Editing Encyclopedia:Colloquium/archives/December 2006 (section)

== Student Passport ==

I dont know if you were talking about it, but I will ask here. I think there is a need to give each user will have a subpage where only sysops will be able to add in data. This subpage can callect basic information about the user, but also can give and idea in which pages the user si active and if he is a student or a teacher. It could be good for example for the teachers of the highly dificult lessons that the teacher might have a look onto this student identification card to see what subjects/lessons/projects he allready passed and give effectivness to his studying of the appropriate subject.

The second point is, that students can obtain a student passport showing the results of their studying. This can help to the students who would like to study on other Wikiversities in other languages, that the teachers from other versions will see what they have studyed. But not only within wikiversities, but maybe for the future needs in the normal civil live(on normal colleges) it can be used.

To say how student passed the subject/lesson... i would offer to have to possibilities:
*studyed without exam
*passed exam/recieved credit (marks - blah, blah, blah = classification) - these ending exams should be optional, also the way if there will an exam to obtain the credit should be optional, but the classification standardised.--[[User:Juan|Juan]] 18:50, 6 December 2006 (UTC)
:The board doesn't like the concept of "courses", and I doubt that we will use "formal" credit/points/grades as a means of passing and failing people.  However, exams and grades can be used as tools to help hone your skill so users can go out and take test in the real world and receive credit. For more info, see [[Test and Quiz]]--[[User:Rayc|Rayc]] 19:44, 6 December 2006 (UTC)
::Looks good I will study more about that.--[[User:Juan|Juan]] 12:38, 7 December 2006 (UTC)
::So this ([[School:History#Planned_Courses]]) is illegal?--[[User:Daanschr|Daanschr]] 21:40, 6 December 2006 (UTC)

:I'm not sure what you have in mind for a "student passport". One record of what anyone does at Wikiversity is their edit history (see "my contributions"). Wikiversity participants who are interested in helping others understand how they have made use of Wikiversity learning resources can keep a diary or portfolio that describes the important aspects of their Wikiversity participation on their user page. Sysops have no special authority to "certify" or otherwise evaluate the learning activities of Wikiversity participants. --[[User:JWSchmidt|JWSchmidt]] 20:26, 6 December 2006 (UTC)

Yeah, thats what I ment. A summary of placed in such as portfolio. But now I see that you tend to not to certify people in here.--[[User:Juan|Juan]] 20:36, 6 December 2006 (UTC)

'''courses'''. I think we need to make a distinction between "traditional course" and "wiki-format course". Traditional courses usually involve a formal system of school accreditation, teacher certification, student registration for courses that require students to perform specific tasks in a specified time period so that they can be awarded a grade as part of an extended degree program or course of study. Wikiversity is not the place for that kind of traditional course structure. You can develop "wiki-format courses", but we do not want to create a situation in which new visitors see the term "course" all over the wiki, assume we mean traditional courses, and then only slowly can those new visitors realize that there are no traditional courses. --[[User:JWSchmidt|JWSchmidt]] 23:30, 6 December 2006 (UTC)

:That sounds good. I don't like the terms test and quiz. It would be a good idea to start several experiments on how learning can be best organized. What i like to take over from the traditional course is discipline. Learning is not always pleasant. To be able to acquire a higher level of expertise, it is mandatory to perform tasks that could take lots of time and effort and which have to be performed in a certain time schedule. This also requires the possibility of failure. 

:I am thinking about starting a course of history, with the topic ''the history of Shanghai as a treaty port 1842-1946''. I made a paper on this topic this year and the literature i examined gives a good view on the problems involving historical research. The topic could be interresting for students, because it involves questions like ''What is the difference between the traditional Chinese culture and the western culture in the Modern Age?'' and ''Why did the west dominate China for a century long?''. Discipline will be obtained by forcing students to at least post minimum amount of edits per week in mandatory debates and to write essays in which i will ensure that the information can't be easily taken from the internet. This course should be seen as an experiment. Any suggestion on the substitute of the word course? Does wikicourse sound nice?--[[User:Daanschr|Daanschr]] 10:44, 7 December 2006 (UTC)

::Hmm you have a good ideas. But in my case I will not said to the students that this they should do. I will, just recomend them to do that and I will also give them a chance to go for a test. Anyway it is very interesting how here on wikivirsity every instructor has its own metodology. Sometimes this diversity you can´t see on normall universities. So I hope it will be possible also for the future and there will not be restrictions for standardization. Finally thic could be a good area for study reasearch based on teachin/studying methods on wikiversity for someone outside for the wikiversity.--[[User:Juan|Juan]] 12:38, 7 December 2006 (UTC)

:Now its clear form me. I thought that I understant when [[User:Rayc|Rayc]] said: ''The board doesn't like the concept of "courses"'', but after your explanation its clear.--[[User:Juan|Juan]] 12:38, 7 December 2006 (UTC)

:::I agree with you that there will not be restrictions for standardization. In my view, Wikiversity will be having multiple groups all with their on set of standardizations. This would ensure the most of creativity, which is needed for inventing the best way of learning on the internet.

:::I am having second doubts. I don't know wether it is a good idea to ask for so discipline. I only have a bachelor of history, so it would be better to be the primus inter paris instead of a strict authority. Allthough, i would like to keep the rule of a minimum amount of edits per week, this to ensure that active participants won't suffer on the inactivity of those who only participate halfheartedly. Commitment is important especially on the internet, with its huge lack of social control. I am enthusiastic about this proposition: [[Wikiversity:Wikiversity Local Live]].--[[User:Daanschr|Daanschr]] 11:23, 8 December 2006 (UTC)

::::"those who only participate halfheartedly" <-- In a very fundamental way, the ability to "only participate halfheartedly" is built into the wiki format. I think it will be natural for wiki participants to edit in different ways. Some participants will edit very little, some may participate in discussions and edit their user pages so as to document what they are learning about and others might actively create and develop learning resources by editing in a more active way. I think it is possible to make a distinction between "active participants" and more casual editors. Many Wikiversity content development projects and learning projects have lists of "active participants". These lists are a tool to help build collaborations.  --[[User:JWSchmidt|JWSchmidt]] 16:46, 8 December 2006 (UTC)

:::It would be an experiment. If it doesn't work, then no harm is done. The deficit is that non-active participants will not be able to join, but the good thing about it is that active participants remain active. I play a boardgame online, which considerably build up speed when deadlines were introduced, otherwise it would have been terminated.--[[User:Daanschr|Daanschr]] 19:10, 8 December 2006 (UTC)

:::Another experiment could be to have active participants who submit to deadlines and at the same time non-active participants (with less privileges) who can participate as well. Not getting the deadline, will automatically imply losing privileges.--[[User:Daanschr|Daanschr]] 19:12, 8 December 2006 (UTC)

::::Well, from [[Spanish/Students|this]] list of people, we can sort of tell people who sign up for classes don't seem to want to do any assignments given to them. I'm having doubts that assignments outside of a formal class will ever get turned in.  Though free form learning seems to be going well.--[[User:Rayc|Rayc]] 04:15, 9 December 2006 (UTC)

:::::Everybody is free to choose were they want to join. If an experiment of mine is not appealing enough, then it could be a failure. In the Netherlands we have the expression: ''De aanhouder wint'', 'those who persist win'. So i will persist. Failure is only possible when you quit. (Allthough a sense of reality can be very handy)--[[User:Daanschr|Daanschr]] 09:50, 10 December 2006 (UTC)