Student-centred technology-Wikis

The following is my rationale and design for a unit of work that I would incorporate group-based blogging into. Take a look and tell me what you think, it is only very rough so I do apologise :)

Year 10 Geography Studies
Unit of Work (Rough draft)

Year group:
Year 10 Geography Studies
Unit:
Effects of Humans on the natural environment
Focus:
Impact of humans on beaches and waterways
Culminating task:
Students form groups of 3-4 and develop their own class-based Wiki site. Their Wiki will be based on the field trip undertaken in week 4 to the local Farnborough Beach where they will examine the impacts of humans on this natural environment. Students will have to evidence their investigations on their wiki which will include uploading photographs, maps, students’ recognition of human impact on the environment, conversations with their classmates and recommendations made to Yeppoon’s Council as to what steps it could take to minimise these impacts.
Field trip:
One day will be allocated to this group travelling down to Yeppoon’s Farnborough Beach where they will examine the impacts that humans have had on the natural coastal environment. Students will be given a field trip booklet which requires them to draw maps and scenery where human impact is evident, take photographs of the human impact (sand dune warning signs, housing right on the coastline, litter, fishing etc.).

Week/Activity/Submissions

Week 1
Introduction to the concept of human impact on natural environments.
Introduction to wikis-model the process of how to create a wiki to students
Homework activities

Weeks 2-3
Continuation of the impacts that humans have on natural environments, look at national and international case studies, build on students’ declarative knowledge (terms, concepts, definitions).
Students start to engage with wiki technology and design their own wiki page (in their assessment groups of 3-4)
Students have to be able to demonstrate their procedural knowledge as they create their own wiki site and learn how to comment on their peers’ sites.

Week 4
Field trip preparations (field trip booklets) and undertaking the field trip (1 day).
Students need to have started to read through their field trip booklet and have developed their own group-based wiki site by now.

Week 5-10
Students work on this culminating task-blogging about their investigations, uploading images, maps, recommending steps to the Yeppoon Council, collaborating with peers about their work/findings/ learning journey/images etc.
Be working on their class-based blogs, collaborating effectively with their peers and submitting their blogs for assessment/marking

By incorporating this student-centred technology into my pedagogy in this manner, it is conforming to the principles outlined in the Engagement Theory. Kearsley and Shneiderman (1999) iterate that in order to maximise learning opportunities, pedagogy must emphasise a collaborative, project-based and authentic (real-life) focus.
This unit of work (while very broad) conforms to this notion, as students are required to work in groups to populate a wiki site, have to collaborate with their own group members and their classmate’s blogs, work on a project that forms the culminating task for the term and holds a real-life focus as the students see the impacts first-hand that humans can have on a natural environment (field trip).

Reference:
Kearsley, G & Shneiderman, B 1999, Engagement Theory: A Framework for technology-based teaching and learning, viewed 24 July, 2009, http://home.sprynet.com/~gkearsley/engage.htm.