Wikis

In class we have watched and interesting video about Wikis. The video was about a school which started this project of collaborative wiki, involving students and teachers from all the district (in the US). The aim of this wiki was basically to encourage both students and teachers to share their ideas across the state and hopefully beyond. They decided to create this wiki in order to share the LES's and people's opinions and ideas. The first step of the process was to calendar objectives and the second one was to give teachers a plan time. They came up with this project, by asking themselves how they could digitize more efficiently their learning tools. Teachers can use it to get ideas and post them on a wiki page. Wikis has become a credible source of learning and it has also become something to depend on. The main objective of this project triggered by the school was to foster collaboration between students and teachers. They also wanted to create a sens of connectedness. Students thought it was a useful mean of starting. For my part,  I thought it was really relevant for the teaching domain, which I am studying in. Technologies are constantly developping and are more and more implemented in the teaching domain.

As a future teacher, I believe this would be a great project to start, because it allows the students to be connected between each other and with their teachers, outside of an academical context. It can also foster cooperation and interaction between them. I think using this would be interesting in an ESL context, because it would encourage them to speak English together, during their interactions. It is also interesting in terms of constructivism, since it enables the students to reflect on their learning process and contributes to their understanding of their learning. Moreover, it enables them to connect their knew knowledge to their activated schemata. I think it also builds their learning community and develop their sense of belonging, which can be positive for a classroom.

Mr.Gardner's video was really interesting and thanks to him I have learnt more about the digital world. I have especially learnt more about youth and their relationship with technologies, since they are more and more surrounded by them. Gardner raised an interesting issue: ethics. As he mentioned, online users become members of a community. As a member of a community, one must always make sure he preserves a good reputation and must adopt an exemplary behaviour, just as an ambassador does when he visits another country.

I suggest that ethical education, regarding privacy in this case, should be taught in elementary school, so that awareness can be raised earlier about this reality. Internet is an incredible asset in today's society and connects people from all around the world. Thanks to this technological tool, educational content is spread worldwide and its potential is infinite. Internet should be used to foster cooperation between the members of the community.