This week I spent some time getting to know about wikis. I like blogs, but wikis win in my book. I am more of a resource-sharing, collaborative person than a talker, so I found the wiki sites I visited very exciting and can't wait to start one. A wiki is a site where anyone, anywhere has the ability to post content in the form of text, pictures, video, and links to other websites. It is a great collaborative tool for the classroom or even the school.
Arguably, the most famous wiki is Wikipedia, the online worldwide collaborative encyclopedia. Long the bane of educators and the go-to place for students, a Denver Post study in 2007 asked experts to review articles in their fields and found that 4 out of 5 reviewed them favorably (Richardson, 2011, p. 58). The idea is that many minds are better than one and that if errors are made, the collective will soon correct them.
I was skeptical at first, but after viewing several educational wikis I became a believer. When collaborating on wikis, students learn to publish their work. They negotiate with peers to get a version everyone accepts, editing and teaching each other. The teacher becomes more of facilitator and the instruction becomes student driven.
Take the case of Vicki Davis's Westwood Wikispace (n. d.). This wiki started as a computer class project to teach students about wikis. They began posting homework help and study guides for their other classes. Soon the whole school was contributing, students and teachers alike. Students not only learned about wikis, they had content that supported learning in many subject areas. I love many things about this site. It is attractive and easy to read. Most current items are in the main body of the page and are surrounded by tools such as table of contents, search bars, and links to projects, pages and files, and members. In other sections there are links to 9th and 10th grade classes, student portfolios, and current courses. Still another section has external links to external resources such as SAT Prep, and school forms and website. My favorite section has links to the Hall of Fame which showcases exemplary work by students.
Another site I found worthy of mention is the FHS Wolf Den wiki (n. d.). This high school wiki is no longer active but can still be viewed. The content is useful for English and history courses. It has many of the same tools as Westwood: table of content, search bar, pages and files. The layout is attractive and easy to navigate with sidebars holding links to history and English projects on the left. Student work is featured. One of the more recent projects is a scavenger hunt. Student groups developed questions and links to help other students find information on the web. There is also a novel study going on in English. Both of these projects require collaboration, creativity and higher order thinking skills.
Wikis don't just have to be useful for students. Grazing for Digital Natives (n. d.) is a professional learning wiki created for teachers by Jennifer Dorman. The content includes links to many, many external sites with information on using digital resources in the classroom. The site is full of useful information, but I found navigation to be a challenge. There is a table of contents, but it mostly has information about Jennifer Dorman. In order to view topics you have to use the search bar. A list of topics would be a useful addition to the site.
I like what I have seen of wikis. In planning my own wiki for the North Paulding High School Media Center, I plan to begin with a literature encyclopedia and discussion board. I would love to provide a venue where students can talk about the literature they are reading and share their enthusiasms with others. I currently have a traditional website, but may eventually move everything over to the wiki. For now, I plan to start small as did Vicki Davis, and sit back and watch it grow.
References
Barnett, J. (n.d.). FHS Wolves Den. Retrieved January 29, 2014, from http://fhswolvesden.wikispaces.com/
Davis, V. (n.d.). Westwood. Retrieved January 29, 2014, from http://westwood.wikispaces.com/
Dorman, J. (n.d.). Grazing for Digital Natives. Retrieved January 29, 2014, from
http://jdorman.wikispaces.com/
Richardson, W. (2010). Blogs, wikis, podcasts, and other powerful Web tools for classrooms. Thousand
Oaks, CA: Corwin.
Arguably, the most famous wiki is Wikipedia, the online worldwide collaborative encyclopedia. Long the bane of educators and the go-to place for students, a Denver Post study in 2007 asked experts to review articles in their fields and found that 4 out of 5 reviewed them favorably (Richardson, 2011, p. 58). The idea is that many minds are better than one and that if errors are made, the collective will soon correct them.
I was skeptical at first, but after viewing several educational wikis I became a believer. When collaborating on wikis, students learn to publish their work. They negotiate with peers to get a version everyone accepts, editing and teaching each other. The teacher becomes more of facilitator and the instruction becomes student driven.
Take the case of Vicki Davis's Westwood Wikispace (n. d.). This wiki started as a computer class project to teach students about wikis. They began posting homework help and study guides for their other classes. Soon the whole school was contributing, students and teachers alike. Students not only learned about wikis, they had content that supported learning in many subject areas. I love many things about this site. It is attractive and easy to read. Most current items are in the main body of the page and are surrounded by tools such as table of contents, search bars, and links to projects, pages and files, and members. In other sections there are links to 9th and 10th grade classes, student portfolios, and current courses. Still another section has external links to external resources such as SAT Prep, and school forms and website. My favorite section has links to the Hall of Fame which showcases exemplary work by students.
Another site I found worthy of mention is the FHS Wolf Den wiki (n. d.). This high school wiki is no longer active but can still be viewed. The content is useful for English and history courses. It has many of the same tools as Westwood: table of content, search bar, pages and files. The layout is attractive and easy to navigate with sidebars holding links to history and English projects on the left. Student work is featured. One of the more recent projects is a scavenger hunt. Student groups developed questions and links to help other students find information on the web. There is also a novel study going on in English. Both of these projects require collaboration, creativity and higher order thinking skills.
Wikis don't just have to be useful for students. Grazing for Digital Natives (n. d.) is a professional learning wiki created for teachers by Jennifer Dorman. The content includes links to many, many external sites with information on using digital resources in the classroom. The site is full of useful information, but I found navigation to be a challenge. There is a table of contents, but it mostly has information about Jennifer Dorman. In order to view topics you have to use the search bar. A list of topics would be a useful addition to the site.
I like what I have seen of wikis. In planning my own wiki for the North Paulding High School Media Center, I plan to begin with a literature encyclopedia and discussion board. I would love to provide a venue where students can talk about the literature they are reading and share their enthusiasms with others. I currently have a traditional website, but may eventually move everything over to the wiki. For now, I plan to start small as did Vicki Davis, and sit back and watch it grow.
References
Barnett, J. (n.d.). FHS Wolves Den. Retrieved January 29, 2014, from http://fhswolvesden.wikispaces.com/
Davis, V. (n.d.). Westwood. Retrieved January 29, 2014, from http://westwood.wikispaces.com/
Dorman, J. (n.d.). Grazing for Digital Natives. Retrieved January 29, 2014, from
http://jdorman.wikispaces.com/
Richardson, W. (2010). Blogs, wikis, podcasts, and other powerful Web tools for classrooms. Thousand
Oaks, CA: Corwin.