The Plugged-In Professor

Tips and Techniques for Teaching with Social Media

Sharmila Ferris, Hilary Wilder

• Publisher: Chandos Publishing
• Year: 2013
• ISBN:
  9781780633428
• Topic: Computer Science
• Subtopic: Computer Science General
• Index: Computer Science

New technologies are transforming the way students work. The Plugged in Professor provides a timely and exceptional resource for using social media and other new technologies to help college students meet both general and discipline-specific objectives. The title covers techniques built around well-known social networking technologies, as well as other emerging technologies such as mobile phone and tablet apps. With a practical focus and reader-friendly format, this book shows educators how to apply techniques in each technology, and includes clear student learning objectives, step-by-step directions, observations and advice, and supplemental readings and resources. Twenty-five chapters by leading contributors cover key aspects of new technologies in education, in four parts: Writing, research and information fluency; Communication and collaboration; Critical thinking and creativity; and Integrative learning.

• Provides a cutting-edge resource for academics and practitioners in effective ways of reaching today's students through the use of their favourite tool, social media
• Outlines a range of strategies taking advantage of the unique learning styles and habits of net generation learners
• Exposes students to ways in which these technologies can be used in their professional and personal lives

Part 1

Writing, research, and information fluency

1

Writing for Wikipedia: co-constructing knowledge and writing for a public audience

Lori L. Britt

Abstract:

This assignment allows students to research topics in depth and become skilled at communicating academic knowledge for a public audience. The assignment draws attention to the collaborative construction of knowledge and the forces that shape what counts as knowledge and what gets disseminated. It also encourages students to consider how to organize information to be useful and illuminating to others, and how to consider connections between topics and concepts. The assignment engages students in critique, as they are more willing to critique and revise their writing when that writing will be accessible to the public. The assignment also exposes students to a social media information-sharing medium, Wikipedia, and encourages their critical consideration of the strengths and limitations of this online encyclopedic resource.

Key words

bridging classrooms and society

online writing

public audience

research

Wikipedia

Discipline/Academic areas addressed

Communication studies (but applicable to almost any discipline), epistemology (the study of knowledge), and expository writing skills.

Instructional purpose

The purpose behind using Wikipedia as a pedagogical tool is twofold: Students often engage with topics/content in courses as discrete ideas to be learned, filed, and discussed in the same terms that they were taught. They are hesitant to risk trying to reshape knowledge in their own voice and to see connections between topics that instructors do not explicitly articulate. Having students write and revise Wikipedia articles helps move students beyond just discussing information with the instructor and their peers where knowledge is confined within the walls of the classroom, to a recognition of knowledge as fluid, connected, and “alive”.

Second, writing for Wikipedia helps students integrate theoretical knowledge, and “own” it in such a way as to be able to re-present it, contextualize it, and make it meaningful and useful for others.

By understanding theories and ideas well enough to write and communicate them for a public audience on Wikipedia, students more actively engage in the material, explore connections, and participate in the collaborative construction of knowledge for public consumption.

Student learning outcomes

Students will write a Wikipedia article or offer substantial revision to an existing Wikipedia article on that topic. In doing so students will:

1. Translate academic knowledge of topics and concepts for a public audience.

2. Expand their research skills in multiple arenas: academic literatures, encyclopedia sources, and new sources.

3. Concisely describe a topic and communicate why it is important and relevant.

4. Distill information about a topic down to its most salient points.

5. Situate knowledge in social and historical contexts.

6. Recognize and reflect different perspectives on topics and concepts.

Prerequisite skills and knowledge

Prerequisite skills and knowledge for students

Students should have general research skills, an understanding of primary and secondary sources of research, and a familiarity with search functions in academic databases, both discipline specific and more general. Students should also be exposed to encyclopedia sources of information that are often not part of more general databases. Instructors may need to devote some time before the start of the activity to ensuring the appropriate skills.

Recommended prerequisites for instructors

Explore the Wikipedia Education Program information site

http://outreach.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia_Education_Program

to get a feel for the global initiative, then explore the U.S. Education Program site at

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:USEDU

to see how to get involved. See what types of courses people are infusing with Wikipedia projects, explore a variety of assignments, and see what universities and colleges are currently involved in the project.

While the Wikipedia Education Program is an invaluable resource and working through this program has many benefits, certainly any instructor could incorporate a project using Wikipedia without officially linking to the Wikipedia U.S. Education Program (WP:USEDU). However, there are a number of invaluable resources that are a part of this program (see “Supplemental materials”).

Step-by-step directions

The steps below are directed towards faculty.

Decide on how to incorporate a Wikipedia project into your course

1. Write your Wikipedia assignment (students create new Wikipedia pages, revise and e...

Table of contents

• Cover image
• Title page
• Table of Contents
• Copyright
• List of tables and figure
• List of abbreviations
• Acknowledgments
• Preface
• About the editors
• About the contributors
• Part 1: Writing, research, and information fluency
• Part 2: Communication and collaboration
• Part 3: Critical thinking and creativity
• Part 4: Integrative learning
• Index