How I can continue and enhance my use of Blogs and Wikis in my course?
To assess the pedegogical use of wikis and blogs in a course environment, I prepared a survey of current students in a web design course. For the purpose of including cunstructivism teaching methods invloving active learning, I have included wikis and blogs in this course. In fact, just about all courses would have at least a small part of constructivism theory as defined by the definition on the Funderstanding.com website. Simply stated on the website, constructivism is a “philosophy of learning founded on the premise that, by reflecting on our experiences, we construct our own understanding of the world we live in. Each of us generates our own “rules” and “mental models,” which we use to make sense of our experiences. Learning, therefore, is simply the process of adjusting our mental models to accommodate new experiences.
When you consider how constructivism theory helps in the learning process, it is an emphasis on hands-on problem solving. And if you consider the processes involved with web design, the student’s prior knowledge can be built upon to help with problem solving. In keeping up with HTML standards, there is always the possibility for changes to coding. As student’s build upon their knowledge of past issues they can solve problems quicker and more effectively.
With constructivism theory, an instructor uses teaching strategies that help students to analyze and interpret information. There is a use of open-ended questions in constructivism theory that allows for students to exchange their thoughts and ideas on the issue. This shows a comparison to the web design case studies I use for wikis and blogs that examine an aspect of web design. It is interesting to see how the students thrive on this type of analysis of the subject and apply their previous knowledge within their response. I can see how they seem to show a little passion in their responses when they can relate it to their own experiences.
Through research on the subject of the pedagogical value of wikis and blogs, I modeled the survey after a study performed by professors at the University of West Georgia and North Metro Technical College. The study was comprised of constructs that included Learning/Pedagogy, Motivation, Group Interaction, and Technology. The survey was developed to assess student perceptions of the value in wiki technology. With the result so of the survey, best practices for use of wikis in classroom, student concerns, and lessons learned were discussed in the article. The article states the use of wikis and blogs can empower the student learner by providing an opportunity to expresss their point of view. There are also benefits of collaborative learning through the exchange of thoughts and ideas with classmates. A form of social interaction also is a benefit of the use of blogs and wikis.
Also the Engagement Theory is discussed in the article as a means to embrace technology tools. As stated in the article, "the Engagement Theory has three components: Relating, Creating, and Donating. The Relating component refers to encouraging students to articulate the problem by providing their interpretation thereby facilitation solutions" (Hazari et al).
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Email sent to student participants:
To assess the pedegogical use of wikis and blogs in a course environment, I prepared a survey of current students in a web design course. For the purpose of including cunstructivism teaching methods invloving active learning, I have included wikis and blogs in this course. In fact, just about all courses would have at least a small part of constructivism theory as defined by the definition on the Funderstanding.com website. Simply stated on the website, constructivism is a “philosophy of learning founded on the premise that, by reflecting on our experiences, we construct our own understanding of the world we live in. Each of us generates our own “rules” and “mental models,” which we use to make sense of our experiences. Learning, therefore, is simply the process of adjusting our mental models to accommodate new experiences.
When you consider how constructivism theory helps in the learning process, it is an emphasis on hands-on problem solving. And if you consider the processes involved with web design, the student’s prior knowledge can be built upon to help with problem solving. In keeping up with HTML standards, there is always the possibility for changes to coding. As student’s build upon their knowledge of past issues they can solve problems quicker and more effectively.
With constructivism theory, an instructor uses teaching strategies that help students to analyze and interpret information. There is a use of open-ended questions in constructivism theory that allows for students to exchange their thoughts and ideas on the issue. This shows a comparison to the web design case studies I use for wikis and blogs that examine an aspect of web design. It is interesting to see how the students thrive on this type of analysis of the subject and apply their previous knowledge within their response. I can see how they seem to show a little passion in their responses when they can relate it to their own experiences.
