A Notion Coming to Fruition: Uniting Blogs, Wikis and Academia

Well, if you read a post or two previous, you know that I am “torn between two lovers…” wikis and blogging. Wikispaces, where I host “My Teaching Wiki” has rolled out an integration system that allows the two to become united for what I think could be a very beneficial union. I am an educator and currently working in the area of professional development. The integration of two tech tools really makes the process of instruction so much the easier. The pages are more manageable, the result is more dynamic, and the volume of participation and collaboration creates a more conducive environment for differentiating instruction, which happens to be a focus in my work. This integration is nothing new…if you followed my link, you see that it was created a couple of years ago!!  The challenge for wikispaces is this…they currently have only two blog sites that integrate with their website.

In my appreciation for wikis, I conduct workshops, or rather guided tours through Wikipedia. My goal is to get teachers more comfortable with a website that their students know better than they do and to show that in weakness exists teaching opportunities. Seems like I’m not alone. Researchers at the University of California are using Wikipedia to design software that can rate the credibility of references that are posted. It seems that the establishment of credibility is based more on a numerics rather than on actual reading, but what I find interesting is that an online source that some educators refuse to even recognize, other educators are investing extensive time and talent in moving ahead and improving on what technology offers. Kudos!!

Notions about Assessment. 538 Final Post

I really enjoy posting to this blog and though the class that required I begin this writing ends next week, I vow to continue posting to this blog site. I have decided (Oh, reminds of me of a choir song….”to follow…” join in….) that in blogging I can assess my own stance and thinking about a myriad of questions that dance around in my mind. Sometimes, words fly out of my fingers that I never would have spoken…and I surprise myself.

We’ve been looking at assessment in 538–focusing on rubics. I like rubrics as assessments; I’ve been using them in teaching for twenty years. But sometimes, they become too staid and fail to reflect changes that occur over time or with interests. Sometimes, rubrics ignore cognitive awareness and create benchmarks that fall too short or aim too high. Point being–rubrics are useful, but they need keep step with the learner.

Having used rubrics for twenty years, I find that holistic grading is sometimes as efficient. Now, perhaps that is the product of having created and applied a plethora of rubrics. Or it may go back to my nature as an English teacher. There are some creations (writing, PowerPoints, wikis, music, etc.) that are just at the top of the line and you know that in your gut and in your heart and really, in your mind. Sometimes, these creations break rules rather than follow them. And so, a proponent of rubrics, I believe both the evaluator and the creator need guidelines, but also need flexibility to recognize greatness that may fall somewhere beneath the “meets” category in puctutation or spelling or the incoroporation of four different media…because some other aspect of the scored work is beyond the rubric’s ability to credit excellence. Rubrics, though a guide for both the evaluator and the evaluated, can sometimes be limiting. But then, isn’t that their function, to limit the bounds of the evaluator and provide a perimeter for the creator to work within? I love it when considerations of reality evoke questions rather than answers.

For me, that is one of the great powers of blogging…to be able to share reflections of my thoughts through a print medium that can be viewed in the light of day by others who may or may not agree.