Collaboratively written notes can reflect the collective experience of the class in a way that individual notes cannot. The notes your group writes for ENGL 493 should capture what happens in the classroom -- synthesizing the discussion, referencing the visuals, highlighting times of confusion and understanding -- and then archive it and make it available for the entire class. I even encourage students to document appropriate moments with their cell cameras and to incorporate annotated versions of this “evidence” into the wiki. The note-taking students can also use the Twitter backchannel as another source for their notes.
There are several key elements that make up a useful set of notes. At the very minimum, each day's note's should include the following:
Key terms and concepts that came up in class, along with definitions (which you may research after class in order to flesh out).
The group notes should be clearly written and easy to read. Also be sure that the notes are well-edited and formatted before you share them with the class by the deadline.
It is misleading to think that a simple division of labor equals collaboration. The beauty of a wiki is that everyone contributes to all aspects of it. Through a process of give-and-take, a kind of consensus is reached that takes into account multiple points of view. You have the power to build on, revise, or completely rethink the material added by your classmates. Every page has a comment section, which you should use freely. It is good wiki etiquette, in fact, to discuss things in the comments before any substantial changes are made to other people's edits.
Note-taking is worth 20% of your final grade. I'll evaluate each day's notes according to how well they cover the summary, highlights and key terms described above. In addition to a group grade, a portion of each student's individual grade will come from my and the rest of your group's assessment of your individual contributions to the wiki.