I recently checked out Barb’s delicious account for our class. First of all; Wow! Who knew so much was out there for these technologies? I perused for a few minutes and saw what I thought was kind of a repeat site about Wikis. I saw several before choosing this one that also had ideas about classroom wikis. I ultimately chose this one: http://735am.wordpress.com/2010/08/12/creating-authentic-learning-work-products-wikis-in-the-classroom/ because the article shows a demonstration on how another teacher used it in class. I have visited wikis for different things and often wondered how I could use one in my classes. After looking at this site and one other: http://www2.uwstout.edu/content/profdev/rubrics/wikirubric.html I feel much more confident tackling this type of project with my students.
Everyone knows what a wiki is, even if you think you don’t. The best and greatest example of a wiki is of course Wikipedia. But to break it down a little further, a wiki is page or group of pages created by a person that allows a certain group or the whole world access to edit information within the page or group of pages. What information could be on a wiki? Anything you want: a dedication to a sport, artist, TV show, vacation spot, or just about anything. Here is a video from common craft that I found explains in plain English how to make one and where to make one for first time users.
As for the site I reviewed, the teacher decided to have his students create a wiki page about what the course was all about and what they would be learning in the course. He mentioned that he had a lot of personal growth to do with learning the technology to the level of being able to teach it, but that it turned out well. He made sure to mention to give plenty of time to teach the technology and to be flexible with time frames. I was also drawn to this article because he had them make the wiki for a world history class of his. I see myself using this technology to have students make a culminating project over a unit of study. I am thinking the Cold War for example would be a great concept to create a wiki for. Students would need to add a lot of information demonstrating content knowledge and links and video to demonstrate mastery of the technology and the content.
After viewing the rubric on the other link in Barb’s amazing delicious account, I see how I could grade students on these types of projects and have a good idea of the amount of time I would need to put into teaching the technology. Overall I am very excited to begin my first example wiki to start my growth with this technology so I can start using it in my classroom.
Well, I think I understand Wikis a LOT better now. I was a bit confused myself about how they were used and I can totally see how you could use this in your classroom, especially for history. One of my sixth graders mentioned creating a Wiki about our Ancient Greek unit but I was oblivious to what he was talking about and sort of brushed it off. Guess my digital immigrant status was thrown in my face by that one. :) What a great project idea.
ReplyDeleteSounds like quite a project with the class wiki! I would be really intersted in hearing about how your progress goes and how it works out in class.
ReplyDeleteWikis are great for group work. They allow students to access and edit information at any time. There is no sending email and waiting for a response or texting or phone calls. The information is right there at your finger tips. They are very time saving. I have set up a wiki for my algebra classes next year, and I am exploring all of the options that it is giving me.
ReplyDeleteI never really new Wikis existed other than Wikipedia. After learning more I think that this tool would make a great collaboration place for teachers as well.
ReplyDeleteI also didn't know that Wikipedia was just one example of a Wiki. It's just crazy to think about all of the different technologies out there that we don't even know about. Carol that's funny that one of your students asked about using a Wiki. Isn't it so amazing that some of our students already know way more than we do about technology? Lee- what a great point! I wonder if we have future group work for our own classes we could create a Wiki instead of the emailing/waiting method. Something to think about!
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