WikisSpring11

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 This the first time I have ever been invovled with using wikis. I was very curious of exactly how they worked. I think they could be a great tool for the classroom for just about anything you would want to post for students. I think it could also be a great communication tool for both students and parents. There were some really awesome examples and I would be interested in trying to get a wiki going. This may even be helpful to me with some of the after school activities. ~ Angela I think the use of wikis is a great idea for any teacher to use. You can create a wikis for your grade and post all sort of different topics. Such as, upcoming events, homework, quiz and test dates, study guides, notes and supplemental resources. Depending on the grade level, this can be good for your students that may miss a day at school, but can always go on the wikis site to check what they missed. It can also tell a parent/student when the next test or project is going to be. This can help the parent be on board as to what is going on in the classroom. I would have already made the wikis site before the school year and place the website on my welcome sheet to the students and parents. Also, if a teacher is co-teaching a class, they can also access the site and find out what is going on. This can help with the communication between the two teachers who may not have all that much time to collaborate before they co-teach. Overall, I think this is a great way for teachers to reach students and parents, keep things organized, and have everyone on the same track. It would be nice as a parent to be able to log on to my son’s teacher’s wikis to see if he really does have homework tonight or should be studying for an upcoming test for tomorrow. John.

I have heard of wikis before, but have never used it until today. I love the idea of wikis. It’s basically a website you can share information on. You can post assignments, websites or discussions on wiki. It would be great for a day like today, which is a snow day to remind students of upcoming assignments they should be working on. I e-mailed other teachers that I work with to see if they have ever heard of it. I was told that the band teacher uses it for the band members to know when their scheduled band lessons are. There are also pictures on the band wiki site from various concerts and a section for parents and teachers to update them on upcoming band lessons or concerts. A way I can use this is to post online stories that the students can read at their reading level. I already have a reading list on paper for each student because their reading levels vary so much within the learning support classroom. Using wiki, I would post three different reading lists and assign each student to a list of stories appropriate to their level. Then, use that as a homework assignment or book report. There are so many ways wiki can be used. I’m glad I have the opportunity to use wiki and plan on sharing it with my team teachers. Darlene I love this!!!! I have never used a wiki space before. This is something that I think could be VERY beneficial to any classroom. For younger grades, it could be a way to communicate with parents, for example it could be used to replace a classroom news letter. Teachers could post upcoming events, daily classroom activities, snack schedules, special class schedules, basically anything that is happening in the classroom! When you hit older grades (I believe my 5th grade students could handle it) use it to communicate with both the students and parents. It could be used to post assignments, upcoming events (because let's be honest from here on out the rest of the school year is crazy and schedules can change at the drop of a dime), daily activities, and communicate with the parents and students. Has anyone used this as a communication tool with parents? I see where there could be issues as far as postings and such, but does anyone have any success stories or tales of horror? I'd love to know how it worked out before I go ahead and try to make one!!! Things tend to go fabulously in my head, however, can turn into a reality disaster!!!! Mandi :) ==== I have read different Wikis numerous times, but have never responded in one. Until recently, I had never really thought of Wikipedia as a Wiki, but when you read or say the name, it makes perfect sense and I understand the unreliability of it now. I do think that Wikis could be an exciting way to reach out to students who are immersed in technology. I'm not sure how I could get everyone to comment on this in a timely manner -- has that been a problem for anyone else? It does seem like a fun way for students to comment on a rigorous problem I would have in math class. --Keyna ==== ==== I have previously used Wikispaces for another online class. I had to create a Wikispace for my class project. On my page I listed all my room happenings. I actually had a fun time creating my page. I did show it to my students and they thought it was a great way to share important information. One of my students even created her own Wikispace page. Needless to say I was very impressed. I am happy to say that I also taught some other (let's say seasoned) teachers what a Wikispace was. It was a joke we had because they had never heard of a Wiki before. Since changing grades I have not made any changes to my page (sorry to say!) but I logged in and it is still up and running just like I created it. I'm not sure how well Wikispaces would work with second grade students but sixth graders really seemed interested in Wikis. I think the one thing that holds me back from using Wikis is the lack of computer time we have in school as well as the lack of computers. I think it could be a great communication tool! http://missybalsavage.wikispaces.com/ This is the name of my wikispace page if anyone would like to check it out for ideas! Missy ==== ==== I have used a Wiki before in a previous online class. It really made it possible to do a group project with people I had never met. Someone got the project started and then other group members made changes or contributions. It worked quite well. My 6th graders would be very interested if I had any site at all that they could get on to find useful information or add to themselves for things like class projects or discussions. Certainly this is the direction of the world and should be of education as well, but I guess I'm still hesitant with regards to online posting in general and interacting with students in that way. I feel it's completely beneficial to use a Wiki or website of some sort to post pertinent information for parents or students, but I'm not sure that I would be good enough with monitoring a blog or Wiki in which others could be contributing to in making sure everything stays appropriate. -Brian ==== ====I have only ever used a Wiki in a previous Wilkes class in a similar fashion as we are here. One of the 4th grade teachers at my school uses one for her class. Students usually go on to check on homework assignments. I think it would be a great way to post a class newsletter. Parents could go on and ask questions or leave comments for the teacher or the good of the group. One negative I see to this type of communication is monitoring it for appropriate content. This could be especially problematic if it was being used for student communication. Teachers would need to monitor the content to make sure comments were school related. If I were to use a Wiki in my classrooom, I think that I would only use it for parent communication and to post information about projects and events that were happening in the Art room. -Millard====

