The profile wiki asked that students create their own profile and post it to the wiki and then view the profiles to choose a partner to work with on further postings. The activity was clearly scaffolded on Moodle to walk students through the process of creating a profile. Included in the structure was a video tutorial that demonstrated the technical aspects of how to go about posting a profile. The profile itself was scaffolded by way of a template that listed the questions to be answered along with the nature of the desired responses.
I found this to be a straightforward experience despite what I consider to be a certain amount of trepidation encountered when trying new things dealing with computers. I was particularly worried when I read of other having difficulty with their post disappearing. This reinforced in me the reminder to not be afraid to try new things and embrace technology. I felt rather empowered when I was finished. Part of me was encouraged that I had no problems, which in turn raised my self-efficacy. This experience could be very helpful if applied to my students. When dealing with a potentially intimidating task (technology or regular) if it is scaffolded correctly it can have a positive affect on self-efficacy. For some students this will not be an issue as they are likely to be more tech savvy then I am, however, others may struggle. I should not assume that just because someone was born into the computer generation they are tech savvy.
This activity could also serve students as an introduction to wiki’s if they are not yet familiar with them. Most students are familiar with Wikipedia, but I am not sure they grasp the concept of an open community that works collaboratively. For my teaching of business this could be a very useful type of activity. It combines partnership with technology, which are both important areas of study. It could also show some of the steps and value of networking.
For me the downside of the activity was the early structure made the connectedness portion almost useless. When I first signed on and posted my profile I was assigned to a group of five people. Two of the people had already partnered and a third was posting solo. I read their profiles but my choice was limited to one other individual. About a week later the groups were dissolved and you could choose anyone but I had already chosen. Someone who I had met in residential school contacted me a week later and we added her to our group.
The learning theories present in this activity included connectivism, behaviourism, and cognitivism. The connectivism was considerably less than what it could have been but there was still an element of connecting with others. It would have been stronger if the groups were not so small at the beginning. The behavior elements are inherent in the idea of assessed assignments. In order to receive a passing mark there is an expectation that work will be undertaken and a failure to do so will result in an unsatisfactory grade. Additionally, I am assuming one of the aims of the program is to have the students undertake continuous automatic reflection. Having to do continuous reflection on our teaching areas, learning theories, and personal growth to receive satisfactory marks may translate into a habit of reflection on teaching indeterminately. Finally the process of blogging should help the ideas about teaching move from our working memory into our long-term memory.
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