How Are Wikis Really Being Used in the K-12 Classroom?

How Are Wikis Really Being Used in the K-12 Classroom?

Interesting research that I would like to see the details on. I would say that the conclusion falls in line with what I have seen in many districts. We've worked hard in ours, but the collaborative aspects definitely are not as popular as 1) the teacher using it to share links, lesson plans, resources, or homework, or 2) the students using it to make pages or post files that are rarely the result of much collaboration. We have three (draft) resources designed to get at that (slowly):

Wiki Workshop:
http://balancedtech.wikispaces.com/Wiki+Workshop

Affordances & Constraints Exercise
http://balancedtech.wikispaces.com/Affordances+&+Constraints+Chart

App Taskonomy (we modify it for wiki uses instead of apps)
http://balancedtech.wikispaces.com/Apps+Taskonomy

It has been and will continue to be a long, slow road ...

The Rise of the New Groupthink

The Rise of the New Groupthink by Susan Cain

Well worth considering, but why is it always one or the other? BalancEd! Wouldn't it be nice for students to learn skills for a range of situations and how to reflect on them to determine if a different approach might be better for themselves or their group? Let's mix Cain, Shirky, Vygotsky, etc. to come up with a toolbox teachers can use to fit the context of their subject, students, and classroom. There are some hints in that direction earlier in the article. By her conclusion, it seems Cain would agree,

"... we need to move beyond the New Groupthink and embrace a more nuanced approach to creativity and learning. Our offices should encourage casual, cafe-style interactions, but allow people to disappear into personalized, private spaces when they want to be alone. Our schools should teach children to work with others, but also to work on their own for sustained periods of time."

For another take on this article, check out, Does Solitude Enhance Creativity? A Critique of Susan Cain’s Attack on Collaboration

Minds on Fire

Yet another interesting article related to the !gnite program in Birmingham, Minds on Fire (doesn’t the title make it sound related?). Make sure to check out the section on Social Learning. I thought the following study should be noted,

Compelling evidence for the importance of social interaction to learning comes from the landmark study by Richard J. Light, of the Harvard Graduate School of Education, of students’ college/university experience. Light discovered that one of the strongest determinants of students’ success in higher education—more important than the details of their instructors’ teaching styles—was their ability to form or participate in small study groups. Students who studied in groups, even only once a week, were more engaged in their studies, were better prepared for class, and learned significantly more than students who worked on their own.

There is also an audio file related to this topic by John Seely Brown and others from a Celebration of the opening of MIT’s involvement in Open Courseware.