Today in EDUC504 we learned about wikis. I have used Wikipedia but this was my first chance to create a wiki. What a great tool! I started imagining ways I could use this resource in my classroom. I was thinking about starting a class wiki in which I let the students continually update their knowledge of a given topic as we proceed through the content. Our first pass would contain minimal content as the students would only have cursory knowledge of the topic. They could continually update as new content was mastered. I could let them speculate on what causes various chemical or physical phenomena before we discussed the topics and then compare their knowledge after we completed the unit topic. I like the "history" feature of the wiki because this would allow the students to review how far they have come in their knowledge. This seems like a nice way to build a sense of community in the classroom as well.
Also, I have been thinking about the uses of blogs in education. In addition to using blogs as a classroom tool, I like the idea of using them as staff development tools as well. The Blog On article for this week discussed this idea. Since colleagues are often isolated from one another for most of the day this would be an effective tool for bringing educators together. This seems like a great way to have "continual improvement" occurring throughout the school year.
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I completely agree about the educators blog, I think it is a great idea. I feel like it could help teachers link classes together as well, kinda like pat and Eugenie. Also it could help teachers communicate about students... like for instance... Jimmy left my class today sick so he won't be in the classes after. I'm excited we are learning all this cool new jazzy tech stuff!
I love the idea of a class wiki. Group projects were always the parts of classes I enjoyed the most so I might be a bit biased.
I also like someone's idea (can't remember who posted about this) having 'office hours' of a sort online on a chatzy space. In a high school where the union doesn't allow much extra time spent in the building after school hours, this is a useful option to give extra help to the students.
And sadly, I haven't had a chance to use many online resources so far in my teaching. Which might be why I am so delighted with the idea.
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Cristi
I think you have some solid ideas on using wikis for learning. Your idea of the class wikis is like your own science-based Wikipedia just for your class with pbwiki or wikispaces! With all that cumulative knowledge It might be a great way to review for midterm exams and unit tests.
I really appreciate how you are continuously evaluating and re-evaluating these tools as we use them in class. Thank you for keeping an open mind and all the constructive thought around these tools.
I'll just add that your idea for using the history feature of a wiki strikes me as a potentially VERY powerful idea. It can be really hard to capture for kids just how much they're learning, how much they're accomplishing...your idea could offer this in a very compelling fashion.
In addition, the "history" feature is a valuable resource in introducing the idea of the wiki itself.
You might enjoy seeing this video, which charts the creation of a wikipedia entry on the 2005 London subway bombings...incredible!
http://tinyurl.com/2lna3g
I definitely see the benefit to Wikis....but am a little miffed that PBWIki is SPAMMING my inbox with info even after I deleted my account. An educator's blog would be awesome...but I'm still a little queezy when I think about how much these things force me to sit staring at my computer and staring at my screen. It would be a great thing if it were completely optional for teachers with no hard feelings if teachers choose not to participate.
Christi,
I like your ideas about using wikis in the classroom. I think this can be very powerful, and it's a great opportunity to make things relevant to the kids! Most of them use wikipedia as a starting point to their research (and sometimes even their endpoint). What a great opportunity for them to see how it works, and how anyone can post anything. Maybe it can get them to develop a little bit of skepticism when they look at web resources.
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