I have used a wiki before in other grad classes and in my classroom. It is a great tool for teachers to keep students organized and up to date with the class. It can also be a negative for teachers, like Millard said "teachers must monitor it for appropriate content." For example I used a wiki to post questions for students to repond to. Right away students would post discussions like they were texting using smile faces :) and abbrevating everything. So I suggest to set ground rules on how they should post their discussions. Also I had students posting inappropriate comments, the next thing I know it was more of a hassel then a benefit. I deleted my wiki page and never used it again, until today. Is there a better way to monitor the wiki's page? I would use a wiki page agian, but not for classroom discussions. -Scott

I have heard of Wikis before, but knew little about them. I know a few teachers in my school that use them for their classrooms but I never took the time to ask them what they were exactly. After reading through some of the websites above I found that Wikis would have a number of uses for me in my classroom. Some of the articles mentioned the importance of collaboration between students, and this is a tool that seems to be based on collaboration a great deal. I could get my students to respond to certain questions and see what some of their peers said about the same topic. They would also have a chance to edit each others work if they are in the same group. There are some possible drawbacks for sure, but it is something that I'm going to expore more about using in the future. Malcolm

I had never used a Wiki before this class. I had heard of them in technology trainings in my district, but had never investigated them any further. After looking through some of the examples Wikis, I loved them! I had no idea that you could do so many things with them. I teach 4th grade and do a weekly newsletter every Friday. Instead of giving students the paper copy, I would be able to post everything online. This would be a great place to have spelling and vocabulary words. When looking at the Wikis, I was especially drawn to a second grade Wikispace. I was very impressed that second graders had their own work on the space. I think this would be a great addition to my computer center time. I could allows students to post their creative writing stories and poems online. They would love that other people could look at their work. Overall, I think a Wiki would be very beneficial in my classroom. I hope to incorporate that into my classroom by the beginning of next school year. A good summer project! Keena

I have used Wikis in a few of my previous Wilkes classes. I am big fan because I think it is the closest social network application to being a web page without actually being a web page. You are able to upload/embed video, attach documents, pfd files and power points, as well as implement your own personal flare which afterall, allows it to be "your own" wiki. I have yet to use this with my classes as we only have 90 days with our students (block scheduling) and wikis have not yet made their way into one of my units. Now this is not saying that we will not in the future. I believe that Wikis allow online learners to teach themselves due to their open ended nature. My students can most definitely benefit from not only the building of a wiki page but also the opportunities to share their findings with their classmates. - Joe

The only experience that I have had using a Wiki is in a previous Wilkes course. With the opportunities that I have had regarding using this tool, I can see how this would be beneficial in the classroom. It allows students to collaborate together and makes them feel connected through the use of peer editing and sharing. I have seen some of my colleagues use this tool in their own classrooms, and they have had some great success with their students. I do not, however, feel that this would be an appropriate tool for my first graders. In order to use it in my own classroom, I think that it would take a great deal of one-on-one assistance, and frankly, with the amount of curriculum that we are required to get through each day, I'm not sure how that would be possible. If there ever comes a time where I do have extra time to introduce other types of resources to my students, this would definitely be one that I would like for them to experience. ~Kaylin

