2007, p. 233-238.
• Elgort, Irina, Smith, Alastair G and Toland, Janet (2008) Is wiki an effective platform for group course work? Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, 24: 195-201.
• Duffy, Peter, and Bruns, Axel (2006) The Use of Blogs, Wikis, and RSS in Education: A conversation of Possibilities. Proceedings Online Learning and Teaching Conference 2006,  p.31-38, Brisbane.
• ExamplesWikiUse (2010) Retrieved April 22, 2010, from http://www.malts.ed.ac.uk/idel/ assignment/wiki/000022.html.

Demonstration

Participants will register their own wiki for professional and personal use.  We will commence the session with a hands-on training session to learn the basics of constructing a wiki. 

Homework

 In order to make best use of our time together, please view the following two videos and sign up for your own pbworks page.  This will save us time which will allow for a more in depth session. 

                                                             Pre-Workshop Assignment Part I:                                                               Pre-Workshop Assignment Part II. 

                                                         Sign up for an account on pbworks.com                                                          Editing your newly created page.