collaboration – Diana Bang's ETEC 565A e-portfolio

What kinds of advantages do you see in using wikis for group collaboration?

The affordances of wikis includes the flexibility for any individual to edit, revise, add or delete content which makes it beneficial for online groupwork. It also occurs asynchronously which enables students to collaborate regardless of a fixed time or place. Additionally, the instantaneous nature of sharing information may facilitate group collaboration. Overall, I found it easy to use to collaborate with others and particularly for the discussions I could decide which ones I wanted to be a part of as it sparked my interest.

What are some of the challenges of working with others in a collaborative wiki space?

Since it occurs asynchronously, it may be difficult to ascertain immediate feedback or understand the nuances of text postings from fellow students. Also, all participants in a wiki setting need to understand that the information that they contribute may be apt to change. Potential challenges that I foresee could arise would be similar to the infamous “edit wars” that occur in Wikipedia. Additionally, due to the dynamic nature of a wiki, there may not necessarily be a final end product in that revisions may never end until all group participation subsides. Another consideration is that with a wiki, it may lack some objectivity (the information could be biased or purely opinion-based) and not credible (i.e. where are the supporting references?). Also, in terms of its currency and relevance- wikis would need to be maintained in order to keep it up to date. Furthermore, there may be varying degrees of experience ranging from students using wikis for the first time to those with more frequent use. I observed that one of my classmates (in anticipation of this) linked a help file on how to contribute to wiki talk pages to help others out. Lastly, like discussion forums on our WebCT/Vista course site, I imagine how difficult it would be for students to respond to every discussion thread and to monitor wiki changes on a continual basis.

Overall reflection on the wiki activity

As well, while I was working on the wiki activity, I noticed that in the beginning of the week the discussions were sparse. In order to effectively contribute to a discussion, individuals need to participate fully otherwise it will lack a sense of engagement and interaction. Thus, without individuals contributions a wiki may remain stagnant until changes are made to it. Something else that may become problematic is that wiki discussions may become lengthy as one of our fellow students Ryan noticed and encouraged the use of indents to help organize the flow of information. Yet, scrolling through a massive discussion list could be a bit daunting too as it may end up being quite unreadable since there will be multiple topics being covered and lack a sense of coherency. Lastly, I found it helpful that students chose to add their corresponding signatures with the timestamp at the end of their postings so that it could be easily identifiable. I think that working on “finalizing” our class strategies and challenges for engaging students using social media may be a potential issue. There will need to be a group consensus that all revisions are finalized and that everyone is satisfied with the final list. I foresee myself re-visiting the wiki to observe the changes and to contribute any additional information that may be helpful to my colleagues.

References
Alexander, B. (2006). Web 2.0: A new wave of innovation for teachign and learning? EDUCAUSE Review, 41(2), 34-44. Retrieved from http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/erm0621.pdf

Mabrito, M., & Medley, R. (2008). Why professor Johnny can’t read: Understanding the net generation’s texts. Innovate, 4(6). Retrieved from http://innovateonline.info/pdf/vol4_issue6/Why_Professor_Johnny_Can’t_Read-__Understanding_the_Net_Generation’s_Texts.pdf

Wesch, M. (2007). A vision of students today (& what teachers must do). Retrieved from http://www.britannica.com/blogs/2008/10/a-vision-of-students-today-what-teachers-must-do/

Wesch, M. (2007). YouTube video: A vision of students today. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGCJ46vyR9o

I developed an e-learning portal for healthcare practitioners with the intention that it would complement the existing f2f training sessions that I currently offer without the constraints of time and location. My goal is that it will help them become more familiarized with the available resources and learn how to use them effectively in order to improve their research skills. One of the first communication tools I created was a course announcements section to relay information to healthcare practitioners asynchronously. Additionally, there is a technical support discussion forum developed for students to troubleshoot and help each other with minor technical issues. However, for more urgent matters, there is a contact email provided for additional technical assistance.

Also, an asynchronous icebreaker activity was created as a discussion forum to help develop a sense of community as clinicians get to know each other. This will also help me gauge what I can do to support them to achieve their learning goals. Here are my icebreaker questions below:

– Introduce: yourself to your fellow colleagues.

– Share: your online research experiences and techniques.

– Reflect: What are the key skills and approaches that you feel you need to develop in order to meet your e-learning goals?

Another learning space I created was a synchronous chat room where practitioners can go to discuss aspects of their self-study modules as a virtual meeting space. Since this e-learning portal is meant to supplement the f2f training sessions that I’ll continue to offer, I’ve also included a calendar widget to alert students to any upcoming learning events. As well, I added a new events section, a who’s online section and a messages box so students would have the option of sending instant messages to each other. There’s also a newsfeed of upcoming events to supplement the calendar view and a recent activity section to help me keep track of online student activities.

All of the modules will be available for students since they can decide to learn at their own pace/time. At the end of each module I’m thinking of using quizzes to assess their understanding of the material. I’m considering embedding some recorded video tutorials and perhaps even schedule a synchronous, live web-conferencing session similar to our Wimba Moodle sessions. Another communication tool I’m thinking of implementing is the use of student webblogs or reflective journals based on an article I recently read about the merits of reflective practice for healthcare professionals at: http://meds.queensu.ca/ohse/assets/reflective_practice__a_systematic_review.pdf. I’ll have to figure out where I want to include the journal activity (if it’s within each module or one at the beginning that they would use throughout their learning activities).

In any case, here’s the link to my Moodle site that I’ve worked on so far: http://moodle.met.ubc.ca/course/view.php?id=243. Any useful suggestions and/or feedback is welcomed.

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