Wikis
Wikis have tremendous potential for collaboration in the educational setting. To propose using a wiki with you students you must do your homework.
• Create a project that supports you educational goals.
• Find a wiki that offers security to the students.
• Have all your info together, in a simple written format, to present to the administration.
• Inform your parents and get permission for the each student to participate.
• Create a contract with the student concerning proper wiki netiquette.
Getting past these hurdles sets the stage for a successful wiki experience.
Wikis also offer a great opportunity for cross curricula collaboration. For example, teach writing and critical thinking skills within a social studies platform. The active learning that will be occurring is going to keep the students interest far more that teacher delivered instructions as well as provide for more learning.
Some of the wikis that I looked at were simple and easy to follow. Some were cluttered and I needed time to discover how to navigate. These pages seemed to be cluttered and not easy deciphered, which makes me think that the focus and overall of design of the wiki needs to be carefully considered.
Wikipedia is not a reliable resource for documenting research. It is though a very good place to start. Basic information is available. From this, the students can learn the process of finding other sources to verify information. From the library media background, three distinctly different sources are usually considered a reliable documentation of validity. The Internet in itself in not a reliable source of information and the validity of any website or information posted on the web must be questioned.
The fact that graphics, pictures, videos, multimedia, etc. can be integrated into a wiki just keeps adding to the credit of making it a fantastic choice for use in the classroom.
Tip. If you are going to post a picture on the wiki page, format it for the web so it won’t take so long to load.
Tags: Wikis
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November 20, 2009 at 6:39 pm
Great ideas for integrating Wiki’s Susan! You have clearly demonstrated an understanding of this technology.