Ilearn Literacy Session 8

iLearn – Science Session E.4

Virtual Science Fair

Setting Up a Wiki Account to Share Science Fair Projects

Facilitator Agenda

Setting the Stage

To be reviewed before the session begins.

Session Overview

In this session, participants will be able to explain and describe the benefit of authentic audience (i.e. students, judges, teachers, parents, and an online community) viewing and discussing one another’s work.

Participants will create a Wikispace account to share science projects, create a class page, and set up accounts for all of their students.

Content Teaching Points

During this session, participants will be able to explain and describe the benefit of authentic audience (i.e. students, judges, teachers, parents, and an online community) viewing and discussing one another’s work.

Technology Teaching Points

During this session, participants will create a Wikispace account to share science projects, create a class page, and set up accounts for all of their students.

Focusing Questions

· What are the benefits of having others view and discuss student work?

· How can we view and discuss student science projects digitally in an authentic method?

Materials

The following materials are used in this session:

• Laptops or tablets with Internet access

• Projector

• Interactive whiteboard (optional)

Resources

The following resources are used in this session:

· Science E_4 Presentation.ppt

· Virtual Science Fair Wiki

· Creating a Wikispace Account Reference Guide.doc

· Wikispaces

· Video Tour of Wikispaces

· Basic Help Menu for Wikispaces

· Wikispaces Email Address:

· Blogs, Wikis, and Web 2.0

· Video introducing Web 2.0

· Video about The Rise of Web 2.0

Instruction

Typically lasts about 20% of session.

Framing the Session

“I am sure that you have noticed in your classrooms that some of the most meaningful learning moments don’t come from the teacher, but come from the interactions and conversations amongst the learners. When creating a Science Fair, the process should be thought of the same way. For the science fair to be meaningful, the projects must be discussed. Students need to be able to ask questions, get feedback, and interact for true learning to take place. The interaction between peers, staff, and visitors is critical for students to take ownership of the process and the content.

“Meaningful conversations must be an integral part of the teaching and learning process. Lecturing does not lead to deep understanding. Now more than ever, it is important for students to feel like they are a part of the process. For them to make real connections and build schema, they have to discuss their learning. In the Workshop Model they call it the sharing or celebrating portion. The internet is changing and allowing for this interaction in new and exciting ways.

“That is the main vision of Web 2.0. The aspect of Web 2.0 that we will be utilizing is a wikispace. We will be setting up a wiki so that your learners will have a platform to display their projects to a greater audience for collaboration.”

Teaching

Step 1: Go to Wikispaces.

Step 2: Input the requested information.

Step 3: When picking your wiki name, pick something that will be easy to remember and type.

Step 4: Click Join (if your wiki name is taken, it will ask for a alternate name).

Step 5: That’s it! You now have a class wiki.

Guided Practice

“Now it is your turn to try it.”

· Go to Wikispaces.

· Fill out the information requested.

· Click join.

· Spend a few minutes watching the wikispaces tour introduction tutorial.

Work Time

Typically lasts about 60–70% of session.

Getting Started

“I am going to show you really quickly how to set a class page and invite all your students to be members in one quick step. You are going to love how easy it is to use. Students will love the ability to communicate in an authentic nature with others.

“Ok, so when you log in, your screen will look something like this. Your wiki name will be in the left corner and you will have just one link for HOME. We are going to change that right now! Under the Home link is “edit navigation” link. Click it. We are going to populate your page to make it beneficial for your learners. Brainstorm pages you might want to have… Agenda, Unit of Study, Homework, etc To make a page, all you do is type the word you want to be a page and put 2 brackets in front of and behind it. Ex - [[Earth Science]] - This doesn’t have to be perfect today, you can always change it by using the edit feature. When you have a list, you click on “Save” and your new links are created.

“One more thing I want to show you before I send you off to explore and create your class wiki. You want your students to be able to be a part of this, and doing that is quite easy. You will be sending one list to wikispaces with usernames and passwords. Keep it simple. Remember, user names must be at least 3 characters long and passwords must be at least 6 characters long. When creating names, you might want to use your school in it to make sure that name isn’t taken.

“Jessejamesps03 would be a great username.

JJ2032 could be their password (Initials and last four digits of their student number)

“Create your list so that it looks like the following format

(Username, password)

“Then just email the list to

“Make sure to include your username and the name of your wikispaces

“Please add the following users to my wikispace: www.mypracticewikiwiki.com

jessejamesps03, JJ2032

jennejamesps03, JJ2033

jiffejamesps03, JJ2034

“That’s it. Once you do that, you will get confirmation from Wikispaces that the accounts are created or your can check out the manage spaces of your wiki to see who members are. More about that later, but for now, it is time to work on your wiki!”

Participant Activity

Participants will...

Step 1: Brainstorm pages for their wiki.

Step 2: Add pages by entering them under “edit navigation”.

Step 3: Remember to use two brackets on each side and SAVE when finished.

Step 4: Create a list of usernames and passwords to mail to .

Step 5: Explore more options on Wikispaces by looking at the HELP feature on the top of your wikispace.

Facilitator Conferring

Circulate around the room and confer with participants. Make sure that participants have brainstormed pages and are entering them under “edit navigation” and that they are including brackets and saving them.

