Event Description

Speaker: Vanessa Peters
This month's speaker will be Vanessa Peters, Ph.D. candidate at OISE, talking about the application of wikis in Education.

Note new Location! The Ground Hog Pub
Date: 13 May 2008
Time: 6:30 for 7pm

Event Sponsor:

When and Where:

6:30pm, Tuesday 13th May at 401 BLOOR STREET EAST, TORONTO, ON in the downstairs room: http://www.groundhogpub.com/

Please sign up at http://upcoming.yahoo.com/event/468369/

Who should come and why:
Interested in the topic? Got an opinion? Or just interested to network? Come join our community.

• Managers and leaders responsible for evaluating the use of wikis
• Change transformation agents using wikis to instigate organisational transparency using a wiki
• Consultants and designers who build integration, navigation, visuals and plugins
• Wiki users Wiki gardeners who improve content clarity

About Toronto Wiki Tuesdays and Blended Perspectives:

Toronto Wiki Tuesdays has been running since 2005 and has a mandate to spread the word about how a wiki can transform communication in organisations and the nature of business. Toronto Wiki Tuesdays was founded and is run by Martin Cleaver M.Sc. MBA, Head Blender of Blended Perspectives and a Chair of WikiSym, the International Symposium on the use of Wikis.

Presentation

Blending Knowledge Building with Scripted Activities in Secondary School Biology

In this presentation I discuss a new wiki-based scripted activity that was created for secondary school biology students. Using a co-design method, I collaborated with two experienced science teachers to create a curriculum unit where 114 grade-ten biology students developed a knowledge base of ideas about human physiology, then drew upon those ideas as resources for subsequent curricular activities. Results demonstrate that this innovative lesson fostered collaborative knowledge construction as well as individual student learning. This suggests that a carefully designed wiki-based activity can complement and enhance the value of a collective knowledge building community within secondary school settings.

Resources:
Peters, V., & Slotta, J.D. (2008, March). Blending Knowledge Building with Scripted Activities in Secondary School Biology. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, New York, NY.

Power Point slides: Peters & Slotta, 2008

Thanks to all for the interesting and stimulating discussion at our last meeting. My apologies to those who had to leave before my presentation; I hope we get a chance to catch up at a later date. If you would like to contact me for more information about my research or discussion in general, please email me at: vlpeters@gmail.com

Photos

• 
• Dexter, Si, Maury, John, Drew

• 
• Olga, Drew, Jen, Melanie, Yaris?, Nelson

Notes from the conversation that preceeded the Talk

The following were typed by Martin, who couldn't see his screen while typing as it was being projected. If you were not at the event please come back later.

If you were at the event, please help make these somewhat representative of what happened during the talk.

1. Spelling
2. Grammar
3. Meaning

Then help us draw conclusion and help us pick topics for future talks.

Collaboration = is collaboration treated as cheating in education
− the real world is a collaborative process.
− printing press – gigantic event and advance
− the invention if the company
− explosion of company and cash
− edison = 1100 patents – yet 95% were not new – these were enhancements on exiting inventions – the better light bulb. nt just a light bulb – cnept already existed – not in commerial. most people ddnt get ihis ta=eptn . the school don't capture this well.
− educateion – variet is important – group around a table – kids who enage vs others that don't - nice to hqve a varity of htose that leabnr - thse kids canchose how can gcoose th methids . the varuity f nmethids tha wok
− optiona view but but odes seoarate thew have fro have bnts
− push thveleope – but wotk wijt what you have

1. clective intelligcen - ubmitted elrtoncicallt – the 2-0 people – each finding content – everyone was difwernt.
2. if students know htat they have beimce you become a better teacher – she knows now


constructivist approaches – peer learning – from your peers.

Nelson – tries to asnswe the question of what is a LMS, and what is a wiki. LMS = crreditation process.

students that use a wiki for their coursework – you cousldn't tell who did the work.
it's not fair to blame the wiki for that.

it depends on what you are using the iwki for. not just bout evaluating in the indiviudal, although that has its place.

brinnging in change for teaching. makring goes to an elettrionic sstem. hw to work around teachers not being comfortable with technology.

being able to see how much time a student is participtaing., being able to monutor

xanier – uni at barcelona. using moeule of tikiwiki – what the students were doinug and where they are contributuing

the level of transparency thaT THEYT TEACHERS HAVE. REACTIONS FROM STUDENT AND TEACHERS


new content, right category. the process is opart of the contrubution.

fidning – much work to got throgh the information. they need time, on top of regular workload

adrian – education : 1) presenting learning 2) evaluating. wikis – in both of these sepcts .

