Online Projects, Collaboration Sites and Publishing Opportunities

Lesson Idea Name: Functions Wiki

Content Area: Algebra 2/Pre-Calculus/Calculus
Grade Level(s): 10-12
Content Standard Addressed: MGSE9-12.F.IF.A.1, MGSE9-12.F.IF.C.7

Technology Standard Addressed: ITSE Standards 2, 6, and 7

Selected Online Project/Collaboration Site/Publishing Opportunity: Microsoft OneNote (Used as a

collaboration site through the sharing feature- can be done in any proprietary wiki-creation app)

URL(s) to support the lesson: https://1drv.ms/u/s!Am_vxvQpVKR3m3tq0WWm3B26eUr4

Describe how you would incorporate an Online Project/Collaboration Site/Publishing Opportunity in your
classroom:
This lesson uses Microsoft OneNote’s unique collaboration and linking functionalities to create a personal
classroom wiki on any unit or topic (this lesson uses functions as an overarching topic). Microsoft OneNote is
particularly useful to use over other applications, mainly due to the fact that it is becoming increasingly
common throughout middle and high schools as a means for teachers to communicate and send content to
their students. However, this lesson idea still stands regardless of what wiki-creation software or site is used.
On top of this, OneNote is secure in the sense that only those that receive view or edit links to the notebook
can interact with the content, so there is no need to worry about student confidentiality. If the instructor
wanted to share the notebook outside the school, there are ways for the students to use pseudonyms or
avatars to retain anonymity.

The main idea of the lesson is to have a collaborative wiki that is run by the classroom that compiles
information on various topics within a unit and facilitates discussions on the material. Each student or pair of
students will be tasked with fleshing out a wiki page on a narrower section of the unit in whatever format
they think would best convey the information. The students will be required to connect their pages to others
using links and provide citations for any information that was not explicitly learned in class. On top of this, the
students will be tasked with acting as editors for other students’ pages, and will need to make comments to
correct, ask for clarification, or expand upon other students’ content. The students will also need to monitor
the provided discussion boards to see updates to pages or questions posed to the class.

What technologies would be required to implement this proposed learning activity in a classroom?
The only technologies required would be a computer or tablet and access to Microsoft 365 (usually provided
by the school district).

Describe how the following features are addressed in this learning experience (note: all of them may not be
addressed in the project, but most should be if you are reaching a high LoTi Level).
a. Collaboration with peers, near-peers, mentors outside their classroom and often beyond their
school: The wiki format alone promotes collaboration with peers, but on top of this, a view-only share
link can be created to share the wiki out to other classes or school districts.

b. Student-centered learning and knowledge creation (creating original data and or producing original
products as a result of engaging in a project): The students will be tasked with creating original
content pages for the wiki, and will have free reign when it comes to the design of the pages.

Spring 2018_SJB
 Online Projects, Collaboration Sites and Publishing Opportunities
c. Higher-order thinking: Part of the lesson requires students to analyze and comment on other students’
pages, which moves the lesson from just a collection of data to a discussion forum of ideas and student
thoughts.

d. Students publishing their original work to others who will use/care about their product: The
students’ pages will be entirely original (except cited material), and their classmates will be expected
to keep up with page updates and edits made to the pages. Beyond this, if the lesson is done early in
the year, the students can use the wiki as a reference later in the year.

Bloom’s Taxonomy Level(s):

☐ Remembering ☐ Understanding ☐ Applying ☒ Analyzing ☐ Evaluating ☐ Creating

Levels of Technology Integration (LoTi Level):

☐ Level 1: Awareness ☐ Level 2: Exploration ☐ Level 3: Infusion ☐ Level 4: Integration
☒ Level 5: Expansion ☐ Level 6: Refinement

Universal Design for Learning (UDL):

I think this lesson’s heavy focus on freedom of expression and student collaboration works to enhance the
engagement the students have with the content. Since the students are free to structure their pages how
they like, the environment created by the wiki will be unique to the classroom, and the students will be able
to engage with the creation process in the way that makes the most sense to them. I honestly think that
because of the bare-bones nature of the page setup in OneNote, creating an original page can be almost
daunting. However, if the students work in pairs, I think this could be a great exercise in collaboration.
Moreover, requiring the students to critique each other’s work and facilitate discussions over this critique
would be a fantastic way of getting the students to engage with content outside of their assigned page. This
discussion forces the students to think intentionally about the information they are presenting, and how they
can best present it so it is clear and consumable.

Lesson idea implementation and Internet Safety Policies:

This lesson should not have any risks in terms of internet safety since it is a “closed” wiki. However, there is a
risk posed in the students sharing an editable link out to people not intended to edit. I believe there is a way
to whitelist which users are able to edit the content, and also each edit is logged so the instructor can see
who exactly is making changes to the pages. Otherwise, there are no privacy or internet safety threats in the
use of this lesson.

Reflective Practice:
I think this lesson could not only create an extremely valuable (and student-curated) resource for the class,
but also help strengthen the class community through genuine discussion and engagement with the content.
This lesson is also very easily expandable since a wiki can be made as general as the community decides is
necessary. Plus, since OneNote allows the creation of personal notebooks, this could help students familiarize
themselves with the features provided by the app and enhance their organizational skills for their online
classes. I think using a web-based wiki creation app could enhance this project even further, since a wider
community could access it, though internet safety would become a much more prominent issue.

Spring 2018_SJB