Discussion+Summary

=How to control the use of Wikis and blogs in order to facilitate students' learning?=

- Jocelyn Cheung
As Harold Ross concluded that "editing is the same as quarreling with writers---same thing exactly", it is important for teachers to make the best use of new technology and facilitate students' learning, rather than seeing the students' wasting the good resources for learning when they cannot maintain self-discipline on the internet.

One of the reasons for making use of Wikis and blogs for students' learning is to make learning their daily lives. Such comfortable learning environment can encourage collaborative learning, and create an online classroom. It also allows freedom and flexibility for students in expressing their own opinion freely and exchanging their ideas. Compared with the face-to-face classroom learning environment, online learning, especially Wikis and blogs which allow students to write their own ideas, is definitely a less stressful and more relaxed environment for learning. The ultimate goals of using both technologies are that they let students understand the clear value of using blogs or Wikis for learning, gives students a sense of achievement and build up their confidence.

Yet, the new technology has its problems, and the problems mainly come from how the users of the material, both teachers and students, use it. For senior form students, it is true that they are more self-disciplined and self-motivated. Therefore, they can benefit from the more authentic environment of blogs and Wikis, and the blgo entries would be more analytic and evaluative. But for the junior forms, since they might not fully understand the purpose of using such technology and the advantages of using wikis/blogs, they might not be as well-behaved as the seniors, hence be less willing to write on blogs. They might also speak irresponsibly, make irrelevant remarks and change and even delete essential material, which would greatly disturb other students learning. Another problem which would happen in both junior and senior forms is that blogs and Wikis could be a stressful learning module, as students concern about the comments from others, they might not be expressing their views freely, which hinders students' learning as well.

To solve the above problems, it is essential for teachers to set up rules with the class and give clear instructions to students. Since Wiki is used by both teachers and students, both parties have the responsibility to come up with the guidelines together and set up the best learning environment. Teachers should take part in the discussion as to let students be motivated in using the technology. Teachers should also make sure students mind their speech and do not do something irrelevant. Little pressure should be given by the teachers in online discussions to allow free flow of students' views, as great suppression would hinders their motivation in doing the work . From the participants' feedback and comments, students could gain recognition from both teachers and classmates, and it would be a great encouragement in their learning. On the other hand, teachers should record what the students' did online and show the names of authors to make them responsible for what they said.Giving rewards and punishment could be a possible way to better utilise Wikis and blogs. Teachers can set up some rules such as, if the students do their work well, they would get bonus to their final grade of that subject ; if students do not do their work well, their marks will be deducted and banned from editing Wikis. It is not suggested for teachers to print out the discussion notes, as students may think their work will be judged and hence, won’t voice out their true opinion.

There might be a possibility that teachers would not have time to do the extra IT work. Yet, online tools encourage a type of learning that face-to-face teaching cannot afford. Teachers and students are able to have more time for discussing the issues online. Online asynchronous communication enables equal participation. It allows those shy students to express their opinion through an online soapbox. Generally speaking, IT including blogs and wikis helps students’ learning rather than hinders it.

=**- Vivien Cheung**= It is a common practice for teachers nowadays to set up course websites for the classes they teach in order to share online materials or resources there. This is beneficial to students’ learning in the sense that they can obtain something other than the printed texts. Yet, a concern is raised towards the effects on students’ self-motivation to learn – convenient access to these materials may turn students to be lazy to look for extra materials on their own. Summarized from the online discussion, it can be concluded that the effects depend largely on how the teachers utilize the materials, what the teachers include and the quality of the materials included. At the outset, teachers should be cautious of how they utilize the materials. In order to motivate students to learn by using the online materials provided and even to look for extra materials, the tasks teachers set for student to complete are crucial. If the teachers ask students to complete tasks of which the answers can be find directly from the materials or links provided, without doubt students will not look for something extra which is not necessary in completing their assignments. On the other hand, if the teachers actually require students to provide additional resources or useful links as an assignment, there will be a need for students to do an online research instead of simply reading what is provided. Indeed, if the task is set to be compulsory, it may be true that students are not really SELF-motivated but forced to find something extra. However, this at least ensures that students do read more rather than being spoon-fed. Apart from the tasks teachers set for students, the quality of materials or resources provided is of vital importance to motivate students to learn. In the first place, the provided materials or resources must be useful, relevant and, above all, interesting. In some cases, teachers share poor or irrelevant materials with students, which will upset students and even ruin students’ motivation to learn. Or, in other cases, the materials provided are so complicated or boring that students do not even want to read, not to mention looking for something extra. On the other hand, if the materials are useful and interesting, even lazy students or surface learners would be motivated to learn and search for more. Besides, if the materials are inspiring, students would be stimulated and their interests towards certain topics would be boosted. They will then become self-motivated to find something extra in the related fields. Last but not least, what the teachers provide for the students online is also a factor determining whether the materials will end up promoting laziness. For the convenience and benefits of students, some teachers tend to put up detailed handouts on the course websites so that students can recall what they have learnt in class. Nevertheless, this may lead to students’ passive participation both in and outside the classroom as they can get everything from the internet. Thus, it is essential for teachers to control what should be put there and what should not. They should be reminded not to share detailed notes but summarized outlines or supplementary notes on the websites. In this way, students can do self-revision on the internet and they will not have any excuse to be lazy. After all, students’ self-motivation depends largely on their own eagerness to learn. Deep learners who are keen on learning better have the motivation to read something extra no matter they are provided with extra resources or not while surface learners and low achievers may not be likely to read what is provided. However, teachers can still succeed in motivating students through the provision of online resources that are interactive and beneficial. So long as the teachers are also aware of how they make use of the materials and what they should or should not provide, the provision of online resources is not necessary detrimental in motivating students’ self-learning.
 * Effects of provision of online resources in students’ self-motivation to learn **