Apr 28 2007
Wiki Troubles and “Star Teachers Grade Less”
Well although the Wiki is underway I can see problems on the horizon. After almost a whole year of competitive solo projects for their GCSE how can students suddenly manage to swap over to collaborative work? Beyond this the GCSE projects are marked to strict criteria which from day one I make open and use continuously to grade their projects with targets of how to improve their work. With this mentality drummed into my GCSE ICT students, how are they going to be motivated to produce not only collaborative work but work that is not going to be marked or to put it into the American term ‘GRADED’ in the same way. If at all, as the work will naturally be assessed by its public availablity?
You can now see the problems before me? The recent post by an anonymous author (interesting to decide why this author is still anonymous?) on the blog ‘Learning to Teach, Teaching to Learn’. The post is very well written and argues that too much grading around tests and criteria can maybe inhibit learning. And instead greater emphasis should be placed simply on effort. I suppose most teachers would say that obviously if all students put in maximum effort they would achieve their maximum grade and so would be achieving to their full potential? So why look at specific tests, rather than as suggested focus on effort. Obvious really, and something I have always said often occurs anyway within KS3 Level testing where students who show effort and work ‘hard’ achieve to the highest levels. Those that do not are still down on Level 3?
Interesting arguments, and maybe something that could be used in the students Wiki project. However Egyptian students and as importantly Parents are so grades smitten, that would this work. Unless maybe effort was broken down into its constituent factors including teamwork, leadership and going the extra mile?
Along with this we have the technical problem of Wiki-Syntax which is easy to master, but students are now so used to WYSIWYG menus for whatever they are creating that this might provide a further limitation. Well that is enough Wiki talk for now, although you should if you have time check out the ideas of mixing Blogs and Wikis together in Blikis (Yes more geek talk!)
The Ning assignment, social networking and MFL is gathering a little steam. Decided to use the SurveyAtSchool website and tool, to gather information on students understanding of Social Networking to see how many students are comfortable and use a social network as much as anything so that I can see how much initial effort will need to be put into the MFL classes training in what a social network is and how to use it?
More to follow……
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