Presentation Description and Goals Title Innovative Use of the Wiki to Enhance a Community of Inquiry Goal Through practical illustration and description, I will demonstrate how I incorporated an innovative use of the Wiki to generate a highly effective Community of Inquiry. Context When asked to move to online and hybrid delivery of education classes, like many in the business of education, I feared I'd lose contact with the "whole" student. Through support and training I learned about the "Community of Inquiry" and embraced it as a critical foundation of my teaching. I also learned about several Wed 2.0 tools and particularly embraced the Wiki as a vehicle to enhance the community. Problem How can I engage students in a dynamic Community of Inquiry using the Wiki as a substantive tool? Approach Create a Wiki site that fosters an enhanced social presence, generates media literacy, stimulates community building, engages critical thinking, and provides a shared repository of valuable educational resources. • Create a Wiki with a home page that includes the following o A personalized warm welcome o An embedded Youtube video describing a Wiki o A link to a Wiki page with my personal information and warm picture o Instructions on how to create their own personalized introduction page and how to insert a picture on it. o A link to a Wiki page with humorous educational media where they can contribute o A link to a Wiki page with inspirational educational media where they can contribute o A link to a Wiki page with educational quotes where they can contribute o Instructions to a folder containing Wiki tutorials and tips. o A Wiki page with a sample of their Wiki assignment requirement • Assignment: Students must make two pages o First: Make a personalized introduction with an engaging personal picture Second: Choose a topic from a list of educational topics. o On their topics, search, critique, and embed (with annotation) a variety of media (video, powerpoint, podcast, audiocast. Website, etc.). • Identify their favorite resources so that fellow student who visit these pages have a guide to view the best resources. • Classmates visit each other's Wiki-topic page and review the top resources. • Comment on their classmate's Wikis directly in the Wiki comment area. • Finish the Wiki page with the following content: Wiki topic, Why you chose the topic, Brief description of what you learned, and the top two resources clearly identified. Community of Inquiry Goals o Social Presence - I address open communication, group cohesion, and the personal domain through the following: o The tone is set with my personal introduction containing a casual picture. Students then follow by introducing themselves with a personal photograph. o Students can view humorous media and are invited to contribute their favorites. o Students can view inspirational media and are invited to contribute their favorites o Students can view poignant educational quotes and are invited to contribute their favorites. o Students must comment on each others Wiki topic page and finish the prompt: "What I liked best about your page is . . ." o Cognitive Presence - The Wiki assignment itself is challenging and formative. While it appears that the assigned product is research on an educational topic, a substantial portion of the learning takes place in triggering engagement in a new media, with a new too, (Wiki) through an innovative approach. o Media Literacy • Students learn and practice Wiki elements in a safe forum • Students learn how to find media resources though uncommon avenues and critique their value (Youtube, Teachertube, Delicious, Odeo, NPR.org, TEDtalks, ItunesU, Slideshare, PBS, etc.) • Students learn to discriminate between accurate and non -accurate media o Educational Topics • Students pick from a wide variety of instructor generated topics or generate their own instructor-approved topic. • Students must find media-rich sources of information on their topics • Students collect a repository of researched resources from each of their fellow students, to be used and shared throughout their education. o Teaching Presence o Students get to know my personal side by viewing examples of • Personalized picture and introduction • Humorous clips with an invitation for student submissions • Inspirational clips with an invitation for student submissions. • Famous quotes with an invitation for student submissions. o I address design and organization by providing a structure whereby everything students need to experience success is already present: tutorials, samples, explanations, guide to resources (Youtube, Teachertube, Delicious, Odeo, NPR.org, TEDtalks, ItunesU, Slideshare, PBS, etc.), etc. o I use direct instruction by embedding personally prepared Wiki tutorials: how to embed a picture, podcast, audiocast, powerpoint, slideshow, etc. o I facilitate discourse by requiring students to comment on each others Wiki topic page Results • On student evaluations, 30% of the students describe the Wiki experience as one of their most valuable learning experiences of the class. • The majority of students consistently comment on the strong community aspect of this class. • Class evaluations range in the high sixes on a scale of seven, where six is "very good" and seven is "outstanding."