1) is the tacher supposed to have different set of kind of user, with special rights – teacher vs. no teacher.
1. tescher can tach vs. amyone can teach.
2. it would be exciting – group of people not every one is excied – not want to psrtiipate. ramge f topics, learning points, group can dcied what they want to talk abut. reflects what they are the most interested in. If students can chiise and build on what they are most ingereestied. in. Generates energy.
3. Vnessa's eonology science course – students selected from a list of topics – on the envirobnment – how you can impact the environment. could choose their own topics but had to had to answe the question – what envirobnmental impqt.
4. had to come up with an udea within parameters – they had to learn answe open certain – contributed to thepose q. sharing across the different grousp by cross-pollination – particualar group and environement by other groups – divicde and conquer – reresentative of wikipeddia?

ingposet – wikipedia magaiine – wikipedia as classromm essy engine – atiles discussed different outcomes – 1) pick any topic -= vaast articles deleted r heavilt editied that not there. teeth nashing!!

2) what it metnt to write an rartile – difernt styles – several articles promoted to Featured Srtile on wikipedia. “FA” or “GA”.

FA – prose – referencing, formatting,

one class very succesful – reasons from the 2 efforts -

a iittle guidance – some will become the best work in wikipedia – so good as to be promoted

especially if you make it part of a progressive forward looking system, particularly if they go into journalism – topic – eitherside, add delbnate, finsihed. mechanistic. fdon't need to really understandf the subject matter – better if you don't because then you won't pick sides.

wikipedia is difertny to that – but the guidance will really helkp.
/
do you think the fiffent resukt– is that theat the goal is o differnmy?


goal chem teacher – not for wikpedia – bu as a platform to collaborate.

givem that wikioedpia is broad in its cvcoverage

he's a great place to start – nuclear weapons – peple starting to loko.

if knowedge is going to eolve – how do we make sure that peiple are proepare to take advantage.

if I rea neature mag – it should be excellence – at last jouranlist effort.

but ou can tell – its apparent that somethings have a lokt of effort – the rigour that comes out of it.

people do lok but they dont admit it

qwikiepdia – is like the adcenmdic hourals on wikipedia as it is on peer review.

more people oin wikiepdia but less rigoursous.

artilces can fail if no one will review

onscure articles will be trusted -if on obscure cntent

qualirty on wikipedia – useless if the ereqder doesn't think about how many people are viewingn

the top %u0153 million are great. the bottom lot are prbably ccrap

ift is inmprotant that kids knw – this is whwere the knowledge is going. professors have their own wiki – Ern for example

looks like a wiki is a great tool for an assignmenyt


after you teach the course -
doing homework on online content – esp. workhtt is collaborqtive uin nature

teaches peaople to use the strengths that they have = partoicular kids are good at particular things – usuallly sometone will syntheise anyway – they raw content coems frp, all.

top students – biology class – pisinmg their notes – own lectre notes = take their time and pst – I didn't get this question – they woulf find videso and animatios – theis perhipery is opart of the notebook – the things that they did not understand – at 43MM in the motming – soemthing that they did not fif the

is this a blog

wiki -as a way f way of writing notes – something that they help write. the incentis euis that they are also the etachers = something t really participate – this is not a rtop down – btithat they will lear frnmo each other – they will participate by bringning n parts[ecticve from dispareate groups t

I could not talk back to my teaxt book – if terible prose – this will reaslly cvhange the nature of learning

being able to insert quesiot – why s his the way – omethings provcoke dialog

being able to – in every group there are some people who are not compeelled to partipate – you get the silent people to open to be talking – the opportunityfor eevryrone to contribute in teir own way.,
/

if the purpise of the wiki is to get the input – if the goal is to collaborate on a group oroject – and someoe diesnt particpate – beincng able collabrtstr a as a etacher.




how can freewriters to contribue

peers – self policving
− no one squeelng -
the best feature is the hoistroty teffic lly powrful. the ne complaint – when did I last do that page? even in cvlassroom -informl or informal – being able to se give enormous value


an easpcet f stduent – lessons plans – if you have been teaching 5 yeSR – NEW TEACHER HAS TO COME UP WITH – THERE IS NO PASSSING ALOING

substutue/suply etachers – the lesson plan is no here tofay – ots with the teacher sick at home – from a strictreal persp. to buidl cooursewre from a systematic persp. schedulkeing and pr;op – prop to the schooo no to the tachers.
; colab
gioal
: not
colab just at the teach er- nut across all teachers cross all chem teaCHERS CRAOSS THE BOARD.


