The DATA

Met with my supervisor today to discuss the data. It turns out that my tip did not solve the issues of group work....completely. The major concerns that were presented included frustrations in using technology and still student's wanted me to keep all members of the group accountable. I wonder if they recognize or have forgotten that I can view who has done what. I think that science labs present a concern because if one student does not complete a part of the lab on time it makes it difficult for the others to work on their part of the lab. Also, the dynamics of the group changed. They felt that they had lost ownership of their work since other students could go ahead and edit their work. The old mentality of "ask before you change anything" was present. Still some students preferred to physically meet as they appreciated instant feedback.

Wetpaint has added some new changes which have improved the social aspect. Just received a message in my inbox. Might be just what the students are looking for?

Where I am at

Surveys have been completed by the students. I have reviewed the data with a colleague and currently working to summarize the information. There is quite a bit to sort through. There are certainly a lot of ideas of how to do this better the next time around.

I have spent some time researching articles on my school's e-library and have added articles to my folder. Have sent a few links to my group members. I hope they will find them useful. I was not able to figure out how to upload them to delicious as a password is required, however I was able to send the resource through email. Does anyone remember what format we are using for our annotations?

Planning to get some video clips responses from students in the next week to put together a short vodcast. I hope I remember how to do this!

I am a little overwhelmed thinking about how I am going to get all my ideas down on paper. It would be helpful if we had a format of how the layout should look. 

Surveys

Only the two classes I have provided time for to complete the online survey have done so. I asked the other  classes to complete the online survey at home and it has not happened. Probably there is too much on their plate, so I will need to endeavor to force them. I will provide some time for them this week. That way, I can take a look at the data and begin pulling out some important information. I have scheduled to meet with a colleague to discuss the survey report.

Two heads are better than one and usually there is something I end up missing. I had a hard lesson this week. 

Feedback

Ok, today I had my A Block give feedback to all the other core blocks on a discussion thread (on the wiki) titled feedback. What great insights and feedback they provided. I was really really impressed. Last night I started a discussion thread for their work so they could see what I was hoping for them to continue with the other blocks. 

Anyways, it went well and they caught more things than I might have. More than one pair of eyes is an asset. 

Actually, I think that a lot of learning was going on. I am a happy camper today.

A few updates

The school computers are slow....frustrating...anyways!

Have got the online survey going. Only one class has completed it thus far. I have read the responses.

A couple questions I have been tossing around with colleagues...
1) how should we assess group projects?

2) what is the easiest way to grade students on wikis

A difficulty ...how to correct work on wikis. Do I go in and edit their work? Or do I just give feedback on a discussion thread. Or what other brilliant ideas are out there?

Have also inlcuded an RSS feed on the wiki homepage to the Delicious tags that my students are using for each assignment/project. I give them a key word to use as a tag for each lab which they add to good resources. Now we have got some social bookmarking happening. The RSS feed is so much better than going in and out of Delicious to access resources.

Another day...another dollar

Changes to My TIP again

Thank you Reece and John, you have given me some new ideas and hope to compare some of our survey data once complete.

Good News about Research

The more I research, the more ideas I come up with for my TIP. In my next lab report, I will post the guidelines and specifications for the lab on the homepage. Also, I will require students to use a thread to discuss any concerns and share feedback rather than have students just edit one another's work. Now, we will get down to some real collaborating.