Tom's Suggestions
From WikEd
The WikEd (pronounced wicked) Project
[edit] Introduction to this Democratic, Community Knowledge Construction Project
WikEd is an internet platform that enables all users to read and modify any of the webpages within it. WikEd offers the technology to conveniently construct knowledge from a number of sources. Thus, in this course we will continue to construct encyclopedic knowledge about educational psychology concepts, projects, and people into a number of webpages. These webpages are easy to construct and the system allows anyone to update, edit, correct, question and contribute to this knowledge base. For example, the classroom management strategy, Assertive Discipline (AD), is one of the listed concepts about which information is to be collected. One student will monitor the AD WikEd page which means that he/she will be responsible for researching information, and assembling it into the page. In addition, this monitor will have to deal with unsolicited contributions. This WikEd work will stay on the internet long after you complete this assignment, and others will continue building this community knowledge.
[edit] Preferred Topic Structure
I have a preferred page structure to help you collect and present information. It looks like this:
• Descriptions, definitions, synonyms, organizer terms, types of
• Application in classrooms and similar settings
• Evidence of effectiveness
• Critics and their rationale
• Alternative explanations due to Diversity considerations
• Signed "life experiences", testimonies and stories
• References and other links of interest
[edit] Explanation of Structure Headings
[edit] Descriptions, definitions, synonyms, organizer terms, types of.
This section explains what this concept is about. Official referenced descriptions and definitions are often adequate, but the audience sometimes needs synonyms and related concepts to begin to understand what you are talking about. Also, dictionaries and encyclopedias often don’t include the “edpsy�? aspect of the concept, like “punishment�?.
A history of the concept is often quite helpful. Who invented, termed, initiated the concept in question, and when? There is a scholarship premium on tracing the history accurately. Taking some other author’s word about this line of evidence is dangerous. Thus, if you use secondary sources, such as your textbook, for this type of evidence, be sure to attribute the historical account to your textbook author, and be sure NOT to use his(her) account as if you researched it. Rather, research it yourself using original sources.
[edit] Application in classrooms and similar settings
This section explains the relationship of this concept to the education environment, e.g., classrooms, home schooling, online learning, textbook design, etc. If there is no clear relationship, you might venture a guess as to why.
[edit] Evidence of effectiveness
The reader will expect this section to contain a review of the research on this topic, with special emphasis on how effective it was in an educational setting. “Reviews of Research�? found in many journals will be helpful here. Sometimes, there is slim to no research available on a topic, thus, make that point under this heading.
[edit] Critics and their rationale
Of course, virtually every aspect of educational psychology has its critics. Their arguments question the logic, research methods, research conclusions and their applications, plus many other aspects. To understand and represent the critics’ points of views are essential aspects of explaining a topic.
[edit] Alternative explanations due to Diversity considerations
There is a danger in education and psychology that we keep our focus too narrow when we make pronouncements about pedagogy, psychological processes, management systems, etc. For example, in psychology, we were criticized for discovering “laws�? and “principles�? by investigating animals in the laboratory – what application did those laws and principles have in the real world of the classroom?, we were asked. Currently, we in educational psychology are being challenged to explain how our pedagogies and systems apply across the quilt work of cultures, nationalities and language groups found in the 21st-century classroom. Thus, this section is the place to insert theories, research results and observations that suggest alternative ways to describe and interpret this WikEd topic based on cultural diversities.
[edit] Signed "life experiences", testimonies and stories
Many scholarly accumulations of knowledge do not value observations made by “pedestrians�?. That is, a conventional belief is that only a trained observer, working under controlled conditions can make and report convincing observations. WikEd is different. Here we value and request stories, testimonies and similar reports of the readers’ observations. Most of the readers here will be educators, and WikEd values their observations. In addition, we think it’s important that the contributor identify him(her)self with a name and other relevant information that would give authenticity to the information, e.g., Tom Anderson, 4th grade teacher for 15 years. In a similar way that people’s internal goals and stories influence their actions, so can these goals and stories influence their comprehension of declarative knowledge, such as portrayed on these WikEd pages. Thus, we invite readers to contribute their stories.
[edit] References and other links of interest
This section is reserved for the references used in the discussions in the above sections. Of course, web technology makes it possible to link words to other information sources within WikEd, as well as to other sources on the internet. An extremely valuable source is, Wikipedia. Where possible, WikEd topics should be linked to those in Wikipedika, and vice versa. Those linking strategies are to be used, as well, but not overused to the point that the document is not coherent – just a list of links.
Also, there is a scholarly premium of listing the “most relevant�? and convincing references concerning the topic. Those are the references that typically show up on virtually every list about this topic in respected books and articles.
Finally, no reference should appear that has not been read and approved by the contributor.
[edit] Some Helpful Websites
- For many classic, psychological journal articles, see the history of psychology collection. You can search these 200 or so articles by key words, as well as author and title.
- After uploading an image into the Image list, see Picture tutorial for help on how to display the image on your wiki page.
- Please add other sites as you locate them here.......
[edit] Getting Started with this WikEd Project
[edit] Spend some time with Wikipedia, the grandfather of the Wiki movement.
This project is attempting to collect all encyclopedic knowledge, in all languages, into a massive website! The goals of WikEd are a bit more modest.
[edit] Find WikEd and get started
[edit] Click in the upper right corner of the Main Page to Login and Get An Account
This account will keep track of the work that you do in WikEd, which will come in handy later in the course.
Plus, you can't edit WikEd unless you have an account.
[edit] Then, start moving around in WikEd by typing search words into the Search Box
Locate your Entries and see if anyone has been working on them already?
[edit] When you find a place to edit, make changes, look at the Preview, and Save it
[edit] Some reminders about developing community knowledge in a Wiki format
1. Of course, you can borrow ideas from other sources, but be systematic about referencing those sources – just like in a term paper. Also, if you borrow short sections of verbatim prose, you must bracket it in quotes and give proper credit to it.
2. To use materials that have a copyright, you must obtain prior written permission.
3. And, plagiarism is not valued in this educational exchange. Because of its public nature, most plagiarism will likely be detected and cause embarrassment!
4. The pressure is on the author to locate, review, and report the findings of the most "convincing" articles, reports, original manuscripts, etc. to make your explanation clear, accurate and rather thorough. Don't rely on 2nd and 3rd hand sources (like textbooks!) to formulate the core of your piece.
5. Be sure to check in Wikipedia for information related to your topic. MAKE SURE that your topic is LINKED from Wikipedia and to Wikipedia -- which means that you will have to do some editing in Wikipedia.
6. As you read and respond to the essays and wonderments of your classmates in Tom Anderson's courses, consider including in your WikEd page, some of the ideas that you encounter in Moodle. However, since the essays and wonderments in Moodle have a sheltered, limited audience (by design and preference), you must get written (email is ok) permission to include classmates' information - remembering of course to reference them. Finally, if you are being misrepresented in WikEd by a classmate, you can always remove or correct the erroreous information from his(her) WikEd page.
[edit] Template for Starting New WikEd Topic
- You can use this template in your WikEd page by copying it from the edit page and pasting it into your WikEd page.
