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This session was based on the bestseller, Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything by Tapscott and Williams, and emphasized how allowing students to collaborate on projects locally and globally increases their learning. The presenters shared that the last chapter of the book is actually on a wiki.

The powerpoint and other information for the session can be found on the wiki created for the presentation.

One of the presenters is the founder of globalschoolnet.org, a non-profit organization that supports teachers using technology for collaborative projects. Some of the ways that she suggested that collaborative technologies could impact learning are:

flexbooks – wiki versions of textbooks that could be easily update
co-created content where students work in teams to solve a problem or create something
global competition
blended learning spaces where some time is spent in face to face learning and some time is spent with online learning

Several collaborative tools were discussed also.

It is easy to see the value of having students collaborate and write for an authentic audience of their peers.

A recent post on the AASL blog has me thinking about pathfinders today. You know what pathfinders are, right? Those lists of resources that librarians make for every research project that is done in the library. The author of the post wonders if we aren’t sending students mixed messages when we talk about how they need to learn searching strategies and then be able to evaluate the information they find, but turn right around and hand them a list of “approved” resources to use. Why should they bother to learn anything about searching or evaluating information when they know that we’re going to tell them where to find the stuff they need? In a world of infoglut, I’m not sure that we are doing them any favors.

The author also mentions that she has started using a wiki site for her pathfinders and allowing teachers and students to help in their creation. Joyce Valenza has blogged about this idea also. While I love the collaborative aspect of all stakeholders contributing to a wiki pathfinder, I’m wondering now – are we leading our students down the wrong path? Post your thoughts in the comments.

Image citation: Chopwell-path to the river. Uploaded on March 24, 2008 by immarkcz. Attribution-Noncommercial-Share alike license.