prtlyu to ntv get tgetehr at a kuchtimes

much resisteancre -at teachnology – take 0.5 hr s to log m

curriki = put up currriculums on a topic.l founder of Sun Microsystems, uses Xwiki


bsuienss – school boards – are they on contractual obliagtiosn for publishers -


yes

course texts – less and less mney – changing the curricylam – fist time 8 years ago – but no longer happening

the dept head but the courss changes – 40k but a budget of 9k – we have to dfinf ouhher ways.

levek = highscool. 9\grade 9 – fgrade 12.

text books are aboslyute crap – fiendmans' story – if abnything need sot be bdesparate ly needs to be on wikis its the textbijs

text biijs are written by 1-05 peple – wikipeduia is a great place to start – usually a variety of opinions in a simple fromat – text book – 3=45 opiniosbn – needs the broad range of perspectives.

content migth t==change but the text didm't

buy one book betwwe the bgoeup.

lot of resistance in the text book industry – everyone trying to selll last years text bok- selling you at it is only worth 5 $%

students re beign short -chanege – wiki is the perffect – total;y difernt model. need a quality text

too optimist – 95% of general public – they obnly think if wikioeduia. opne souce – if every one will cotrubuete – everyone knows only wikioedia

text boook serve valuable purpose – widdnt have the purpose to connect nline – s tou need d expoert opinion – now we can have noew media – sp all can express -what they are learning – straddling paper and online


we are dealing with those ho arte no thaving acecss
?

look ast the system – schools can hhk up maybe only 3 comuters


many familys dont have tvs

chols ont have wifi ncessaryly.

beyondf tech. standofd encyloped pholipohy – written by experts – briges exports and nvicres. large bodies f text – not jut the short stff – 200pgs – have ti collaborate and keep ut up to txt.

smaller chuinks = slices nad styules changes – radicallt different quiality – focus on wiki vbecue it is the easiest techbnologuy solution.

10 wikioedai 2) standofd.

consotasty -brutal ediitors

ediinh = consistency – even – mozilla – full wiki – not official – editors ensure tht it is formally accept ed byefore it goes to the general public

like nupedia

need instanf gratifdication – but maybe only for wikipedia itslefl – buiggrst self publishing itself.

start from wikipedia – brutal editors

stuff vs. polish
/
do we eworry about the students? potenmtilally wrong?

d4ive = wikipedua = cobtribyutor some people are wrng . its not set in stne. it is incentive to read.

geenral we usher in a new world because we know that we have a vocie

underminduing the auhtity fgire

using the textbook –choosing to not use it. ir use an old versin


crazy teacher – theos away the textbook – all textbooks are crap

opp for thetacher t take n a diferntt role – take on – enrter in to the group – so eather is nt separate – tqacher can enage an dparticupate in the gorup – not sep

hiher grade uni only?

attitdeu of what is the teaCHER – i ILL not tell you wht the teacher will do – are yu faciltate the learning svs. teahienrg

his si what we are learning – some teachers are resisteancet. it is dfiffernt tohwta they teacher sknow.


revolvingn what is know -

it is eaier to talke uninterupprrted than just talk fo an hour/

mel – easier to facilitae than to tach when people to teach ach other

conecept mp -wliki

more value – wll wrtten or million aertcles peola cane t be bothered ro go look a 1m miilion artlces to taklke it up?

wikipedia – is not lisyt pf links - the point is not to afdd links btu to erite the cntent

is wikieodai

Maury – fa status – failed to get up – heaertbreaking – it didn't tun ourt – pickef n format – references nt formatted – wrored no one red the atilvce – hw d t=you niw tha 0 implied the artcie s- downside – too rigours in a mech fashion – but ehe outcome is food.

artcle mooroved – realised that the artcles – I cannot demonstaret this – it was controverial – it has to be clear that the downides are profesente – selle the reader i not served.

what aceds tdo for preserved – academics jouranls – improved artciles they have all improved – the prse is readble a better . the artcles are better like the big jouran;as

ibm history flow

Comments

Vanessa got the dates mixed up and so we started discussions without her at just past 7pm. Vanessa did arrive and gave her talk at 8:45-9:15.

• Lesson for Martin: send a text message and email the day of a talk to remind the speaker, include the location and the time.
• Vanessa - can you attach your slides please?
• Martin's notes will soon follow - please help by adding some coherence to them!
• What would you like to see at future events?

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