Journal 10- Let the Kids do the Work-NETS I & V

Lawlor, J. (2010, March/April). Let the kids do the work. Learning and Leading with Technology, 37(6), Retrieved from http://www.learningandleading-digital.com/learning_leading/20100304#pg32


I really enjoyed reading this article because it demonstrates how sometimes technology might encourage students who don't usually participate in classrooms to participate through the technology offered to them. This article is about a teacher that writes about how he was really proud and happy of his students because through the usage of Wiki his students became more responsible of their learning and learned how to use this technological tool to their educational advantage. After creating a Wiki, he realized that his students were more willing to participate and complete classroom assignments if they were being done on the Wiki page. This teacher also realized that even the students that did not participate in class where more outspoken in the Wiki and offered thoughtful ideas and better quality of work. Traditional homework was not very helpful with the students and so the teacher realized that most students "live" in the internet and that through the Wiki these students will be more willing and excited to participate in discussions and by completing more assignments. Another great example this teacher wrote about is about a student that was writing her essay. This particular student had posted her essay on the Wiki, her essay was not that long and needed much improvement. That same day this student received many replies about her essay from other students, that basically told her her essay needed more thought into. Later that night, she rewrote her essay making a few improvements, she then received more comments on her essay and rewrote it for the third time, this time she made so much more improvement. This example shows how this student and other students are more willing to revise and put more effort into their work if they have a chance to get feedback from their peers right away and the opportunity to complete these assignments online work as an incentive for many students to complete their work with better quality. Many shy students too found their voice on the Wiki page, they replied to other students' work and shared their papers with others. Many students too learned on their own how to customize the wiki pages, something that even the teacher did not know how to do! Now the teacher felt like the students were teaching the teacher instead of the reverse, this teacher was very proud of the students, overall he was mostly happy how all the students were more eager to complete assignments and put more effort in their work through the Wiki. He was very glad that he attended a workshop about how to include technology into the class because his students responded to this technology in a very positive way.



Do you think Wiki is a great technological tool for teachers to do? According to the article, Wiki made so much improvements in so many students. Shy students were able to find their voice through the Wiki and became more interactive with other students. Other students also learned how Wiki pages worked and how to customize them to their preferences. All of the student were more eager to complete their assignments and to create the best quality of work they could because they knew other students would be able to see their work and provide feedback on their papers.



Would I use a Wiki page in my classroom? I definitely would because Wiki has proven to work as an incentive to many students that learn better through the usage of technology. not only that but it also helps shy students to participate more in discussions and to interact with others through the Wiki. artistic students too might become much more interested in the classroom work and be able to flourish their artistic skills. Wiki overall would be a great incentive to all the students , they would want to be a part of the website therefore they will be more willing to complete assignments and participate in discussions much more.