Group Report in the Wiki Spaces

The original plan was to have six group reports doing six different topics; however, after reading through the questionnaires and looking at the early drop/add activity, we are going to do the group reports in the wiki space a totally different way. The whole class is going to use the same topic for the wiki space and each individual will tackle a different aspect of that one topic.

A wiki space is a "public space" that a general audience would seek out for information. "Wiki" means "fast" or "quick" in Hawaiian, and has come to mean "small" or "brief" in terms of report size. A brief report, however, does not mean that the information can be gathered and processed in a matter of minutes. Start by asking yourself, "what would people want to know about this topic?" The general subject of the class wiki will be daily "requirements" of health and nutrition. Each person has been given a particular vitamin or mineral from a random drawing.

( My topic is Folic Acid )

Articles are available through the OhioLINK Research Databases (using EBSCO) and, from a few reliable medical sites on the internet.See the OhioLINK e-handout if you do not know how to use that system to find information or visit the UT libraries home page and walk yourself through the process.

Keep an open mind as you investigate your topic. If the University were to host its own electronic encyclopedia or scholarly wiki article collection that the public could access and learn from, what would you want to take credit for teaching the world about the topic you are investigating?

Look for both the positive and negative aspects of a topic. In this case also look at the differences between requirements and "adequate intake" definitions. Remember this caution as you investigate your topic: keep an open mind;never research a topic looking to verify something you think you already know. In other words,

"There is no one incident that defines a person as close-minded or open-minded, but, over time, the way you apply your intellect, your natural capacity for inquiry, most certainly will fashion not only who you are perceived to be, but who you are. Consciously practicing true inquiry in class and in written assignments will ultimately make it easier for you to do in your ‘real' life" (Weinstein and Finn, 95).

The picture of what you're going to do with this project should be getting clearer. Gone are the days of research papers that just recap the current state of development in a simple area of science and inform the reader about "what's happening out there in the real world." Wikipedia is not an acceptable source to cite from, nor is it an acceptable pattern for writing up the information. Use Wikipedia as you would any other encyclopedia - as a source for names and synonyms for a topic or to locate sources in the reference list that might host creditable information.

What you will deposit in the wiki is the following:
1. The common name and alternative names for the element.
2. What does this element help the body do or not do?
3. What quantity is recommended for daily intake for an individual's health? This many vary by age and gender.
4. What should a person consume to meet that daily recommended intake, and how much of that food or beverage is required to generate that amount? [A daily vitamin/mineral tablet is not part of the recommendation for this.)
5. What are the symptoms or results if a person chronically gets less than the recommended quantity of this element?
6. What are the symptoms or results of a person getting more than the recommended dosage?
7. Add any special information about the element that the audience should know.

Include your sources of information for the information in a reference list at the end of your entry. You should consult three to five quality sources for your topic.

Criteria for evaluation include the following:

• the quality and accuracy of the information presented from the research
• the quality of the sources uses for the research
• the thoroughness of the execution of the assignment
• the accuracy and completeness of the documentation of sources in both the reference list and the in-text citations
• the effective use of space breaks and visual highlighting techniques to make the information accessible