Hi,
I've just finished putting together a Wiki for my students for this fall to
use with vocabulary. As I was putting it together, it stuck me that it would
be perfect for this group to work on grammar scope(s) and sequence(s)
collaboratively.
Just in case you don't know what a wiki is, I'll explain. Wiki are online
spaces where groups of people can edit, link, and upload content on any page
in the space. They can be public (anyone can view and edit), protected (anyone
can view, members can edit), or private (only members can edit and view).
Wikipedia is the most famous, but wikis are everywhere. I have one set up
for a vocabulary unit. Each page has a sentence from our literature book that
uses the vocab word. The students have to add content to each page and make a
certain number of edits (I can track the edits backdoor so no one can abuse
the system.) They find examples and explain usage, find pictures that
illustrate, connect the word to their lives, books, movies, etc. There is a
discussion tab on each page to ask questions, make comments, etc.
There are numerous examples on the web of wikis that students and/or
teachers have made to replace textbooks. Here's an interesting article that
discusses
wikis:(_http://www.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2006/08/04/a_new_high_tech_take_on_school_group_project/_
(http://www.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2006/08/04/a_new_high_tech_take_on_school_group_project/) ).
Why not start an ATEG grammar wiki? When we were done, we would
collaboratively have put together something useful for teachers and students alike. I
envision a splash page with links to different philosophical starting points.
From there you can add pages, link to others, upload diagrams, etc.
I have no idea what the finished project would look like, but wouldn't it be
fun to see if the group of dedicated people could at least get something on
"paper" to look at? You want parts of speech? Start a wiki section that uses
parts of speech. You prefer word classes? Get together with the people who
want word classes and get going!
It just seems like we are always arguing. I don't get to the conferences
(I'm limited to one a year, and I have to go to NCTE), so from the sidelines,
it's a bit frustrating so hear all the arguments, and see none of the
collaboration. Here's a way to get everyone involved. And we could get lots of
non-ATEG colleagues involved. Maybe that would help with ATEG numbers.
I use the free Wikispaces at _www.wikispaces.com_ (http://www.wikispaces.com)
. The only real problems I have are that there's no spell check and that
when large numbers of edits are being made at the same time, it's possible
overwrite each other.
Any thoughts?
~Gretchen
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