Learning and Leading - March/April 2010

One morning before school, I had a terrible realization. I’d forgotten to post four pages on the wiki. Without these pages, the students had no place to submit their free-verse poems. Best case scenario: The students would write their poems and post them on random pages throughout the wiki. Worst case scenario: Students would not post them at all.

I dragged myself to school that morning knowing that the day’s lesson was ruined. Once I logged on to the wiki, however, I found that the pages were already there. I was perplexed. I certainly did not create them. When my class arrived that morning, I discovered that one of my students, recognizing that I’d neglected to post the pages, created them for me. I had never shown this student how to create pages; she simply figured it out.

The wiki empowered one student to help a hundred others get their homework done. How often does that happen?

Finding Their Voices

Every class has a certain number of students who are reluctant to participate. Over the years, I’ve tried a variety of tricks. I’ve given grades for class participation, I’ve provided self-evaluations, I have even offered candy incentives. The results have been mixed.

The real surprise working with the wiki was that the reluctant participants flourished online. One student wrote her free-verse poem and then wrote 25 personalized replies to her classmates. In school, she never raised her hand. Online she found her voice. And for once, this soft-spoken student did not have her words drowned out by her louder classmates. In cyberspace, everyone’s voice carries equal weight.

Teaching the Teacher

Two weeks into my poetry unit, a student informed me that my wiki was ugly. Her statement was honest, frank, and sadly, true. After looking at other wikis online, I found mine lacking in the pizzazz department. I offered the job of remodeling my wiki to a few students, and they eagerly took on the task. They quickly executed a makeover. I was so impressed with the transformation, I insisted that they teach me the techniques they used.

In this situation, the normal dynamics of the classroom were reversed: The students taught, and the teacher learned. What’s important, however, was that everyone took greater ownership of the final product.

When I think back to the workshop I attended, I am so glad I took the time to put the skills to use. There was an initial investment in time to construct the wiki, but once it was up and running, it actually saved time. Because the wiki is a collaborative tool, the students do more and the teacher does less. Now that’s an equation any overworked teacher can get behind.

Sometimes I get to the end of the year and I wonder: How much have my students learned? What was refreshing about the wiki was that I would often see my advice about writing reflected in students’ responses to each other. They were learning, and, when given the chance, they were willing to teach each other.

The job of teaching certainly isn’t getting any easier, but with Web 2.0 technology, perhaps some of the burden can be shifted from teacher to student. So I say, let the kids do the work. We may find that they learn more as a result.

—Joseph Lawlor, MEd, is a sixth grade language arts teacher in Westwood, Massachusetts. He is a team leader and editor of the school’s newspaper, and he enjoys finding creative ways to use technology to enhance learning and community.