Wikis are one of the Web 2.0 tools that I really know the least about. I totally get Wikipedia and how it works, but I have never ventured out to create my own wiki or use wikis in the classroom. I've heard colleagues and classmates of mine talk about how they used wikis in their classroom so I've known it was possible. I took the time to research and investigate educational wikis today and I found out a lot of interesting information.
Overall, I really like the idea of creating a wiki as a comprehensive tool that all students collaborate on. The Let's Go West wiki really required a lot of collaboration to create an end project that all the students could use to learn from (as well as anyone else who visits the wiki). I like the idea of breaking down one big subject into smaller parts and having my students responsible for researching and developing an article on each of these parts. Finally, the students post all of their articles to our wiki, and, voila, a great resource is born. I teach intermediate level students so I think that this could easily be accomplished within my classroom. It could definitely meet social studies or science standards (depending on the topic we choose) and it would be a great authentic task to teach informational writing standards. I think the students would be motivated to partipate knowing that other people would be viewing our work. In older grades, I can see where a wiki of this nature would become a wonderful study guide for the students to use. How amazing is it that the study guide for a course or a semester could be created by the students? The Math 12V Outcomes Portfolio really represents this idea.
I've always viewed wikis as what I see on the Let's Go West and Math 12V Outcomes Portfolio pages, but I got exposed to a few other ideas as well. In the Codeblue wiki, the page opens with a list of links that could be useful to reference. Next week, I am teaching my students how to research for an informational report. We go in to several lessons about using online sources. It would be a great assessment to have my students create a wiki page of linked sources they used; therefore, I can see if my students are using the appropriate sites for their research and all the students could refer to the page to help them with their reports. I also liked how the Codeblue wiki has students collaborating with medical professionals. It is a great idea to get field experts involved with a classroom wiki, and it will probably take the students' learning to a higher level.
Finally, I thought about ways to introduce a wiki and using wikis to my students without "scaring" them away from the idea. Wikis don't have to just be about researching informational topics. I really enjoyed the Kindergarten Counting Book. What a great way to get younger students involved in a wiki! The page consists of numbers and photographs and a minimal amount of words so I think my students would find it interesting. Also, I plan on showing my students The Thousands Project as well. I think this wiki really shows how global wikis can be. A wiki can be a great source of collaboration outside of the classroom as much as inside in the classroom!
I am beginning to develop my own ideas of how I will use a wiki in my classroom with my students. I definitely feel motivated to begin using wikis. I think my students will enjoy it and it is a great way to get my students collaborating with each other.
The Codeblue wiki is one of my favorites from the list we looked at. The project seemed to really touch the students and they seemed to be very involved in the medical process, information and helpful tips.
ReplyDeleteWikis are also my most unfamiliar Web 2.0 tool.
I've heard of other teachers (not in my school) using them. I would like to speak with my team members to see how we could implement the tool in our classrooms. We could have a page for each subject therefore, I would need to speak with my department to see what we could include on the wiki or ideas of how to use it. If I use a wiki in my classroom, I would like to layout to be well organized. I've seen several wikis that seem to throw a lot of information out on the page and it does not seem organized. Those pages frustrate me and they are difficult to follow.
I like how we can change things or add things to Wikis. Its a great technology tool for collaborations among educators and students. I never realized that there are so many Wikis out there. Its like the web is hiding this tool from use waiting to be discovered. I can't wait to play with the different features of my Wiki to understand it better.
ReplyDelete