WikisSummer11-INE

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! If you are interested in creating a wiki, wikispaces offers, free, ad-free wikis to educators:[| Educator Wikis]

Take a look at the creative ways educators are using wikis: http://educationalwikis.wikispaces.com/Examples+of+educational+wikis

Check these sites out: [|Article from T.H.E. Journal about wikis] [|PBWiki] [|Scribe Post Hall of Fame] Wiki Articles and Resources

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 "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 actually had an opportunity to use Wikis all of last summer. I was part of a unique Social Studies project that brought teachers from many districts together in Harrisburg, PA for one week. We learned a great deal about Native American and Eurpoean Contact. After the week was over, a question was posted each month on Wikis for us to answer. It was an open forum for us to discuss items with other teachers. We also used Wikis to create a final project. I know that teachers in my district have used Wikis for various ideas. One teacher uses it for homework help with students. She has a set time each week for an open discussion with students for homework help. She also checks it each night if they have a question about their daily homework. I have also heard of teachers using it for research projects. I think Wikis can be very beneficial in the classroom. I learned a great deal about Wikis from the conference and feel they can be used very well to facilitate learning. ---Aaron Ettinger

This is my first time using a Wiki. Our district requires us to have personal teacher web pages to post homework and upcoming assessments. My team has chosen to do this with a team website. The team website is like a one-stop shop. Our district also has set-up a district Moodel site. As I am learning about Wikis I believe that Moodle has all of the same features. I think Moodle provides the same tools as a Wiki. I will have to learn more about Wiki's to see if I would actually have the need to use one. Being 42, again I am apprehensive about hitting save. - Michael Barker

My experience working with a wiki comes from the wiki that our librarian has created for research projects. She creates a different wiki for each research project, and then puts it on her homepage. Students know exactly where to go to access them, and she does a great job with the organization and content of her wikis. She includes a review of the research process, links to online databases for resources and images, links to bibliography tools, etc. They are wonderful!!! I have not ever made a wiki myself, however, I have become pretty comfortable using them to access information through our librarian. The reason I have never created a wiki for my class is because our district offers so many other options for sharing things with our classes like Moodle, blogs, etc. I have used both a blog and a Moodle site before to share information or resources with students, but never a wiki. They seem to be very easy to create, so I may need to get some input from our librarian on how I could utilize a wiki more in my classroom! -Kristin Peifer

This is my first experience working on a Wiki site. A few years ago, our principal would not allow teachers to have Wiki sites for fear they would write or say something that was inappropriate. He is gone now but that mentality still seems to persist in our district. All district web sites must be the same and all sites such as Wikis are not allowed at this point. As the technology becomes more utilized by our staff and we receive more training on how to create and use sites such as Wikis, I would hope our district will allow our step to the digital age. As I looked around in some of the attached pages, I thought that the Wiki where the students wanted to see what a thousand looked like was a great interactive site. People signed from all over and it was an interesting lesson and idea that was able to be played out with the help of people outside the school. Very cool! John

====Our school district provided wiki sites for us two years ago and I have used it ever since. I have created main pages for my different levels of Spanish classes and have linked to other sites or embedded activities to practice almost every topic that we discuss in class. I am fortunate enough to have a set of class computers and I have students access my wiki page to go to links to the practice activities. That makes it easy for them, instead of them having to remember several different websites. Students often tell me that the activities on the page are very helpful for them to practice, and they often ask me if I have things posted from which they can study for a test. It is very gratifying to know they find it helpful to them. I also have a page for each student on which he or she can embed projects that we have done as a part of class. That is helpful to me so that they don't have to send me separate links or emails for me to access their projects that are on website, and they don't have to bring me powerpoints and things like that on a thumb drive, I can just grade it from their page. I have also done projects like this one that required them to access the wiki, put we had so many problems with that being able to do so, it wasn't productive. It would have been a great way for us to converse in written Spanish though. I have since tried using Edmodo to do that. Here is the link to my wiki if anyone would like to check it out: [|dcaldwell.pottsgrove.wikispaces.net]==== ~Della

====I have never used or heard of a wiki before, I must be very behind. I looked over the wiki provided and clicked on various links, I feel l I’ve got a pretty good understanding of what wiki’s are and what they offer. I like how teachers can share resources and students can share their work. The Scribe Hall of Fame seems like a pretty interesting site; my students would enjoy posting their work for others to see as well as view others work. I also liked that in PBWorks students can create their own portfolio. These days we have a portfolio on every student and our kids don’t even know what’s inside their portfolio. This online portfolio gives them an opportunity to see how much they have grown throughout the years, to upload homework and share the work they are proud of. Hopefully, I can learn a little bit more about wiki’s so I can incorporate it into my classroom in the future. -Jennyrose C.====

