WikisSpring09

"A **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]

[|Seed Wiki]

[|Wiki Search Engine]

Please feel free to tell about your experiences with wikis and add any links (To add a link, click on the World with the link icon and put your link text in the box that comes up.) you feel appropriate. 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 Green. **Please post you comment below mine and put your first name at the end**. Thanks, Barb

I have just started to use wikis this year. I enjoy them very much. I have actually created a wiki for my AP US History students so they can use to review for the exam in May. I think that for next year I will expand my use of wikis to include different types of homework assignments so students can access them when they are absent. --John Musto

This wasn't my first experience with wikis. I used them in my previous two graduate classes. I was a little overwhelmed at first, but I got the hang of it and found it to be useful for my classes. However, I haven't been able to find ways to incorporate them into my classroom. I'm sure they are a great resource and have great potential in the classroom. The links were interesting and I could see how they would be helpful to students. I could even see the benefits in some areas like homework checks for absent students and project ideas, but they don't seem very functional for anything I would do with my students in class right now. - John Mikiewicz

I am going to be completely honest here - I am a wikispace virgin! Our Classrooms for the Future instructor asked us to create wiki accounts in the beginnning of the school year and that was the extent of my use. I have no idea what they are about, so I am excited that we are going to explore their purpose. Maybe I'll be a step ahead when out CFF instructor finally has us do something with our accounts. - Andrea Sanders

This wasn't my first encounter with wikis. I used them in conjunction with a chemistry project during student teaching. I had never heard of a wiki before so the CFF instructor really helped me figure out how to use the wiki. We had student make a video explaining a certain laboratory experiment that they did. Each video was uploaded through the wiki. Each student became a member so they could view the work of their peers. Through the wiki, each student was able to critique other projects. It was a neat experience. The only real downfall was that the students had no clue about what wikis were so it took a lot of time and effort to implement the project. Andrea Curry

This is also my first experience with wikis. I have heard about them and was offered the training in learning how to use them. But teaching 1st then 5th grade, I thought that they may not be as easy to implement as with middle or high school. Now seeing that they are not as hard to manage as I thought, I may look into using them with 5th grade. Though it would take quite a bit of time to learn how to use it, I think they would enjoy being able to help create the site and edit it as they felt it was needed. Meghan Kimsey

I am glad to see that I'm on the same page with many other students in this class regarding wikis. I have never used wikis in this manner, but I have used wikipedia and wikiquote at quickly look up various things. I am interested in discovering the different ways in which wikis can be used and how things can be connected to the classroom. I can definitely see myself using wikis for interdisciplinary projects or regarding various homework activities. - Sean Cunningham

I have never used a wiki either. It seems like a pretty interesting concept...if you have the right classroom setting to use it. With elementary PE, I don't think that wikis are the most practical resourse for me. If I were teaching health classes as opposed to PE, I could possibly see implementing wikis with my 5th graders. I was just talking to the librarian in my building, and she loves wikis. She says that they are very easy to use...both in setting up a page and in monitoring student discussions. I think wikis would give some students a 'voice' that they many not normally have in the classroom. Sometimes kids are better able to express themselves by using the computers. Again, I think wikis could be an interesting resource to use...given the right environment. --Jen Hoffman

Through the IU 20 I have taken a seminar on Wikis and way to use them, so I am familiar with the format. It is cool to set up different wikis for your class and for your self to interact with collegues. For the class at the high school level you can easily place links and assignments on the Wiki to keep parents and students informed of upcoming events. Also you can use it to make sure students are getting what they need at home for their work, and if they have questions they can communicate with you through a safe nuetral environment. But you also have to be careful and make sure all students have access to the internet. I have a couple of students in foster care who do not have the prevaliage to use the internet at this time which mean this tool would not be apporpriate. Crystale Getz

I have never used a wiki before. Right now they seem confusing at best. I am hoping to use Wikis in the future to provide students a different format to review for and to review tests. Matt Blose

Wiki pages seem very similar to the moodle pages I use almost on a daily basis with my students. My moodle pages are mainly links to streaming videos/video podcasts which review material covered in class. I also have links to practice problems and powerpoints for the student to access and practice concepts from class. Matt Blose

created a wiki this summer for all of my classes. I use it to post any notes that I give and any powerpoints as well. The students that are absent can check my wiki for any worksheets that I handed out. I also use it to put important information about final exams and midterms or field trips. I also included a voki on my wiki. It's kind of creepy, but I like it. If you want to check out my wiki, it is gpowers.wikispaces.com. Enjoy :) I have never had any experience using these sites. Our filter at work blocks alot of content. I will further persue thes pages at home. From what I see they could be of great value. I don't believe that I would use messageboards at work due to problems and responsibility in monitoring students. Paul Carman