Reflections

Technology Effectiveness

Learning Plan:  The "written" assignment:  The instructional portion of my final project are these webpages, "Creating a Family Wiki Tree".  Technology elements used include:

• Google Page Creator, for creating this instructional document.  This was the best way to contain all of the information in a format that was easy to follow AND available to learners on the web.  It also compliments my wiki tree because I've provided a link to it for my family members, so that we can maybe keep this actively growing after this assignment.
• Digital Images:  The photographs used on my wiki project help illustrate the visual impact cropping and resizing have on a picture--something text can't always teach.
• Video:  The links to some of the videos I created for the wiki show learners one of the ways they can make their wiki more interesting, while using more photographs!  They also show the difference transitional video effects make on the final project, as my family video uses effects, but my wedding video does not.
• Text and Video Learning Links:  I included links to both text and video instructional resources available from wikispaces.com.  

The Final Project Sample:  The "activity" portion:  The sample project is vital to this learning experience because it gives learners a complete understanding of how they can use a wiki to share their family history.  They will be able to understand how the technology elements mentioned in the "Creating a Family Tree" come to life on a real wiki.  Learners of different intelligences may be able to process the information on how to create a wiki better if they see one "live".  Of course,  the wiki itself becomes a teacher as viewers look through its content and learn to make their own edits.  Here are the technology elements I used to create my wiki tree:

• The wiki itself:  I really feel that a wiki is a great way for families to organize, update, and share their histories, making it the best possible tool to use.  All members can update, edit, add pages, etc., making it much more interactive than a family website.  History is a living, growing thing that families share--recording it should be an interactive shared experience, too!  It is also a great framework for completing one of those pesky "Draw Your Family Tree" assignments that teachers love to give!
• Digital photographs:  Some of the images used on my wiki were taken with my digital camera.  These were the easiest to use when creating a movie later! 
• Scanned photographs:  These are unavoidable if you're trying to use historical family images on your wiki.  They add visual interest and really help the learner "connect" to their family history.   I spent many, many hours scanning and editing the photographs that I used on my wiki and for my movies!  Too bad they didn't have digital cameras in the 1940's!
• Videos:  I created 3 videos using Movie Maker and then uploaded them to YouTube before embedding them in the wiki.  The video on the wiki home page is an effective way of introducing the viewer to "who we are", rather than trying to upload a bunch of still photographs.  The other two videos are on my own "Kathleen" page of the wiki.  The first shows the story of how David and I came to be; the second is a video I created using our wedding photos.  I did not use transitional video effects in the latter one so that learners could see the difference they make in the end product.   Video really helps bring the viewer into the experience, while the learner (creator) is able to build their technology skills.
• Audio:  All 3 of my videos also have background music, making the viewing experience much more enjoyable...as long as you like the song.   Music really helps set the mood for the photographs...I know some of my own family has teared up watching my family movie, and I'm pretty sure the song was a contributing factor.
• Scanned Documents:  Scanning the Pickens History was quite an experience because it was written in pencil in the 1930's.  I had to manipulate it a bit in order to make it readable online.  A few of the larger Thatcher History documents were emailed to me by a relative--so that part was easy!  Although it took a bit of extra time to scan some of the birth certificates and newspaper clippings included, I think this technology component is a vital resource for a family wiki tree.  It enables other family members to view and download documents, so you don't have to keep putting them in the mail!  In addition to providing access for all viewers, it creates a digital archives that can hold up to the elements of time and nature considerably better than a paper clipping.  And--you don't have to find a microform machine to read it!
• Regrets!! I really wanted to add some digital recordings of family members narrating their history or a story and include it on the wiki.  I planned on interviewing my parents and sibling during Thanksgiving, but I didn't make it home.  Because of this, I didn't have the opportunity to include any Oral Histories that I think would be a great component on a family wiki tree.  Since I didn't do it myself, I couldn't really give directions, but I still wanted to make sure that learners were aware of the value these add to any historical project.  I provided them with the idea, if not the instruction, on my Oral Histories page.