The only real experience I have using a Wikipage would be the one that my daughter and I have created for our Field Hockey team, We found that instead of email, that this was much more effective. On the page there is a variety of information such as the schedule, departure times, announcements, links to important information, statistics, videos and a pictures page. The girls may join the Wiki and are then able to post pictures from the season. We also post information for outside leagues that the girls are involved in and that has made our lives so much easier. Since we implemented the site, we receive a lot less clarical e-mails than we did before and the girls always know what is going on. It has been a great tool so far for us. As far as classroom examples go, I have not used a Wikipage for Physical Education class. We have teacher websites which we use so most of my school information is already on that site. I think that Wikis are a great opportunity for collaboration in school projects and probably get students more involved rather than having them complete an actual tangible object. Websites are more real to students and I think they would enjoy creating them over a poster board. If I ever start teaching Health again, I will be using a Wiki without a doubt. I also like that you are able to see who has edited the page, in case of inappropriate material being posted. I think that when students are aware of that, they are less likely do something silly on there as well. Here is a link to the Wikipage that my daughter and I have made for our Field Hockey Team: [|www.mrs-renshaw.wikispaces.com]

- Terry Fry

After taking a classroom tech class at Wilkes and being exposed to wikispaces, I decided to try using one in my math classes. For our HSA (Maryland state High School Assessment) review in 2010, I made my students "become the teacher" and become an expert on one of two math topics (such as finding slope of a line or determining percent change) and write a short lesson with definitions, examples, and homework problems on a class wikispace. The end result was a comprehensive study guide with about 50 student-generated lessons that students would then have easy access to to study for their test.

Even as I type this, it sounds kind of cool, and ideally like a good idea, but there were some issues.

The quality of some of the lessons was poor; either uncreative, unorganized, or just inaccurate. Some students just didn't do it. There was an issue with loading graphics that wasn't a problem at first, but became one at just the wrong time. Finally, I feel like, even if the site was user-friendly and good, many students would NOT have used it as a resource anyway, because they had no desire to study for the test.

There were, however, a few really good lessons. Some students really got into it and enjoyed presenting their lesson. I skipped the activity this year, but think I'll do it again. The trick for next will be more initial organization by me; laying down some important ground rules that I left out last time and trying to make the project more user friendly.

Like I said, ideally, this idea sounds pretty good. If I work out the kinks, I can make it work in the future.

_Jared Minetola

My experience with wiki spaces is very little. In one of my very first Wilkes classes I had to create a wiki space that my class could potentially use. Like Jared, I created a page for each chapter that could be used at the end of the year for review. I never actually got a chance to implement my wiki back then, and I was a little hesitant to anyway because the math we were doing required the use of some symbols and exponents and fractions which means students would have also had to learn to use Math Type and we just didn't have the time in the curriculum to do it. I think wiki-spaces could be a great tool, I just think they would take a little more planning and time to implement into my curriculum than I initially had the first time. Now that I teach a higher level of students with more flex time at the end of the year, I actually think utilizing a wiki-space as some kind of review could be very beneficial. I think when I try it again I will do a little more research before as to what makes a wiki space really work in a classroom. The links above are helpful and provide some good examples for me to go off of. Now that I have been reintroduced, I will try and put it in my plans for next year. - Valerie Amoroso _

__The only experience that I have had with Wiki's was an hour information session during one of our half days. I was a long term sub and the school offered it, so I took it. That is the extent of it. Looking at some of the Wiki's and ideas it seems really neat! I especially like how Jared had each of th kids areate a lesson and put in on the space. I think in elementary school, the kids would be more accepting of it and actually work at it. I might try that next year with PSSA's. __

__~ Melissa Smigielski __

__I have never been introduced to Wikis beyond what my fiance has told me. She teaches Spanish in a neighboring district and got involved with using Wiki's in her class through an inservice program held at her school her first year teaching (so that would be 3 years ago). Over the past few years she has developed an interactive Wiki that is both pleasing to the eye and very useful for her students to join. She actually conducts class projects and writings in Spanish by using her Wiki. Students must log into her Wiki, much like we did for this class Wiki, and then can mail Jamie responses to writing prompts. Also on the page are different resources to help students study and also any past due assignments and upcoming assigments. Based on her usage of a Wiki, it does make me want to create one for myself. Unfortunately teaching in my school limits student's access to computers. While I would love to create such a resource for students, nearly none of the students would be able to take advantage of it. It makes putting the time and effort into the page not very cost effective. In the future I would love to us Wiki's to facilitate problems of the week, review programs, and to distribute homework and long term assignments as well as house previous notes that I have taught so students who miss school can access what they've missed via the web.__