﻿I have only experienced Wiki, prior to this, when I was doing some professional development through my district. I thought that they are a really great tool for learning outside of the classroom. It a great way to keep connected to your students. I know that they use Wiki spaced at our high school quite frequently. I have a web page for my class, but I think that maybe a Wiki would do the same thing as my site and add to the experience that level of collaboration that would be great in a writing classroom. I also think that it could benefit me with having documents readily available for use in the classroom. It would also help and keep dialogue going for students who will be absent for extended periods of time. - Conchetta Marucci

I have studied wikis in another course, but I have never been on one. I see this as a great opportunity for students who might typically be nervous about responding on the spot to questions or making contributions in front of the class. Awarding points for responses may entice students to post on a wiki. I saw some good points posted about using strict guidelines and constant monitoring to avoid abuse. One of the biggest problems I have is getting students to think about History outside of school hours. Kids today, love being on computers and this might be a venue to make them “think” after school hours. - Ron

This is the first time that I have ever used wikis. I know that there are several schools that actually use these. I know that where I work they have a wiki page, but I don’t believe that too many people actually use it. I feel that it is something that can be a valuable tool to use in the classroom if the teachers have the adequate training in using such a tool. It is a way that you can have students speak their own opinion about something without having them feel like they are on the spot. I know many students may feel like they can say what they want to because they are afraid to speak in person. I feel that many students are more comfortable behind a computer screen anymore. -Steve
 * This is my first real exposure to Wikis and I can see why so many people see Wikis as an excellent acadmic tool. Wikis provide an additional means of academic communication for students, teachers, administrators, and parents to enhance the academic experience as well as adding another technological resource to the technological toolbelt. I believe that in my situation interactions with elementary PE students would not be funtional, however it could provide an avenue to talk with parents and collegues ragarding daily activities, upcoming events, lessons focuses, etc. I feel that Wikis can help facilitate the involvement of parents in their students academic lives and help improve students academic experiences and keep everyone connected. -Daniel- **

I personally do not use WIKI in my classroom but I have heard many success stories with WIKI. In my undergraduate studies I was required to create a wiki for the class and my classmates went on and posted questions/answers. My boyfriend who is a history teacher uses wiki often. I have learned alot about it through him who is always on reading students post. It's great way to get your students invovled in class discussions. I liked how he used it as a HW assignment. The students had to log on and respond to a question. This is a great way to get students invovled and also integrate technology. Also, I like how you can post videos, students can view the video and then comment on it. It would be hard for me to benefit from using wiki in my special ed. classroom and also the students are very young. I'm sure if I need more research to see how elementary techares are using it I could find ways to modify for my students. I will keep it in mind when I co-teach with the regular ed teacher. I think they may benefit more from creating a wiki to use with their entire class. -Jenn

I had never used a wiki before this experience. I did have some exposure during a teacher training but never got a chance to use it. In my classroom I have a homework poster for each grade for the week. Each day the aides and myself when we are in the various classes for inclusion post the assignments on these posters so that students can write their assignments in their planners if they missed them in class. We do have posting of our individual assignments on our Edline but that cannot be accessed from school only outside and you have to go to each individual teacher and class. This might be a great way to give another format for students, teachers, and parents to assess this information throughout the day and at home. Sometimes in a study hall it is hard to know what assignments the various students might have and this would be a good way to verify it without interupting a teacher with a phone call. The only thing I worry about is being able to keep it up to date and accurate. Maybe I could get a service learner student to help me each day. This sounds like a great project for next school year!! Thanks! Bonnie

I have never used a wiki, but have heard of many teachers throughout my courses with Wilkes that have loved them. I think using a wiki would be appropriate for upper middle (7th/8th) and high school aged students. Younger than that could be tough due to maturity levels and lack of expertise of computers.

I tend to be cautious when it comes to ideas of this nature. Wikis can be great for collaboration - many people can add their thoughts on the page and most are from those that typically may be quiet in class. However, there is a downside - thoughts can be altered and wrong information can be posted. I think with clear expectations and proper monitoring though, one would not have a problem pulling it off with their students. I do like the layout and the toolbars are helpful. It may be something I consider looking more into utilizing with my students. I would definitely need to do some research and would love to get some training on how to use it more efficiently. ~Steph Zortman