Give ideas for better usernames and passwords for their group members if needed. Take note of particularly good examples of work that can be presented during the Share. Create a list of wikispaces that participants created for the Share.

Typically lasts about 10–20% of session.

Ask selected participants to share particularly good examples of their work.

Lead a discussion about how this work addresses the focusing questions. Encourage members to send messages to other users with comments if they want to be part of the Web 2.0 movement.

Acknowledgements

This session was developed in collaboration with the following people:

Author: Robert McDougall

Email:

School/Employer: IS 195 – Roberto Clemente School

Title: Literacy Coach

TEMPLATE DESCRIPTION

Each session contains the following components and can be conducted in 45–60 minutes:
Session Overview
This is a concise summary of the session, and how it fits into the training series as a whole.
Focusing Questions
These are the specific questions that guide the session. The purpose of the session is to address these questions.
Materials
This is a list of all materials that the facilitator must make sure are present at the training site, including technology resources.
Resources
All handouts can be found linked from the Resources section of the participant agenda. Participants will be able to access these materials online during the session, but the facilitator should review them ahead of time, and any instructional support charts should be posted in the room before the session begins.
Framing the Session
The facilitator explains to the participants what will be covered in this session, how it fits into the training series as a whole, and how it may be incorporated into their reflective practice.
Teaching
This is a short period of facilitator-led instruction designed to prepare the participants for their work time. The facilitator might demonstrate a specific use of technology in an authentic curricular context, selected participants might be invited to share relevant experiences, or the group as a whole might contribute to a shared brainstorming list. The facilitator should be careful to avoid giving a lengthy lecture or straying too far from the focusing questions.
Guided Practice
Sometimes it is helpful for the facilitator to walk the participants through a process step by step. This gives the participants the hands-on experience of work time before losing the scaffolding of facilitator-led instruction.
Getting Started
The facilitator gives instructions to the participants for their work time, and lets them know what they will be expected to share at the end of the session.
Participant Activity
Participants are given time to practice the specific process they have seen demonstrated. They may be working independently, with a partner, or in small groups.
Facilitator Conferring
As participants work, the facilitator moves around the room holding short conferences to help guide the work and make it more productive. The facilitator should be at eye level with participants during each conference. These conversations need not be especially private; the facilitator may invite someone sitting nearby to listen in. If common needs among the group emerge, they can either be addressed immediately or during the sharing time.
Share
Participants gather at the end of the session to demonstrate what they have done, discuss experiences they have had, and reflect on what they have learned. This is an opportunity to return to the focusing questions that began the session, and discuss what has been accomplished in the interval.
Acknowledgements
This section acknowledges those who contributed to the creation of this session.
iTeach/iLearn Project Overview

The Office of Instructional Technology (OIT) envisions providing the instructional community with technology-rich tools and resources to enhance the teaching and learning process while improving student achievement. We envision students using mobile wireless computers as a tool for achieving high academic standards, supported by standards-aligned, technology-infused curriculum, and highly qualified, well-trained, technology-literate teachers.

Each session contains the following components and can be conducted for teachers in 45–60 minutes:

Session Overview

This is a concise summary of the session, and how it fits into the training series as a whole.

Focusing Questions

These are the specific questions that guide the session. The purpose of the session is to address these questions.

Materials

This is a list of all materials that the facilitator must make sure are present at the training site, including technology resources.

Resources

All handouts can be found linked from the Resources section of the participant agenda. Participants will be able to access these materials online during the session, but the facilitator should review them ahead of time, and any instructional support charts should be posted in the room before the session begins.

Framing the Session

The facilitator explains to the participants what will be covered in this session, how it fits into the training series as a whole, and how it may be incorporated into their reflective practice.

Teaching

This is a short period of facilitator-led instruction designed to prepare the participants for their work time. The facilitator might demonstrate a specific use of technology in an authentic curricular context, selected participants might be invited to share relevant experiences, or the group as a whole might contribute to a shared brainstorming list. The facilitator should be careful to avoid giving a lengthy lecture or straying too far from the focusing questions.

Guided Practice

Sometimes it is helpful for the facilitator to walk the participants through a process step by step. This gives the participants the hands-on experience of work time before losing the scaffolding of facilitator-led instruction.

LessonTemplate

Getting Started

The facilitator gives instructions to the participants for their work time, and lets them know what they will be expected to share at the end of the session.

Participant Activity

Participants are given time to practice the specific process they have seen demonstrated. They may be working independently, with a partner, or in small groups.

Facilitator Conferring

As participants work, the facilitator moves around the room holding short conferences to help guide the work and make it more productive. The facilitator should be at eye level with participants during each conference. These conversations need not be especially private; the facilitator may invite someone sitting nearby to listen in. If common needs among the group emerge, they can either be addressed immediately or during the sharing time.

Participants gather at the end of the session to demonstrate what they have done, discuss experiences they have had, and reflect on what they have learned. This is an opportunity to return to the focusing questions that began the session, and discuss what has been accomplished in the interval.

Acknowledgements

This section acknowledges those who contributed to the creation of this session.

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iLearn Science Session E.4: Setting Up a Wiki Account to Share Science Fair Porjects