WikisFall09

WikisFall09A **wiki** is [|software] that allows users to create, edit, and [|link] web pages easily. Wikis are often used to create [|collaborative] [|websites] and to power community websites."

I think wikis are cool!

Check these sites out:

[|MediaWiki]

[|PBWiki]

[|Scribe Post Hall of Fame]

[|Wiki Search Engine]

Please feel free to tell about your experiences with wikis or how you used them or would like to use them in your classroom. Add any links you feel are appropriate. (To add a link, click the "Insert link icon" and put your link text in the box that comes up.) As you add your comments (just click on Edit This Page at the top), I can click on recent changes and see who made them. You can also do this. My comments are in blue. **Please post your comment below mine and put your first name at the end**. Thanks, Barb

I have used wikis in my own classroom last year. I ran into trouble updating the wiki, the site was blocked. I then had to do all my updates off campus. This became an inconvience to me. I had the students collaborate on creating their own chapter review. Each group had their own wiki and had to design a complete chapter review. The group that did the best job earned points on the chapter exam. It was a creative and instructional project. The student wikis where very creative, full of pictures and quotes. Wikis are very usefull when a group of people are working together on the same project. All the work can be done at different locations. Lori S

This is my first experience with wikis, and I am impressed! It reminds me of social networking sites because of the potential to open communication among many different people at one time. I can see how this could be a great tool to use with secondary students, and even with intermediate students at the elementary level. I am having trouble finding a practical application with my second graders at this point. However, I would be willing to try using this tool in my classroom, even if I used it as a way to differentiate instruction for my high-achieving students. What I am most excited about, though, is the potential for using wikis to collaborate with the other teachers on my second grade team! There are five of us who teach second grade at my school, and we all work very well together. But, like most teachers, we all lead very, very busy lives. We do find about 30 minutes to sit down and meet once per week, but other than that, our collaboration is 5 minutes here or there. We use email to collaborate quite a bit as well, but using a wiki, I believe, would allow us to share ideas, ask questions, and discuss concerns with each other in a format with great flexibility to cater to our busy schedules. --Cynthia M.

I've used a wiki space in one of my grad classes over the summer. It was the first time I'd ever heard of it. It took me a little while to figure it out. We used it for a couple of group assignments. It was a nice way to collaborate with classmates online since we never get face to face time. I enjoyed the experience. I think this would be a nice way to change up group assignments for students. They love working online, so that is a plus. Also, this gives them an opportunity to have everyone contributing without having to arrange times to meet in person. I don't have a lot of experience with it, and have never created one. However, I would love to try one in my classroom. -Alicia Smith

This is really a nice thing. I havent ever I my life even heard of wiki so I am totally new. This would be a good thing to incorporate into the classroom however. my school doesn't really have the capabilities to use this. This is a another great tool for communication. Even though I may not use this in my class immediately, I think I will incorporate this into my classroom in the future. Some ideas I have would be to use this tool as a form of communication and to post questions, discussions, and assignments for the students to accomplish. In my opinion, students would be more prone to do their homework if it involved using the computer. Most students have computers and are on them 24/7. So it would probably be more fun for students to do homework because using technology is more fun than using paper and pencil...Jason M.

I really like the idea of using Wikis in the classroom. Unlike many of you, I was really unfamiliar with wikis in general (let alone their uses in the classroom!). However, after browsing some internet sites, I think this could be a really great medium for collaboration in the classroom. My students could use Wikis to prepare for group projects. In addition, I could use Wikis as a tool to help my students study for tests. My students really need to strengthen their study skills at the high school level, and I can really see Wikis as way to motivate the students to study more effectively for units through communication. I also agree with Nathan. With so many absences lately, this could be a wonderful tool for students stuck at home!!- Kelly A.

I think Wikis have the potential to really change how students contribute to class discussions. Their a great way for students who are a little shyer to contribute. Also, there is the potential to improve students writing skills by making them think about what they're posting before they post it. At my school, however, there is a little bit of fear about Wikis and we're not encouraged to use the that much, the same with blogs. Just like Nathan said below, they give kids that are at home the ability to see what they missed and to still contribute from home. - Amy S.  I really enjoy using Wikis as a segway to generate discussion while students read a class book that is on their independent level. It allows them to read at their own pace read and reflect about comments that other students have made earlier. In addition, it is am very interesting to witness the dialogue and reciprocal teaching that occurs when the children discuss a book. I am really interested in using wikis in class, especially since this whole swine flu pandemic. If the students are sent home (a possibility at a residential school like ours), the wiki provides the students to continue class interaction....I like it!- Nathan H

We have the ability to create and use Wikis quite a bit in our classrooms. We use an online communications website called Moodle to communicate with students. One of the things we can do is add a Wiki whenever we want. I have used these in my Law class to stimulate discussion on certain topics. I have had success using this as an introduction to some of my units. I create the Wiki inside the Moodle site then present the students with a case study or simple question. When they enter the classroom they immediatley access the site and they can all start typing simultaneously about the same topic. I find that having the students think and write on their own first helps to stimulate discussion later (especially when they are required to create a post). I also found that this is something students will work on at home, I agree with Nathan (above) that Wikis are a great way to extend the learning environment out of the classroom. Chris S.

