Wikis: Sites Ideal For Just In Time Learning

Wikis For Professional Development 

The word wiki is a short form of the Hawaiian wiki-wiki, which means quick. Quick and accessible to everyone might arguably be two attributes which have kept the Wiki, a Web site with audience curated content, not only alive, but regularly referenced by the masses. Think of the number of quick look-ups that occur in a single day on Wikipedia. Mike Fisher writes of the immediacy required for educators to stay connected in order to learn and share effectively, identifying what he calls "just in time" learning in his article for teachthought, Connected Professional Development Is Now an Imperative. These connections have evolved to form digital professional learning networks or (DPLNs), systems where fellow educators "get together" to share what they're doing via social media and online tools and applications. Wikis are an ideal online tool for the type of collaborative learning used in DPLNs and wherever professional practice is shared and developed.

Looking closer at a Wiki's use in the educational setting, Foley and Chang (2006) authored a study which examines how Wiki technology can be used to support teacher professional development. Part of their analysis highlights some important inherent features of the Wiki, specifically the high quality of the activities it takes to put a Wiki together: research, synthesis and presentation of the idea for others, and the mutual learning benefits for both Wiki creators and their peers (p.1). Mike Fisher  elaborates on the importance of peer collaboration among teachers, citing P21's 21st Century Skills. Among these, communication and collaboration stand out as desired skills for both educators and learners, and correspondingly are key attributes of Wiki creation.

Curious about a topic? Start a Wiki about it. 

A great way to explore a professional development topic is to start a Wiki about it. Facilitators can frame the PD topic in the form of a Wiki, setting the stage for participants to add their knowledge, research and questions, resulting in the finished product: a personalized, highly relevant and accessible learning tool. 

My Example, Exploring an Existing Technology

Exploring an existing and new-to-some classroom technology, I started mimioteachandlearn using Wikispaces to create a beginning-of-the-year resource to help my colleagues learn more about their new Mimio Projectors and Mimio Notebook software, as well as to identify resources for training, collaboration and trouble shooting.  Content is easy to add, and can include videos, images, polls, and documents.  What additional pages would I like to see on my Wiki? Classroom examples, a Share-What-You-Know page.

Resources

Foley, B., Chang, T. (2006). Wiki as a professional development tool. Paper presented at the      American Education Research Association annual meeting in session "Technology and Teacher Learning." Retrieved from http://www.csun.edu/~bfoley/AERA_Wiki.pdf

In-House Professional Development

Peer Collaboration: Teachers Training Teachers

This past school year a colleague and I planned a professional development session for our fellow Teaching Associates on the subjects of gamification and resources for differentiated instruction. Teaching Associates are often charged with supporting small group instruction, ranging from supporting struggling learners to providing enrichment activities for learners ready to move forward in a subject area.  So in this way, the session's content fulfilled some of the areas Vicki Davis, Contributor to Edutopia's Professional Development Blog, identifies as needed for highly effective PD, specifically: Use What You are Teaching, Develop Something You'll Use Right Away, and Empower Peer Collaboration.

Use What You Are Teaching

Gamification was explained at the outset of the PD, through this concise video:

Interactive game board
created with Mimio
Studio software

Student-drawn
avatar used for game
badges

...and modeled using a customized game board created in MimioStudio (an existing technology), which was manipulated by attendees, as they moved through the training stations. Gamelike elements were used throughout the session including custom avatars and opportunities for participants in teams to level-up.

Develop Something You'll Use Right Away

Rating Sheet downloadable here

Resources were selected for the session, based on the belief that they would be highly useful in the TAs' daily work with students. Further, an evaluation sheet was presented, adapted from graphite.org and designed  for faculty to research and select their own apps for use in the classroom.

Empower Peer Collaboration

Google Apps for Education, a suite of tools for the classroom, fosters peer collaboration for both students and teachers through interactive functionality. Google Docs is an ideal way to recap a PD session, complete with notes, resources and links, and photos, all of which can be shared and edited with those in attendance, or with the larger community. Here is the Goole Doc created for the featured TA training session, shared and available for collaboration. Feedback, another vital part of effective PD, can be shared through Google Docs, as well.

References

Davis, V. (2015, April 15). 8 Top Tips for Highly Effective PD. Edutopia. Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/blog/top-tips-highly-effective-pd-vicki-davis