8 Week Wiki Lesson Plan

Wiki 8 Week Lesson Plan

I do not currently teach adults so these lesson plans where created based on my training as an Alphabetic Phonics Instructor. They are based on multisensory teaching of the Orton-Gillingham Approach using a sequential and systematic approach to teaching reading and spelling. The learning and training objectives of the lessons are informative of children with dyslexia and how systematic and sequential teaching approaches incorporated with multisensory techniques develop reading skills. This class would target anyone working with children from the ages of six to twelve.

The rationale for the wiki within the curriculum is to use a process map to visualize the process of phonological awareness, alphabet, reading practice, handwriting practice, spelling practice, reading comprehension, listening skills and quality lesson planning contribute to teaching the struggling reader to read. I included video links to help in creating the wiki, suggested weekly updates, zoom meetings, included a wiki collaboration process check week four and final team and self-evaluations after completion of the wiki project. A rubric was included for clear grading expectations.

References

Birsh, J. R., & Carreker, S. (2018). Multisensory teaching of basic language skills (4th ed.). Baltimore, MD: Paulh Brookes.

Moats, L. C. (2010). Speech to print Language essentials for teachers (2nd ed.). Baltimore, MD: Paulh Brookes.

West, J. A., & West, M. L. (2009). Using Wikis for online collaboration The power of the read-write web. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

 Wikis in Adult Learning

“We shall never know how many adults desire intelligence regarding themselves and the world in which they live until education once more escapes the patterns of conformity.” (Lindeman, 1961, p. 18) Wikis give adult education the ability to create learning communities to share information and experiences. Information is gathered, organized, and created into educational projects. The control of the Wiki can be shared by the administrator to those who are trusted to improve the format of content. Wikis give individuals of common interest the ability to work together to create a form of data continually building and changing. “The powerful function of wiki collaboration is history aspect. Teachers can track the progress of the project and determine the contribution of each participant through history-version list.”  (Zhou & Gong, 2008, p. 2) Theoretical foundations are widely used and supported in wiki projects in adult education such as constructivism for critical thinking, social experiences, multiple perspectives, and encouraging ownership. (Hazari, North, & Moreland, 2009)

“Each adult educator has to define for himself the community he intends to serve and then undertake to assess its educational needs.” (Knowles, 1974, p. 106) The assigning of wikis by adult educators comes with its challenges of forming groups, grading content, and need of the students. The ability to monitor or evaluate the motivation of your group members the instructor must have an evaluation of peers in mind. As an instructor of a wiki assignment, you must be familiar with the function of wikis and have an established rubric.

Wikis are widely becoming used among education leaders, business schools, and higher education studies. The way in education is being approached in the Web 2.0 I believe we will see more and benefit significantly from wikis.

References

Hazari, S., North, A., & Moreland, D. (2009). Investigating the pedagogical value of Wiki technology. Journal of information systems education, 20(2), 187-198.

Knowles, M. S. (1974). The modern practice of adult education andragogy versus pedagogy. New York, NY: Association Press.

Lindeman, E. C. (1961). The meaning of adult education . Norman, OK : Oklahoma Research Center for Continuing Professional and Higher Education.

Zhou, Y., & Gong, C. (2008). Eduwiki: an effective teachers’ knowledge management platform  [4th International Conference on Wireless Communications ]. Networking and Mobile Computing , 1-4.

Blogging for Adult Learners

Today’s technology learning resources such as blogs, wikis and, podcasts aid in the change from the classroom setting to a digital community learning style. “As new technologies emerge, educators seek guidance on how to use these technologies to enhance teaching and learning and build a sense of community.” (Martha, 2009, p. 48) As stated by Blelacyz & Collins learning communities gives an individual the ability to support individual knowledge while interacting with others to advance collective knowledge. (Martha, 2009) Blogs are a way of interacting to expose one’s personal traits. “Significantly, rather than alienate a readership by exposing one’s personal traits and idiosyncrasies, this adds to the very popularity of a blog.” (Williams & Jacobs, 2004, p. 234) Blogs can be used as a resource of categorizing material in a contextual setting of information of links. Blogs are becoming popular within the business industry increasing pressures on college graduates to becoming familiar with such technologies. (Kaplan, Piskin, & Bol, 2009) Common threads among blogging and adult education are experimental learning, educational use of blogging, and academic literature on blogging.  Consistent research among journals of different vocations indicates that blogging is well accepted and encouraged.

            We have generations of technology-savvy students who are lacking in communication skills, ability to critically think and cognitive skills. Growing up in front of the television and electronic devices has hindered these abilities we need to adapt and incorporate back into education. (Kaplan et al., 2009) Riper states text messaging and instant messaging is the preferred communication over face-to-face for Generation Y. The use of these mediums is done while using shortcuts which can weaken written and oral communication skills. (Kaplan et al., 2009) Blogging can bring a certain threat to the journalist profession and cause some animosity about amateur capabilities. (Williams & Jacobs, 2004)

            In conclusion I feel blogging is an advantage to adult education. It brings a community environment while incorporating critical thinking but maintaining one’s individuality. Blogging does bring the challenge of written and oral communication skills that may require one to improve learning in the area of grammar, syntax, and spelling. Overall the pros outweigh the cons and even make you a stronger student. 

                                                                    References

Kaplan, M. D., Piskin, B., & Bol, B. (2009). Educational blogging Integrating technology into marketing experience. Journal of Marketing Education. Retrieved from http://jmd.sagepub.com

Martha, S. M. (2009, January/February). Instructional-design theory to guide the creation of online learning communities for adults. TechTrends, 53(1), 48-56. Retrieved from http://online-educator.pbworks.com

Williams, J. B., & Jacobs, J. (2004). Exploring the use of blogs as learning spaces in the higher education sector. Australasian Journal of Educational Technology , 20(2), 232-247. Retrieved from https://eprints.qut.edu.au