Date post: | 03-Jan-2016 |
Category: |
Documents |
Upload: | julia-little |
View: | 220 times |
Download: | 1 times |
Blogs and Wikis in the Bb LSBarbara Knauff, Senior Instructional
Technologist, Dartmouth College
July 10, 2007
2
Session Overview
• Bb at Dartmouth
• Why blogs and wikis?
• Learning Objects implementation
• Use cases
• Tips
• Q & A, discussion
3
Dartmouth
• 4,100 undergrads
• 1,600 graduate/professional students
• 475 faculty
• 400-500 courses/term
4
Dartmouth
• Residential student body
• No distance ed programs
• Study abroad > 50%
• Face-to-face instruction at core of institutional identity
• Liberal arts
• Bb used as a supplement
5
Bb at Dartmouth
• 1999: adopted CourseInfo
• 2002: integration with Banner
• 2007: more than 2/3 of courses have active Bb site
• Cross-platform support crucial (40% Mac users)
6
Bb growthBlackboard Courses, 2002-present
15
75 85
115
45
170
200 200
55
210 218 219
64
240
275 283
82
324340 337
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
Summer 02
Fall 02Winter 03Spring 03
Summer 03
Fall 03Winter 04Spring 04
Summer 04
Fall 04Winter 05Spring 05
Summer 05
Fall 05Winter 06Spring 06
Summer 06
Fall 06Winter 07Spring 07
Number of Courses
7
Early uses of Bb
• Tool adoption weighted towards administrative functions
• Instructor disseminates content
• Students consume content
• One-way street: faculty to student
8
So what’s the problem?
“… students do not always complete the readings, so sometimes come to class with no ideas and questions about new knowledge.”
9
So what’s the problem?
“The issue with which I really struggle is that […] students seem to not want to think or take responsibility for their own learning.”
10
So what’s the problem?
“Another problem that new technologies may address is the range of student competence […]”
11
So what’s the problem?
“… students […] often seem unwilling to apply what they know to their classmates’ presentations.”
12
So what’s the problem?
“… students […] want to be fed the ‘answers’ to the test questions.”
13
Deeper Learning Principles
• Social
• Active
• Contextual
• Engaging
• Student-owned
Carmean, Colleen and Jeremy Haefner. "Mind over Matter: Transforming Course Management Systems into Effective Learning Environments." Educause Review,
Nov/Dec. 2002, pp. 27-34.
14
Tools for deeper learning
• Discussion Boards
• Wikis
• Blogs or online journals
15
Shared attributes
• Asynchronous
• Collaborative
• Multi-media possible
• Text-centered
16
Discussion Boards
• Implemented in Bb
• Limitations:– Linear structure– Can be cumbersome to read– Focus on text– Cannot easily embed media in page– No commenting– Access: all or nothing
17
Blogs
• Simple web publishing
• Chronological presentation
• Shared or individual
• Support comments
18
Wikis
• “A web application that allows users to add content, as on an Internet forum, but also allows anyone to edit the content.” (Source: wikipedia)
• A website (non-linear, hyperlinked)
• Collectively authored
• Supports comments
19
Blogs and Wikis in Bb
• Based on Building Block technology• Enterprise clients only• Learning Objects:
http://www.learningobjects.com• Substantial cost• Cross-platform support• Excellent customer support• Rapid development cycle
20
Basic clients?
