Week 5: wikis in the classroom

I teach both high school chemistry and biology. In both cases, wikis can be used for both small and large group projects. Some research projects contain so many parts that it is sometimes necessary to have the students work in parts and then bring the ideas together in order to make sure all students have grasped the concept. Rather than have the students work together to create paper drafts during class on a research topic, I could instead have the students discuss their findings and create individual and groups summaries of their ideas or findings. Since some students can be reluctant to engage each other in face to face conversations and debates in class, this may serve as a safe zone to voice opinions and ideas. In addition, they would not be restricted to working only during class or when it is convenient for all to meet.

The projects would start off as large group projects which eventually whittle down to small group and then individual wiki projects. At first, I would use the wiki to allow students to provide feedback, support, and constructive criticism for class projects. In my vision, all students perform individual research on a particular question and post their ideas on the wiki. They would then work as a class to refine the idea. By providing the class with a project, the wiki can be used to separate the project by tasks, having smaller groups responsible for particular parts. For example, one group would be in charge of finding resources, another figures and diagrams, and yet another for editing. Some students would be in charge of summarizing the data into a coherent set of ideas, and others for formatting in APA. As the year continued, student groups would be rotated, allowing students to each fulfill a role in creating a properly researched investigation model. This would allow students to hone skills and model what is both good and bad about producing a group wiki. In doing so, they can develop individual skills so that they can ultimately create individual wikis that can be peer critiqued and edited.

Another idea would be to create a wiki for class notes, vocabulary, and study guides. After posting some guiding questions, students could work together to create a comprehensive resource for their studies in the classroom. This will allow them to teach other as well as encourage students to teach themselves. By having the students work on this a little bit each week, by the time testing rolls around, they will have a student created study resource to use to prepare.

Week 3: Blogging in my classroom

I want to be realistic in terms of how I could use blogs at this moment. Although I would like for students to use it without having to attach a grade to it, I know how difficult that can be. For the most part, I see myself using blogs in my high school chemistry and biology classes as an area for debates, presentations, and more efficient feedback.
For example, in the past I have had students research and learn about a scientist and his/her theories/ contributions to the fields of chemistry and biology. The students would then present the information in the form of a PowerPoint or poster and the other students were required to ask questions or make comments during class. It is a time consuming process that has varied and sometimes lackluster results. As a result, I could now have students reach the same project except use the blog to present their finding, ideas, comments, pictures, videos, etc. Using students groups for collaborative feedback, small groups of 3-4 students would need to subscribe to each others blogs and comment and provide constructive criticism and feedback based on a blog rubric that would undoubtedly need to be created to avoid unruly behavior. These would be the students they are normally in lab with and would keep the same group for several weeks to build a repertoire amongst and between them. 
In addition, with science fair coming up, I could have the students keep a blog on their projects from start to finish. Through the blog, their peers and I could provide feedback and support on all steps in creating a proper investigation, from questions and hypothesis to ideas for presenting. This can help me help them keep on track. Lastly, I would likely post a questions or controversial science topic online and have the students reply back and forth to each other a few times with their thoughts on the topic and citations for support of their ideas.