Thoughtful Problem #13

1. Your superintendent has learned that you wrote a Wikibook, and he asks you for your reactions to the Wikibook process and how you think writing Wikibooks (or something like it) might have a place in school. He is so intrigued by your response that he asks you to summarize your ideas on one-page and submit it to him.
2. Write a one-page document (three to five paragraphs) that he can use to share your ideas with his cabinet and school board. In it relate your experience (positive and/or negative) in writing a Wikibook. Explain where such a creative (constructivist) activity might fit in a school. You may also explain where it might not be a good fit. Explain the problems you might expect the project to encounter, and how the problems could be minimized. Wikibooks are only for non-fiction textbooks. Don't let that restriction limit your response because other wiki sites could be used for fiction or non-textbooks.

My reflection on Wikibook writing

Marshall Mcluhan’s word, ‘media is the message’ is really true in Wikibook writing. Wekipedia is an increasing body of knowledge that one can observe through quickly pooling out the information. Writing on the Web is like creating a virtual representation of myself as a writer. It is a reputation of my writing capability as well as organization capability and Technological capability. It also examine my collaborative intelligence-The ability to pool knowledge and share knowledge with others toward a common goal.
From the very beginning toward end contribution in the Wikibook is pretty enthusiastic and somewhat challenging. Supervisor or project manager plays a vital role for any project to guide the whole project and to finish it smoothly toward end. To me organization of chapters and subtopics are the core part of Wikibook writing. Once chapter and subchapter organization is completed and job is divided, then project is easy to handle, because each individual has own responsibility to finish the particular portion. Formatting text, paragraph, page and image is very challenging. Visual appearance, readability and overall appeal are all important in formatting Wikipedia. All kinds of plagiarism are prohibited from Wikipedia. Uploading an image can be challenging, if someone miss any required steps. Collaborative editing is the most interesting thing.

Middle school and high school teacher for history, geography and science subjects can start a project in Wikipedia like this. As middle and high school kids tend to be technology savvy, a book writing project can bring enthusiasm for some boring topics. It has two sides ,Individual responsiblty for one chapter or subchapter as well as knowledge gaining from peers. 21st century skill is collaborative, management skill like project management , how they handle a project , leadership , cooperative skill, communication skill, time management skill,thinking and problem solving skill,Information and communication technology (ICT) literacy, all a teacher can assess through a constructivist project. How a student comprehend new ideas, solve problem, make decisions all can be assessed through a collaborative project in constructivist environment. As Wiki book or any wiki site is free of cost, any middle and high school teacher can jump into it with their students. Wikibook is a collaborative academic writing. It brings higher level of motivation. Learning from peers,sharing expertise within a group, combining text with images, video and sound all are motivating and interesting for kids.