Colonial+Period+Reflection+Page


 * Reflections page: **

﻿ **Susan's Reflection**: ====The use of this type of technology has its place in education today. Although I had never previously entertained the idea of “Walking through a Wiki Wonderland”, I am more aware of its benefits today than I was a couple of weeks ago, specifically with regard to the study of the social sciences. Because the role of the teacher has changed significantly over the last ten years, technology of this variety is more beneficial than previously thought. In the past, teachers were expected to and responsible for both the teaching and the learning that took place within the classroom. Generally, this task was accomplished using the lecture model and if one was blessed by the teacher gods, a piece of colored chalk! Of course as time progressed, so too has the technological advancements we use in the classroom. With an assignment of this nature, the learning is placed entirely in the hands of the student. This type of technology affords the student (forces the student?) the opportunity to search for not only the answers, but to also post the materials, and to interact with others with regard to his or her specific topic. As a classroom teacher and a future curriculum and instruction leader, I recognize the primary purpose for the use of technology assignments is to enhance the student’s learning experience, and to expose those students, many of whom have widely varying learning styles, with an adequate amount of opportunities to become skilled at such a task so that in the end, he or she will succeed in the classroom. This same holds true for adult learners. Technology will continue to impact curriculums of the future as well as the instruction process; therefore, I must remain cognizant of that which will impact my future career choice. ==== ====Drawbacks to this assignment from the student’s and teacher’s perspective at the secondary and below level would be: 1) ensuring the validity of the information researched and posted, 2) the fact that others in the class can change or alter information after it is posted, and 3) as a teacher, knowing who actually did what to complete the assignment. However, the overall, long-term benefits of developing a Wiki as a resource on a particular topic or time period, far outweighs the negatives. ====

** Cindi: **

** As technology continues to enhance our society, or become a thorn in the side for those of us who are technologically challenged, it is extremely important that educators keep up with it in order to expand our arsenal of tools in the classroom. Our students come to us more and more technologically savvy each year, and we must find ways to catch and hold their attention as well as to make lessons relevant to the real world and future employment opportunities they may encounter. This assignment introduced me to the Wiki as I have never created any kind of webpage before. **

** I can see how this might be a helpful tool in a high school classroom for research and collecting information to which an entire class would have access. The responsibility for learning would be put on the student. He or she would have to locate the relevant information and then share on the page with the other students in the class. Many of them would have a much easier time navigating the Wiki page and using it than I did because most students have at least some experience with similar assignments before they get to high school or early in their high school careers. Also, they would probably have more time with which to research and design the pages. **

** Using an assignment of this type may have negative aspects as well. At our school, we are limited in computer lab space, and many of our students come from a low socioeconomic background and do not have computers at home. Furthermore, there is the possibilty that students would change or delete information put onto the Wiki by other students thus jeopardizing their grades. This would not be fair whether it was intentional or accidental. It would also be difficult to assess the work becuase I would have no real way of knowing who did the actual work. Unfortunately, most high school students do not have the work ethic of Ph.D. candidates. **

** In all, I am excited and intrigued to learn something new, especially if it may be useful to me in the classroom. However, I do wish that I had more time on this project. ** 

** David: ** ** Well, this project was one that was very much bitter-sweet for me. As I heard about this project and read what the project would entale, I thought to myself, "Wow, that is a good idea for a class to perform as a summarization of important information obtained in a class." However, at the same time, I knew that a lot would be involved in actually making this happen. The goal for this projects was to not only present some highlighted information that was diverse in the type of media for which information was delivered, but also try to organize and the information in a way where it is easy for the viewers to follow the flow of information without getting lost or frustrated by the way the wiki was put together. ** ** This was my first attempt at playing with a wiki of any kind. I personally would love to do this with my 7th grade class. I think it would be a great way for the students to develop a product that is not as simple as pencil and paper. Obviously, in comparison with writing an essay, this method of assessment takes a bit longer because of the learning curve that exists when trying to figure out how to modify the wiki pages in a way as intended by the creators. Even though this learning curve exists, I think that it is not time wasted. Now that I understand the process of creating a wiki, I can in turn use that for future presentation of information. ** ** I like the fact that the history tab shows the modifications that have been made by each user. This is a great way to judge which student has entered which information. This history tab is also useful if a student accidentally erases something and there is a need to resort back to an earlier edition. ** ** I did feel a little rushed and stressed with this project having gone first. However, I knew the timeframe for getting this project done when I signed up for it. **