My “Wiki” Experience (Part II)
Part II:
Well yesterday I complained about the fact that I am not a big fan of creating on the wiki – the whole notion of writing code. I do have to admit that I did like the fact that there was some basic edit keys that we could use (ie: Bold, Italics, Underline, etc.) without having to actually write using the code. I did notice that at first glance it appeared that some others had similar concerns.
Today I will add some more complaints but don’t mistake this as me be unhappy with the course or progress. On the contrary I think this exercise was a good one because I have decided that creating on a wiki is not the easiest way to communicate. I much prefer the discussion forums that we use in class site (LMS). Conversations can stay more focused and replying to what one writes doesn’t extend the entire length of the document like it does through a wiki.
I am really not a fan of group work. It is not because I think I am better than anyone else – far from it. It is more of the feeling that I am letting others down if I don’t contribute enough or as often as they do. I would much prefer to have to worry about my own effort and being responsible for what I can control. But, I do like having the safety net of being able to bounce ideas of group-mates in a safe environment. The irony of this is I do as a teacher assign several group projects for my courses. However, I think I do it for different reasons. I HAVE TO assign group projects because materials and resources are at a premium. I wouldn’t be able to run some of my projects or even classes if every student did their own project. One because of budget reasons, the second because I don’t have enough tools to go around for an entire class of individual projects. I wonder what my students would say if I asked them if they like group work? I suspect that the “slackers” would say they love it because they rely heavily on their partners to do the majority of the work, and the “keeners” would say they hate it because they end up doing the majority of the work while the “slackers” get credit. Can you say, “Do as I say not as I do”?
Oh well, enough negatives. Until next time…
~ Ryan