I really enjoy wikis and have seen several of them used in other districts. They seem to be a great way to get students to discuss topics efficiently. The only issue I struggle with is the lack of technology amongst my urban students. 50% of the students in one of my classes, for example, do not have internet access at home. Any suggestions on how to overcome this problem would be appreciated. I would hate to punish a student for not having a computer and if that particular student does not have a study hall they may have total lack of access to any type of technology. Cindy L. What about time in the morning or after school? A 15 minute block, maybe, when they could come in and write their posts? Melanie

I have used Wikis in various college classes I have completed and think they are a great way to get everyone on the same page and working together. It makes it a lot easier to see everyone's thoughts than clicking through a discussion board. When it comes to using them in my classroom, however, I am sort of in the same place as Cindy. I am also an urban school teacher and most of my kids don't have computer and/or computer access at home. Consequently, I can't ask/require any of them to do any type of computer work at home. I do use the computers during the day in school for workstations and research purposes. Since I am elementary, I could probably use a Wiki during the literacy block as a response to literature. I could set it up so that they can write summaries or book reviews for their classmates. Melanie

Although I have heard of Wiki's, I have never used one nor know anything about them. I look forward to learning how to incorporate Wiki's into my classroom. I'm not sure how I could use them with my particular students at the moment but I'm sure I will be able to use them later in my career. -Christina

I have never heard of wiki's or used wiki's before. I didn't know anything about wiki's unitl this unit. This looks like a really good way for students to communicate. Since I don't have a classroom, I could create an open discussion for parents and teachers to discuss Autism and issues related to autism. ~Erin S.

Prior to this discussion, I had on;y heard the work "wiki". Unfortunately I can't think of how I could incorporate one into my class setting. I have 8 students who come to me for only half an hour of social skills instruction daily and 3 (2 6th graders and a 3rd grader) students who are with me for the entire school day. Also, my students are very limited in their computer knowledge, they can't turn it on independently. I think it would be really neat to use one at the high school level, if you taught history, you could have different section of a course interacting together. ~ Erin Freneaux

I first learned what a wiki space was over the summer when I took Using Print Media. I created one, ltemples.wikispaces.com. It seems like a great place for students to go and join class discussions, post ideas, and respond to topics. Although I have not used the wiki yet, I plan on it in the near future. I think I will start by posting topics for discussion, whether it be something we did in class or something students can research. I will start by offering my students extra credit for participating. This will give students an opportunity to share thoughts and comment on each others art projects. They can even get help from their peers when they are stuck on a way to start a project. The more I think about it, the whole idea of critiquing one anothers work on a wiki space, is fantastic. It saves on paper, and everyone is part of the discussion. This really excites me! Lisa Temples |

This is my first experience with a wiki. I feel that it would be difficult to implement in my lessons with students, but it may be useful for applications outside of direct instruction. A vision support wiki may be a great way for vision students across the county to connect. This may allow the unique opportunity for students with visual impairment to interact with like peers. Similarly, it may also be a great tool for parents to interact and support each other. ~Meghan Hoffmeister

The only experience I have had with wiki is in my summer grad class called Teaching Through Learning Channels Online. One of the assignments was always a wiki assignment each week. Sometimes we had to answer a question through it on our own or in a small group. It was neat when we worked in small groups because we could edit the answer and add onto each other's thoughts. Other than that, I have not had any experience. It seems like I could use this in my classroom by having the students answer questions each week by building onto each other's answer. I think they would enjoy working with the computer. ~Kathleen

The only experience I have had with Wikispaces was at my last teaching job. Our school had homeroom everyday and we needed to log into our grade level Wiki everyday and go over the "lesson" for that day in our designated homeroom. The Wikispace was fun to use, but I don't think it was the best way to utilize the use of it. So I then made my own wiki that I was going to use for my classes with my students the following school year to post homework and even the days lessons that I could save through the Promethium Board. But unfortunately, I left that school and I never did follow through with doing that with the wiki at my new school. I teach at a cyber school now, so all my lessons and assignments are already posted and even posted in advance so it wouldn't be as useful in my current teaching position. In a regular brick and mortar school I think this would be really fun and useful to get the students involved more with the class. Thanks, Katie W.

I have never used a wiki before in my classroom or with anyone else....that I know of. I have used wikianswers before and the wikipedia....don't know if that counts. But I could see this being useful as a specialist (in my case a Physical Education teacher). Being a specialist means we don't get to see each other (other P.E. teachers in the district) too often. Having a Wiki would be a great way for us to keep up on what each of us are doing. It would be a great way for us to communicate and share ideas with each other. That would help tremendously, especially with new teachers or even older teachers learning new ideas from the new teachers - Jeremy Lesser

I have not had the opportunities to use wikies previously. I imagine using a wiki could be good with college students. I have experiences with message boards and the fun aspect of those but they most certainly were not appropriate for the classroom. I most likely would not use a wiki, even if I have the opportunity, with my students. There are too many things that could cause issues with students and a wiki. I use Moodle and many of the programs/activities within it. This is a great internet application that I have been expanding my usage of over the past couple of years. I have posted work and notes within Moodle as have my students. I have had students post videos and audio files for projects and grading, and have had discussions going where they have that "safe" feeling to express their thoughts here. -Amanda G.