Since the use of a wiki was implemented into my classroom language arts instruction in November, I have since had time to work on this with my students in different ways. One of the students figured out on her own from home how to use the messaging feature, which is like e-mail. She was able to compose messages to me and the other students from home. At first, some of the other students were "tattling" on her and wondering why she did that. I was able to explain the feature to all of the students and let them practice using it. I did explain to the students that I was monitoring their communication and that I received a copy of any message they sent to one another. They have been using this since they figured out how it works in December. None of the messages are about anything significant, but they do enjoy communicating over weekends and vacations.
Once the students starting using the wiki from home for the messaging, they also started to comment on one another's work they had been publishing in their individual work spaces I created for them on the wiki. Students became more familiar with the set-up of the wiki and how to add and edit content. As the school year progressed, and students became more skilled in other areas of technology (word processing skills, navigating between two or more pages, etc.) they were able to transfer these skills for use on the wiki.
When I first implemented this technology into my classroom, I thought I might have introduced it too early in the year. My students were not very comfortable with computer navigation and just had a few basic skills under their belts. Looking back, I think introducing the use of the wiki earlier on in the year proved to be beneficial to students. They started with a small task of posting text on the wiki and responding to another student. As they became more proficient with different computer skills, their abilities to work with the wiki also improved. Many students approached the wiki on their own from home and used this even when not required to do so for class. This built motivation for using it within class and the kinds of things students were able to publish and share on the wiki increased.
If introducing a wiki into a third grade class for language arts instruction, I believe it is important to start small. I could have changed my original objective to have students post one idea on the wiki, and in subsequent lessons, build and progress from this basic objective. Scaffolding is important to help students develop the skills they need for independent completion of work on the wiki. I would also encourage students to explore the wiki on their own, perhaps giving students free time in the computer lab to do this. The security features on the wiki allowed for me to observe my students learning how to use the technology without the risk of improper use.
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Your ideas definitely show critical thought and reflection about hte implementation of this tool and how it can be better implemented in the future. Based on reviewing your practicum, on reading your responses to mine, and on re-assessing the use of tech in the classroom, I really agree that it is best "to start small" with concrete objectives that provide opportunities for students to continue to develop rather than feel overwhelmed because of the technology. Scaffolding is a skill that I think will continue to be necessary when teaching any material, no matter its use of ICTs.
ReplyDeleteThe messaging feature on the wiki seems like it helped to reinforce the social constructivist setting where the students become the teachers - it's interesting that they first told on each other because they weren't sure if this was okay. However, I also think that the way you handled this, to essentially have that student become the teacher and to share the knowledge and the feature with the rest of the class, was awesome. In this way, the students felt empowered through the ability to communicate outside of school, and became more comfortable later in commenting on each other's work.
I almost think that it is important for students to start early in the year with ICTs in order to provide opportunities for them to experiment with it and become comfortable with it in the classroom setting. As you said, it built motivation and allowed for further proficiency. If anything, maybe the first step should be word processing practice, then have those skills become part of the scaffolding that can lead up to the use of the wiki.
Overall, reading your practicum and reviewing it has enabled me to see what integrating ICTs is like for younger students; a perspective I never really see. However, knowing that at least some teachers are beginning to integrate ICTs to their students at such a young age provides tons of promise for what these classes will be capable of in the future with emerging ICTs of the future. The more practice they receive earlier in their education, and the more willing teachers are to try ICTs in the classroom, the better prepared students will be for the real world outside of the educational setting.