Erin’s Educational Technology Journey

First of all, this activity was fun. I enjoyed learning more about wikis than ever before. My first introduction to a wiki was through ETEC 510. I recall having a few moments in tears because I was confused with the process of editing and being afraid that I “broke” my wiki page. I also recall I uploaded a photo of a leaf completely by accident and quickly learned how to delete images in the ETEC 510 design wiki!

My second wiki activity was with PBwiki (now PBworks). I designed a wiki with an ETEC 510 group for a design project. By the end of ETEC 510, I was feeling wiki-confident! In ETEC 512 I created a wiki with a group titled “cognitive approaches”. Recently I checked it and was happy to see some edits had been made by  Dr. J.Richardson! I furthered my wiki understanding by writing a research paper on how wikis can be used to improve the writing performance of English as a Second Language learners. In my former school, I began a wiki project with grade 6 English as a Foreign Language students. Although my project was not academic or for research purposes, I realized that a wiki is motivating for students once they understand the basics. I have to admit this activity was labour intensive because I made it so! I was motivated to learn more about wikis because I want to use them to facilitate English language skills for my English Language Learners next year.

I knew a little about wiki-ing, but I had never explored the behind-the-scenes discussion before. Warning: It’s slightly addictive. The discussion forum in Wikipedia seemed to have more writing than the actual article! I was impressed by the constructivist learning and the support people posted. Questions were asked, and answered, in the wiki community. The biggest issue that seemed to repeat on several topics was the issue of copyright. People were concerned how to included images and how to reference text. Non-free content was a new area for me to explore concerning wikis, and it seems I am not alone. There is even a wiki page on Wikipedia’s non-free content policy!

I visited the latest version of the ETEC 510 design wiki and I was amazed by how much it has grown in 18 months. When I participated, there were about 30 topics or so, but now there are topics within topics within topics. Also, there are wiki pages on topics that we uncommon 18 months ago, like M-learning and 3G network capabilities related to educational technology. I felt strangely compelled to search for my old entries, but they are gone. However, the topic is there, but students have edited and changed the page as they built up the wiki to the point my former page is transformed. I felt a little sad, but I’m happy to see my page inspired others to make more connections and research the topic more thoroughly.

The UBC Wiki homepage was very welcoming. I would suggest that any UBC students who would like to try a wiki do it here. It is a supportive site, with all of the wiki WYSIWYG editing functions that a beginner needs. Also, there is an excellent orientation video embedded on the first page. A great design space for future wiki creators.

During this exercise, I decided to search beyond UBC and wikipedia to see what other wiki host sites are available through open source applications. Wikispace was suggested in the activity, and it has all of the basics for a great wiki: WYSIWYG editor, wiki statistics, widgits, page histories and simple collaboration tools with unlimited pages. You even get 2GB of free space for files and images. I then tried my old favourite, pbworks. It has grown in the last two years to include webinars, improved access controls and more multimedia plug ins for improved customization. Then, I found this overview article on “Four Free Wikis Worth Trying Out” from The International Data Group’s CIO page: http://www.cio.com/article/445813/Four_Free_Wikis_Worth_Trying_Out_. If you have never tried a wiki before, this is a good, general overview of the four most popular open-source formats. You can up-grade on most wikis by paying, and this is a good option to have: more space and higher privacy settings.

Tip: Visit PBworks (used to be PBwiki) at http://pbworks.com/

Invitation: Visit my MET 512 group’s Cognitive Approaches Wiki: http://cognitiveapproaches.pbworks.com/ 

I believe Lenora should use an open source wiki (or blog, Google sites) instead of a website. It is noted that Lenora’s members would have to create an account (in the case of pbworks or Google sites) which may be considered a hurdle by some. I chose to apply the SECTIONS frame work because Lenora has to select and use technology with the purpose of creating and maintaining a community for knowledge building. I think it would take her a few evenings of researching the best OS for her needs, and a few evenings setting up her wiki. She could be up-and-running in one week. My reasoning is as follows:

Students: In the future, the technology may have to be appropriate for students to find resources on bullying. Currently the concern is for other teachers. In this scenario the technology must be appropriate for novices because Lenora does not know the tech-comfort level of those who will attend her pro-d online day. A website or a wiki would be fine because both can be designed for novices. However, a wiki does have the advantage of WYSIWYG and Lenora does not know how to design a website. Decision: Wiki

Ease of Use: Will this technology be reliable. Teachers are depending on this as a learning tool and as a resource. Teachers have limited time for professional development and tech frustrations should be kept to a minimum. A website and a wiki are reliable. However, Lenora is a teacher with limited time and she will be a user of this technology. Decision: Wiki

Costs: Lenora does not have a departmental budget and will handle costs on her own. Assuming her school does not allow her to create a pro-d website using their server; she would have to pay for hosting. Decision: Wiki

Teaching and learning: The kind of learning will be collaborative. Knowledge will be shared and constructed. Instructional approaches will be discussions and feedback, and text-based information is suitable. The best technology would support asynchronous communication because teachers will have different time schedules. A website, if created by a novice, may be Web 1.0 styled. Decision: Wiki, with 2.0 WYSIWYG applications

Interactivity: The interaction required is shared communication. E-mail is not required, but the option would be nice for professionals to stay in touch. The ability to post discussions is required and members could post their addresses in forums. This would be difficult for Lenora to create in a website at her level. Decision: Wiki with 2.0 WYSIWYG applications.

Organizational issues: Lenora needs something she can do easily, by herself and something she won’t need considerable IT support for. Lenora does need a place (online) to go for help because she has limited skills. Decision: Wiki, with help links and forums available 24-7.

Novelty:Lenora needs a technology that is established and has been used to create a community of learning before. She is not a pioneer and she should use an application/site that has satisfied professionals who prioritize collaboration and communication exchange. In addition, a low novelty effect will be less likely to “scare” off the technophobes and novices in her community. Decision: A little research online would lead Lenora, at this point, to Google sites, pbworks, wordpress, edublogger…etc. She could research and decide which application is better suited for beginners.

Speed: Lenora needs to consider how quickly her work can reach others and how quickly they can respond to construct solutions to bullying in the community. This is directly affected by Lenora’s dial-up status. Decision: Keep it simple! Lenora does not need Flash animation, images or fancy banners. Simple text-based asynchronous communication would load with limited frustration. Lenora could prepare text in a word processing program and cut-and-paste into her posts/pages.  This would save her the time of attaching/downloading files.