Authorship+works!

Tacit skills:

 * =====I have found that students come into the classroom with a wealth of tacit skills that did not appear in students up until recently. They are used to creating and publishing their own thoughts, views, work in many different fora. Some of them as musicians have published their work on MySpace and other sites - and they have technological skills in producing their own music. Many students have skills in photography and manipulation of images that they would not previously have had before the age of digital cameras.Their constant interaction with media and the online world means they have a greater awareness of it in the world around them than previous generations - and they have a stronger visual literacy as a result. =====

Constructivist learning theory:
Each of us has a unique history and experience of culture, and neuroscience shows that much learning takes place through associating new information and experience with that which we are already familiar (Luce-Kapler, 2007). By utilising multimedia learning tools that engage users through many different ways with image, text, audio, and video, and with rich sources of content, there are many opportunities for points of connection with the users experiences and history (Keengwe, Onchwari & Wachira. 2008), and the potential for engagement through all three of the modalities. A varied and rich multimedia learning experience also brings increased student focus, enthusiasm and motivation to the task (ADS, 2006).

Collaborative learning:
Through the use of technologies such as blogs and wikis, students gain the ability to work collaboratively with their fellow students, peers from other schools and across cultural boundaries.

With wikis there is great potential for collaboration through shared authorship, brainstorming, information gathering, and group based writing projects. This can broaden the learning experience as students can build rich, deep information over time (Yan, 2007).

Technology makes it possible to create learning that teaches skills in working as a team, where the success of the project depends on the team working together, such as exchange of information and resources, supporting each other and providing constructive criticism, responsibility and accountability, and self and other evaluation (Johnson, Johnson, Stanne 2000).

McKay, Thurlow and Toomey-Zimmerman (2005) highlighted how teenagers are already co-producers of the web, in authoring blogs, creating video, audio and even websites, so collaborative work and self-authoring is second nature to them. Peer-to-peer review is a natural progression from that.

Self evaluation - reflection:
When students use the internet to publish their work, thoughts, and ideas, it enhances their self-evaluation skills, empowers them by turning them into authors and publishers, and allows them to receive feedback on their work (Sun, 2009; Yan, 2007). Blogs can be networked so that a class, or an entire campus, can present their ideas and findings to their peers.

//Do you have any research on this area? Please let us know if you have. //

//“Students engaged in technology-rich environments show significant gains and achievement in all subjects, increased achievement, and improved attitude toward their own learning, and increased self-esteem”.// (Keengwe, Onchwari & Wachira. 2008).