Student Wiki Projects

1. Student Wiki Projects Collaborative Communication in Language Learning Richard A. Korb / Kári Driscoll / JuttaSchmiers-Heller Columbia University Department of Germanic Languages ACTFL Boston 2010

2. Presentation Agenda • Wiki Basics: RAK • 1201 Wikis: Kári • Students evaluate Wikis: Jutta • Wiki Q/A’s: Audience • Online Version at http://rakorb.wikispaces.com/ “Student Wiki Projects: Collaborative Communication in Language Learning”

3. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmByB0sIPog “Student Wiki Projects: Collaborative Communication in Language Learning”

4. Who Wikis? “Student Wiki Projects: Collaborative Communication in Language Learning”

5. Wikispaces Details at: http://www.wikispaces.com/ This ACTFL presentation at: http://rakorb.wikispaces.com/ “Student Wiki Projects: Collaborative Communication in Language Learning”

6. Why Wiki? Groups generate ideas together “Student Wiki Projects: Collaborative Communication in Language Learning”

7. Why Wiki? Groups learn to work together “Student Wiki Projects: Collaborative Communication in Language Learning”

8. Why Wiki? Peer editing “Student Wiki Projects: Collaborative Communication in Language Learning”

9. Why Wiki? Collaborative interpretations “Student Wiki Projects: Collaborative Communication in Language Learning”

10. Wikis are Quick: Edit / Add / Save 1: Set upwiki Demo:student 1 Demo: student 2 Collective wikiproduct “Student Wiki Projects: Collaborative Communication in Language Learning”

11. Assessing Group Work and Individual Progress “Student Wiki Projects: Collaborative Communication in Language Learning”

12. Student Wiki Projects Students’ Portfolios Additional cultural resources “Student Wiki Projects: Collaborative Communication in Language Learning”

13. Wiki Project I: Extreme Travel “Student Wiki Projects: Collaborative Communication in Language Learning”

14. Wiki Project I: Extreme Travel “Student Wiki Projects: Collaborative Communication in Language Learning”

15. Wiki Project II: Political Parties “Student Wiki Projects: Collaborative Communication in Language Learning”

16. Wiki Project II: Political Parties “Student Wiki Projects: Collaborative Communication in Language Learning”

17. Wiki Project II Follow-up: Political Blogs “Student Wiki Projects: Collaborative Communication in Language Learning”

18. Wiki Project III: “Planet Germany” Music Video Listening Comprehension Material for Discussion Short Film Embedded in Wiki Students can review outside class “Student Wiki Projects: Collaborative Communication in Language Learning”

19. Wiki Project III: “Planet Germany” “Student Wiki Projects: Collaborative Communication in Language Learning”

20. Extreme Travel (Unit: Traveling) “Student Wiki Projects: Collaborative Communication in Language Learning”

21. Goals • Recycle and further practice content, vocabulary, culture and grammatical structures of unit in a meaningful but fun way. • Apply knowledge to a new context. • As student says: “Apply knowledge to an area that actually interests us.” • Introduce students to a new technology. • Evaluate the usefulness of this technology in my teaching. “Student Wiki Projects: Collaborative Communication in Language Learning”

22. Wiki I – Evaluation “Student Wiki Projects: Collaborative Communication in Language Learning”

23. Wiki I – Evaluation “Student Wiki Projects: Collaborative Communication in Language Learning”

24. Wiki I – Evaluation The results in short: • The wiki as a friend of the poster-weary! • Overall positive: new technology, mess-free, no handwriting issues, able to work from home, more exciting and creative than textbook, pick something they are interested in, lots of German spoken during group work, groups posed no problems. • Voices of concern: technology challenging, technology cut into the German-speaking, general concerns about group work. “Student Wiki Projects: Collaborative Communication in Language Learning”

25. Wiki I – Evaluation • I posted all their comments on our wiki and the students had to read them. • Discuss the evaluations with the students in light of future wikis. • General consensus: we should ‘wiki on’. • Use of wiki in a way where most of the work is done outside of the class. “Student Wiki Projects: Collaborative Communication in Language Learning”

26. Immigration Amerika (Unit: Planet Germany) “Student Wiki Projects: Collaborative Communication in Language Learning”

27. Wiki II – Evaluation Re-Read our Wiki II again and then write your comments / evaluations. If there are already contributions read your fellow-students’ evaluations and comment. Here are some questions to guide you: 1. How did you like this version of wiki? (=Doing most of the work from home.) 2. We did meet in the LRC and talked about the wiki in class. How important do you think it is to meet as a group and discuss the project? 3. Where did you encounter problems? 4. Do you think the wiki is a good replacement for an essay? 5. How do you like our final product? 6. Any other thoughts or comments? [Discussion Board Evaluation] “Student Wiki Projects: Collaborative Communication in Language Learning”

28. Discussion Board Results • Overall positive. • Students: • enjoyed working from home according to their own schedule. • felt more comfortable with the technology and felt it did not get in the way any more. • did point out how important it was to come together as a class and discuss the project while in process. • Concerns: • technological hiccup (login to same page). • difficulty in correcting the grammar of other students. • One student: writing an essay s/he would have written more and maybe learned more. • Another liked that she had to write less and could hence spend more time on working on her writing. • most were happy with the result and the sarcastic nature. “Student Wiki Projects: Collaborative Communication in Language Learning”

29. My Evaluation • Wiki proved a meaningful way to practice, content, vocabulary, grammar, and also culture of the unit. • Based on positive student feedback, I will continue with wikis. • With respect to assessment: It’s a lot of work to go through every history entry and check what has been changed and when. • Wiki II: History revealed 194 changes made. (25 on intro page, 24 on Facts page, 97 on questions, and 48 on answer page) • However, class size will be a major factor in my decision to use wikis. “Student Wiki Projects: Collaborative Communication in Language Learning”