TeachOIT: a Blog for People Who Teach with Technology

If there is one thing more enjoyable than learning new ways to utilize technology, it is learning about new technology while eating delicious pie.

Yes. Pie. Three types. But we’ll get back to that.

The Wiki (made popular by the ubiquitous Wikipedia) was the topic for the first Emerging Technology and Pie workshop of the semester.  Although many consider Wikis to be an ominous, daunting technology, Wikis have made huge strides in the ease of use since their inception in 1994 with WikiWikiWeb. Rather than learning an entire system of commands, there are numerous sites now that offer a simple WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) editor that anyone with a browser and basic computer skills can navigate. Wikis have become infinitely more accessible to the everyday user – as one of the speakers remarked, “If I can do it, anyone can.”

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Academic Computing is pleased to announce our next “Emerging Technologies and Pie” event of the semester:

Using Wikis with Students
Monday, November 16, 2009
1:25 PM – 2:15 PM

Professors Millicent Thayer from Sociology and Kenneth Kitchel from Classics will join us to discuss their experience using wikis with their students. A “wiki” is a special type of web site that allows users to quickly edit and modify the content. Wikipedia, a collaboratively constructed encyclopedia, is probably the most well known example of a wiki. Wikis are being used in higher education for collaborations between students, instructors, and colleagues.

TO REGISTER:
If you are interested in attending this event, please follow this link to the registration form:
https://etna.oit.umass.edu/public/workshops
(If you are asked to create an account, remember to register for the workshop after that!)

About Emerging Technology and Pie
“Emerging Technology and Pie” is an interest group for faculty and instructors who would like to learn about the latest technologies for learning and teaching. These sessions are intended as quick overviews with discussions about the application of these tools. Faculty have priority for these sessions when seats are limited. And yes, we really do serve pie.

Note: If you are interested in hands-on training in these tools, we are happy to provide it through the Instructional Media Lab (instruct@oit.umass.edu or 545-2823).

Questions? Call us at 577-0072.

“If you build it, they will come” doesn’t always work with technology, and wikis are no exception. How do you get students to go to the resources you establish as part of a class, and how do you get them to engage with the material or the tool once you’ve gotten them there? If you are setting up a wiki for your students, or just thinking about using one, consider these tips:
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Wikis are an increasingly popular Web 2.0 tool being used for educational purposes, but wikis are also a tool that can be difficult to understand at first. Read on to learn more about what a wiki is, how you might use a wiki in your teaching, and where you can go to setup a wiki.

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