I have continued to explore the idea of collaboration using wikis and this week I also found an article that discusses the collaborative possibilities of both blogs and wikis. The article
EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES Blogs and Wikis: Environments for On-line Collaboration is a scholarly examination of blogs and wikis and their use as a collobrative tool. The reason I enjoyed this article is because it explores the concept of Web 2.0. I guess it is still a novel idea to me, since I just learned about the idea, but I find the comparison between first generation web to Web 2.0 very interesting. One idea that the article presents that I had never thought about, but is a great observation is that, “Discussion forums are often seen as an equalizing tool, which encourage universal participation in discussion compared to face-to-face dialogue” (Godwin-Jones, 2003, pg.12). This is a great aspect of using wikis and blogs to foster discussion and student collaboration, because it allows each students voice to be heard equally. One of my biggest concerns when leading discussions in my classroom is that students that have opinions or want to speak are afraid or feel like they are not being listened to, because other students are confident and sometimes louder with their opinions. I attempt to foster a classroom environment where students feel they can share and discuss freely, however I know that in reality I struggle to accomplish creating that environment. The great part about a wiki is this environment is almost automatic. Students feel a certain amount of freedom, because they are not face-to-face and they can share their ideas without any interruption. This is an aspect of the wiki experience that I had not thought about, but it adds to the arguement, why not use wikis in education? Check out the article at http://llt.msu.edu/vol7num2/pdf/emerging.pdf. IT provides soem additional resources at the end that will be benefcial as well.
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I do agree that this would equalize discussions for most. I do have some students who are slower on the computer, but what a great way to encourage students to practice. I can't wait to incorporate blogs into my classroom. The Web 2.0 idea is new to me, so I cannot speak too much on the issue.
Here is an article that I really liked on wikis. I plan to discuss it in more detail on my blog, but there are links to other college wikis, such as Auburn.
http://www.educause.edu/pub/er/erm04/erm0452.asp?bhcp=1
"I attempt to foster a classroom environment where students feel they can share and discuss freely, however I know that in reality I struggle to accomplish creating that environment."
I appreciate that you try to do this, since I was one of these students that didn't want to speak up, but there is also the idea that some students will learn best not by participating but by listening. Even in my graduate courses I generally like to listen to those with strong opinions battle it out, and I generally didn't give much input unless there was a lull in dialogue and the prof needed some help to keep things going.
On the other hand, I did tend to communicate my ideas more often in online forums. I like having the time to figure out exactly what it is I'm thinking!
I just thought you'd appreciate the former wall-flower's point of view :)
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