Through research on the subject of the pedagogical value of wikis and blogs, I modeled the survey after a study performed by professors at the University of West Georgia and North Metro Technical College. The study was comprised of constructs that included Learning/Pedagogy, Motivation, Group Interaction, and Technology. The survey was developed to assess student perceptions of the value in wiki technology. With the result so of the survey, best practices for use of wikis in classroom, student concerns, and lessons learned were discussed in the article. The article states the use of wikis and blogs can empower the student learner by providing an opportunity to expresss their point of view. There are also benefits of collaborative learning through the exchange of thoughts and ideas with classmates. A form of social interaction also is a benefit of the use of blogs and wikis.
Also the Engagement Theory is discussed in the article as a means to embrace technology tools. As stated in the article, "the Engagement Theory has three components: Relating, Creating, and Donating. The Relating component refers to encouraging students to articulate the problem by providing their interpretation thereby facilitation solutions" (Hazari et al).
__________________________________________________________________
Email sent to student participants:
Would you take a moment to view and answer 8 questions on a survey concerning the use of wikis and blogs in your CINS 157 course this summer? Thank you for your participation.
Copy and paste the following link into a browser to take the survey:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/HTNJMXQ
__________________________________________________________________
Survey results as of now are below, but will continue to update as more submisions are received.
Copy and paste the following link into a browser to take the survey:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/HTNJMXQ
__________________________________________________________________
Survey results as of now are below, but will continue to update as more submisions are received.
| 1. The use of wikis and blogs enhanced my interest in this course | ||||||
| Disagree | Somewhat Disagree | Somewhat Agree | Agree | Rating | Response | |
| Average | Count | |||||
| 16.7% (1) | 0.0% (0) | 66.7% (4) | 16.7% (1) | 2.83 | 6 | |
| 2. The use of wikis and blogs help me with the course objectives | ||||||
| Disagree | Somewhat Disagree | Somewhat Agree | Agree | Rating | Response | |
| Average | Count | |||||
| 16.7% (1) | 0.0% (0) | 66.7% (4) | 16.7% (1) | 2.83 | 6 | |
3. I will retain more material on the subject as a result of the wikis and blogs |
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| Disagree | Somewhat Disagree | Somewhat Agree | Agree | Rating | Response | |
| Average | Count | |||||
| 0.0% (0) | 33.3% (2) | 33.3% (2) | 33.3% (2) | 3 | 6 | |
4. I would recommned classes that use wikis and blogs to other students |
||||||
| Disagree | Somewhat Disagree | Somewhat Agree | Agree | Rating | Response | |
| Average | Count | |||||
| 0.0% (0) | 16.7% (1) | 50.0% (3) | 33.3% (2) | 3.17 | 6 | |
5. I would prefer classess that use wikis and blogs over other classes that do not |
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| Disagree | Somewhat Disagree | Somewhat Agree | Agree | Rating | Response | |
| Average | Count | |||||
| 16.7% (1) | 16.7% (1) | 50.0% (3) | 16.7% (1) | 2.67 | 6 | |
6. The benefits of using the wikis and blogs was worth any extra time and effort |
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| Disagree | Somewhat Disagree | Somewhat Agree | Agree | Rating | Response | |
| Average | Count | |||||
| 16.7% (1) | 16.7% (1) | 33.3% (2) | 33.3% (2) | 2.83 | 6 | |
7. I enjoyed seeing other students' interaction with material I posted on wikis and blogs |
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| Disagree | Somewhat Disagree | Somewhat Agree | Agree | Rating | Response | |
| Average | Count | |||||
| 0.0% (0) | 33.3% (2) | 50.0% (3) | 16.7% (1) | 2.83 | 6 | |
8. I learned more because of information posted by other students on the wikis and blogs |
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Disagree
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Somewhat Disagree | Somewhat Agree | Agree | Rating | Response | |
| Average | Count | |||||
| 0.0% (0) | 16.7% (1) | 83.3% (5) | 0.0% (0) | 2.83 | 6 | |