• Link to free services from within Bb
• No seamless authentication integration
• No integrated assessment
• Recommended services:– PB Wiki: http://pbwiki.com/– Blogger: http://www.blogger.com
21
Teams LX
• “Teams Site” = wiki
• Nomenclature and icon switch
=
22
Teams LX
Create a wiki in any content area
23
Teams LX
Assign name and description
24
Teams LX
Grant editing privileges based on groups
25
Teams LX
Grant editing privileges to individuals
26
Teams LX
Set availability
27
Teams LX
Set dates for editing
28
Teams LX
Set dates for viewing/commenting
29
Teams LX
Ability to create gradebook entry
30
Teams LX
Ability to set text direction
31
Teams LX
• Cross-platform WYSIGYG toolbar– IE– Firefox– Unsupported browsers - can edit HTML
32
Teams LX
Toolbar supports:– Word-like changes in display– Links– Images– File uploads– Special characters– HTML editing mode– pseudo-CSS
33
Teams LX
Editing history for each page
34
Teams LX
Version changes highlighted
35
Teams LX
• Ability to revert to prior versions
• Other tools:– Page list– Search tool– Export tool
36
Teams LX
• Assess Wikis (Control Panel)
37
Wiki examples
• Scientific Basis of Medicine Program (SBM.Program-AY0607):– Student presentation of medical case studies– Use of pathology images crucial– “Seeded” demo wiki
38
Wiki examples
39
Wiki examples
40
Wiki examples
• Whitman and Dickinson (ENGL.066.01-SU06):
– Class-built literary glossary– Class-built annotated bibliography– Tendency to append, not overwrite
41
Wiki examples
• Composition and Research (WRIT.002.04-FA06)– Collection of sources– Class-built historical synopsis– Orphaned pages
42
Wiki examples
• Expository Writing (WRIT.005.13.14-FA06)– Group web project instead of paper– Multi-media included– Course administration: signup sheets
43
Wiki examples
• Expository Writing (WRIT.005.01-FA06)– Student-generated questions– Wiki functions like an erasable whiteboard
44
Wiki examples
• Biology & Politics of Starvation (BIOL.009.01-SSOC.009.01-WI06)– Final projects– Charts and images– Some poor design choices (colors, width)
45
Wiki examples
• Collaborative article (ORG.computing.curricular.CMS-article)– Used wiki as shared writing space
46
Other wiki assignments
• Reading club
• Signup and self-scheduling pages
• Textbook errata
• Lecture errata
• “Expert” wikis (research and documentation)
• Student-authored study guides
47
Wiki positives
• Student engagement and ownership
• Multi-media
• Sharing work in class / outside of class
• Wikis enhance other work
48
Wiki positives
• “Group writing doesn’t produce good papers - but the next individual paper will be improved”
• Engages deeper learning principles:– Social, active, contextual, engaging, student-
owned
49
Wiki problems, 1
• Confusion between general course wiki and wikis deployed in content areas
• Confusion between “edit page” and “new page”• Concept of linked web of pages difficult• Browser problems (Safari)• Locked-up documents• Assessment difficult• Poorly designed sites, image sizing problems
50
Wiki problems, 2
• Long URLs• Access configuration difficult for faculty• Hesitancy to embrace new notion of authorship• Flashy instead of substantive
51
Wiki suggestions, 1
• Brief & clear technical instructions• Disable course wiki• Clearly define expectations of wiki assignments• Create demo wiki for students• Consider “seeding” wikis/pre-establishing
structure• Don’t expect beauty• Be aware of time commitment required
52
Wiki suggestions, 2
• Be aware of file size quota• Iterative process:
– Create– Review and comment, feedback– Refine– Final Assessment– Consider separating process/product in assessment
• Require commenting
53
Journals LX
• Analogous to Teams LX
• “Journal Site” = blogs
• Nomenclature and icon switch
=
54
Journals LX
• Single-page• Multi-author• Users can only edit their own posts• Versioning• Commenting• No assessment tool• Option: students can view only own posts• Option: RSS feed
55
Sample blog assignments
• Individual reading or progress journals
• Group project progress reports
• Personal showcase in language classes
• Student blogs
• Peer review
• Link collection
56
Blog example
• Contemporary Issues Feminism (WGST.016.01-SP07) – Theoretical glossaries/responses
57
Blog example
• The Cinematic City (FILM.047.01-SP07)
– Response papers
58
Blog example
• Latinos in Media/Arts (LATS.041.01-FA05)– Student link collections
59
Blog positives
• Easy for students to use
• Good replacement for some single-page wikis
• Alternative to discussion board
60
Blog problems
• Less used at Dartmouth than wikis
• Student engagement seems lower
• Few technical/conceptual problems– Browser problems
• Problems similar to discussion board:– Student motivation– Integration with course
61
Expo LX
• Formerly called “Backpack”
• Not deployed at Dartmouth
• Blogs, wikis associated with user
• Module-based (not course)
• Rudimentary permissioning
• E-portfolios
• Personal student spaces
62
Conclusion
• Contact: [email protected]
• Slides: http://www.dartmouth.edu/~bknauff/BbWorld2007/
Questions!