The combination of these technology compenents will challenge learners regardless of which "intelligence" they hold the strongest.  It has been said that "just as the sounds of string, woodwind, and percussion instruments combine to create a symphony, the different intelligences intermix within a [learner] to yield meaningful scholastic achievement or other accomplishments " (Moran 2006).  While the wikispaces introductory links contain both video and text resources to suit different types of learners, the greatest cross-intelligence learning in the project comes from actually creating the wiki.  Learners will find themselves using digital writing, audio, or video to express the message they want to convey.   Whether a learner is of Interpersonal or Intrapersonal intelligence, this topic of wiki gives opportunities for reflection, sharing with the world, or simply expressing your creativity.   Additionally, the viewer will be able to become engaged in the wiki based on which elements appeal his/her style of learning:  some will be drawn to the videos, while others will spend the extra time reading the page text and linked documents.  Basically, this type of wiki "give(s) individuals the opportunity to exhibit their understandings by means of media and representation that make sense to them"(Veenema 1996).

The collaborative nature of wikis  is what really makes it appealing for applying the theories of Multiple Intelligences.   In fact, "Multiple Intelligences theory encourages collaboration across students" (Moran 2006).   While this ensures that wiki contributors will be able to balance on another's strengths and weaknesses, it also allows for a wider spectrum of participants holding different technological skill sets.   This document shows how someone with a very basic skill set can create and contribute, but wikis also allow those with advanced skills to showcase their talents.  Even someone that has never touched a computer can contribute by helping the creator gather documents and by being instructed how to type text onto the page.  The family wiki tree is truly one place that both Digital Natives and Digital Immigrants can come together to learn from one another.

Technology Issues

Learning Plan:  The "written" assignment: I did not run into any major technology problems with this portion, except that I absolutely could not get my "Screen Shots" into a usable format for inclusion on the learning pages.  I would have liked to have used these to help illustrate what the learner will see when they go to the web sites for wikispaces and YouTube.  However, since this document was getting pretty lengthy anyway and the websites really walk the new user through them, I decided that text would have to suffice.  Moreover, this part wasn't really intended to be my project, just the means to disseminate the actual learning experience.

The Final Project Sample:  The "activity" portion: One of the greatest concerns about using wikis is the ability for anyone/everyone to edit the content.  In fact,  these fears can have a negative impact on how well-used the wiki is.  "Users may refuse to place trust in wiki contents simply because changes can be made by everyone and incorrect, incomplete, redundant or out of date information in the wiki will increase this mistrust" (Davies 2004).

Alternatively, wiki community members may not feel comfortable fixing/editing the wiki's contents that actually are incorrect or outdated, which makes the whole point of using a wiki obsolete.   Researchers speculate that the lack of contribution can be due to a variety of factors, including:  not feeling at liberty to make changes, insecurities that the member is not as knowledgeable about the subject matter, and feeling that they cannot reformat the information in a way that is compatible with the content contributed by other community members.  Those same researchers suggest that a possible solution for reducing these fears  and other wiki problems (therefore increasing contributions)  is to "ensure that users have suitable training and that there are wiki users in place who have the specific task of refactoring data on the wiki" (Davies 2004).  Hopefully, this instructional site will help provide some background training for my own family members and will encourage them to actively contribute to my wiki tree!

Citations

Davies, Jonathan.  2004.  Wiki brainstorming and problems with wiki based collaboration.  A

       Report on a project submitted for the degree of Information Processing in the Department

       of Computer Science at the University of York.  Online PDF.

Moran, Seana, Mindy Kornhaber, and Howard Gardner.  2006.  Orchestrating multiple

        intelligences.  Educational Leadership 64(1):    22-27.

Veenema, Shirley, and Howard Gardner.  Multimedia and multiple intelligences.  The

       American Prospect 29(Nov/Dec):  69-75.

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