This
wiki idea has come when I most needed it for the Project!
Last
class, last Saturday, we had some work on how to write a Comparison & Contrast
essay. At the end of the class, a student came to me saying she needed a model
before trying to write her essay. The folder does not have a model essay. So,
she asked me to send her models through e-mail. I, then, showed her how to go
for models online. Then, I thought maybe I could also send the other students
that model. That would be time consuming, though. Another thing was students
were saying they were having a hard time managing the blogs and visiting them
on a regular basis. I, then, said I would send them all the links.
This
week our task has been to create a template for a handout, an exercise or a
class site. I opted for the wiki on Google Sites. First, I thought that would
be overwhelming for the students. Then, I thought I wouldn’t be able to create
one, as I read: “this is the most complicated of the tools”. But then, as I
gave it a try, I soon realized that would make my life much easier! It just
dawned on me that a wiki would be the solution for the problems I had mentioned
before. I would add all the blog links, model essays, docs with
transition words and even the interesting videos on the topics discussed! What
a discovery!
As I
got more interested in the wiki world, I started searching… And I found some
cool sites I’d like to share. First, this is a good example of a wiki:
And, to
my surprise, there are many wikis around!
At WikiMatrix, we can select the wikis that match our personal
needs and compare them. There is also a forum to talk to
other Wiki users, where we can ask questions and discuss everything Wiki.
So, I decided to create it (https://sites.google.com/site/writing2wiki2011/) and I sent the link to that
student who needed the model and had said she had had problems when finding the
links for the blogs. She loved the idea! Her comment was: “now, I see the whole
picture”.
She has raised another issue, though. Actually, that
has been my biggest challenge in the blog project. She mentioned that now my
challenge is to have students make comments on their peers’ writings. The thing
is, they are not used to giving feedback in writing. Last class, one student
commented: “it’s easier when we talk and give feedback in class, but when we
know it will be there written on the blog, it’s more serious and we have to
think about the words we will choose in order not to offend or cause
embarrassment”.
I think I’ll have to deal with cultural issues. I
thought technology would be the most challenging thing! My mistake!
Helô
Helô
