I have to admit out of all the technologies I have learned and used thus far in my Master's program, Wikis are my least favorite. Although Wikis are not my favorite, they do have a place and purpose in education. For this reason, I try to keep an open mind about Wikis.
The reasons I do not care for Wikis is partially due to the design of the project correlated to using the Wikis. Both experiences have been for collaboration purposes, which means group projects. Group projects are important because they promote experience to develop 21st century skills in communicating, working with others, and producing a product. Working in groups presents challenges of their own. Typically one person dominates and several others do not participate much. Additionally, everyone in the group has their own schedules and pace at which they work to complete a project. In the end the work does get done, but not without some good stress and frustration.
So far, my Wiki experience for Instructional Applications of the Internet has not been too overwhelming. The most challenging aspect is finding good research for my section of the Wiki. The topic is on Instructional Websites and I am to focus on the "purpose of instructional websites." Although there is research on using technologies in education, we are still on the cutting edge of implementing and using these technologies. This has made it difficult to find good resources that discuss purposes of instructional websites. Thankfully, I have a good, hard working small group, so I know we will complete are section of the Wiki and meet the goals of the group project.
No comments:
Post a Comment