__-Steven Brown__

___ I was introduced to wikis in the course that I took in the spring semester. We created one and used it with a partner to do a collaborative research paper. I have not implemented one into my classroom because we have a district parent portal that allows us to post homework and other important information. However, the portal is not interactive and I have thought about how I could use a wiki with my students for more than homework and missed assignments. I believe it would be a great way to share important websites or other information (handouts, PowerPoints, etc.) to expand the students' learning. There are pros and cons to using a wiki and one concern that I have is monitoring the posts made by the students. ~Katie

I have never used a wiki before or even really heard of it. However, I do feel that this would be a helpful resource to use. It is a safe way for students to collaborate and socialize without all of the other stuff. We all know the dangers of sites like facebook and myspace. This would be especially useful for high school and college students. When I was in college, I took a fiction class and we had to create a livejournal account and submit all our assignments that way. Everyone was able to see the work we did and comment on it. The downside of this is that not everyone wants their work broadcasted on a website. But it is a fun and unique way to approach a traditional assignment. -Wendy Lazevnick

My first experience with Wiki was this past year as I went through first year teacher training. We had to join one that our instructor created that had an innumerable amount of resources on. After that experience I decided to make one of my own for my gifted students with activities, games, and other educational programs that they can partake in. Though it is a work in progress and I am teaching myself I really think it will be a valuable resourse for them over the summer or any other time they have extra time on their hands. One of the best aspects of wiki is that if you wanted to use it during a lesson you can have group discussions. The only downside is that it is live and a student they may be tempted to write something inappropriate. It can be edited my it may be read before that. Wiki can also be used to post homework, class projects, rubrics, handouts, weekly trivia, the options are endless. All in all I think using Wiki in the classroom will atleast be a change of pace for students it's always good to mix it up.

-Allison Palubinsky

I had the opportunity to use Wiki's last summer when I took several PLS online classes. In those classes we used the Wikis for group projects. It worked very well that way. For example, if we had a group assignment we would divide the assignment amongst use equally. Then we would each post our required section to the Wiki. We would decide a time, chat together through the Wiki, edit each other’s work, and compile the final project. I personally never thought of using a Wiki for any other reason than for interaction during a class. However, after reading some of the posts above I can see how then can prove to be very useful and helpful. On one of the above post is discussed using the Wiki for a field hockey team. I think that is a great way to keep everyone informed and also allowing everyone to have the ability to interact. Mario Cella Mario Cella

This is my first time using a Wiki. To be honest, it took me a few minutes to figure it out. After reading the posts above, I can see how it would be a great tool for teachers to use. I need to play around with this tool a little more and then maybe I'll incorporate Wikis in my classroom. My district requires teachers to use personal web pages. I think that the parents appreciate the convenience of my webpage, but I think that they would also appreciate the convenience of discussion through Wiki. I think that my students would enjoy this as well, but this would take a good deal of instruction before I would feel comfortable with them using this tool.

Sarah Mathena

=Learning new information is like watching the snow move from the horizon and into the shadows and just as you think that moment is gone.... creation brings you the new experience called spring. The breeze is gentle on your face as winter takes its final bow allowing for longer days to wrap you up in the beauty of color....and Summer is here. I said that to say.... learning all of these new things in this technology class has moved me from a pencil, <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">semi-tech breath to technology breathing.. .The possibilities are boundless with technology as an Educator is boundless! This is my 1st time using this site, but it will not be my last....<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Thank you Prof. Moran! Kristin is awesome! = =<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Abenaa =

===﻿This is the first time I have ever seen or heard of a wiki. I have been looking for a way to create dialogue between my students. I have been turned off by FaceBook and tweets, and I think this may be the way to go. I like the idea that you can post an idea, story starter, question, or problem withing the class and have all of the kids respond in a safe environment. This is an excellent way for the kids to respnd anonymously, or to offer eaach other help. For example, "Tom" may post that he is having a hrd time starting his research paper. All of his classmates and his teacher can respond to Tom in an encouraging way! My only dislike/complain is that kids could change the responses of their classmates, as I did to Abenaa, who I hope is a good sport!===

Kristin