Wikis and Collaborative Writing

One of the things that I have to do with my IB students this year is teach them how to write a commentary. It's basically an extremely detailed literary analysis, but it really is a pain in the ass to write.

I started them small with basic analysis, then we moved on to organization and claims, and now they're doing their first written commentary in small groups. I gave them about an hour to start in class, but told them to do the rest at home.

But however does one write a group paper when the group is not together? Here's where I introduced the concept of wikis, new to Blackboard and perfect for collaborative writing.

I showed them how to work the wikis, and one kid commented: "Wouldn't it be easier to do it through email?" I love it when I have an automatic answer that is indisputable.

"Why no. This is easier. See? You can work on it together without saving and sending the wrong attachment or the wrong version. Everything is right here and gets saved. And look, you can even look at the history to see all of the revisions!"

"Yeah. I you're right. I guess that is easier. Cool."

I kid you not. This is not me creating dialogue. He actually said this.

I'm curious to see how this works out. I'll be sure to let you know.