We are ready to leave the inhabitants of Kwikston and it is time for reflections.
Please reflect on:
General
- Wiki as a tool
- Storyline as a method
- Instructions given regarding these
Our storyline
- Topic
- Tasks
- Instructions
- Workload
- Time allowed in class
- Tasks between classes
- Cooperation within groups
- Is this form of group work effective?
- Were you able to give each other feedback?
- Did you edit and re-edit? A lot?
- Your own texts?
- Others' texts?
Finally
- Did you become engaged in the storyline?
- Are you taking away new knowledge / skills that you will be able to use in your own teaching?
Wiki is a tool that we can use to enhance the learning process. We can use it to engage the students in learning with others within a collaborative environment.
ReplyDeleteStoryline is a method, a pedagogical strategy.It is normally used in primary schools but we can use it in adult education as well.
You can recognize the value of the existing knowledge of the learner. The pupils are encouraged to construct their own models of what is being studied, their hypotheses, before testing them with real evidence and research.
You have to create a context and a scenario through visualisation. The content is created by the students and the teacher doesn’t know the details of it.
The topic of our storyline is Kwistead, a little town in Australia. A spectacular town surrounded by beautiful beaches and saltwater crocodiles. We started inventing th¬e town and the workplaces you could find there. Everyone chose a workplace and created an inhabitant for this workplace.
The instructions given were to describe each one our inhabitant in the wiki and the group of the workplace had to describe the site as well.
We have had a little bit of workload. Overall creating the wiki, we didn’t know how it functioned and first of all we had to learn to use it. Then we had to write the information about our inhabitants and we had to put some photos, videos… and everything was new for us. I learnt it rapidly but I know some people have had some problems trying to upload the pictures. And they have lost a lot of time doing it.
We haven’t had enough time in class to do this kind of things. We spent more time in class learning how to do it and then each one had to do it on his/her own. But maybe it’s better because you could do it in your free time at home.
The time between classes to do the tasks was enough. There were a lot of days between each class.
Concerning to the groups, we could work in class sometimes but not always and it was too difficult to meet outside the lessons. It was useful we could edit everything in the wiki. So the groups could work on their workplaces at home. But you couldn’t ask your fellow group if they think it was ok or not, you couldn’t give them feedbacks. From my point of view maybe it is not effective. To be able to work in groups you have to meet with your fellow group members to do the tasks. In this way everybody can contribute at the same time with feedbacks.
I’ve edited and re-edited a lot but only my inhabitant and my workplace. I added more information and re-edited the ones they were done trying to do it in a better way.
Finally I can say that I became engaged in the storyline. I was very intrigued the day when everybody explained their inhabitants to know a little bit more about them.
I’ve learned a lot of new things with the storyline. The most important ones: what the storyline method is, how I can use it and how to use the wiki at the same time. I would like to use it on my own one day but I’m not sure if I would be able to do it. Maybe I have to inform myself a little bit more about the resources of the storyline before doing it.
Apart from that I have learned many things that I will be able to use in my own teaching and I'm very glad about it.
I really have liked this activity. The topic of the storyline has been funny and motivating. I also think that this tool upgrades the creative skills in the students because they have to make up their own character and their workplace. That's a challenge for them.
ReplyDeleteBesides, the four skills (speaking, writing, listening and reading) the part of the techonology is also reinforced since the students have to be in contact with the computers to make this tasks. So, it's good for this as well.
I would use it in the English lessons but before I would like to know more about how to use it better in order to get the better results in the lessons.