My first explorations into the wide world of wikis lead me to search for introductory materials that would answer basic questions like, what is a wiki? And why I should I use it in the classroom? The questions that I was asking and I know other teachers would want to discover the answers to before they would embark on their own trial of the wiki world. I discovered this great webquest that introduces teachers to what a wiki is, The 21st Century Classroom: Using Wikis
http://www.webquest.org/questgarden/lessons/34458-060902130930/index.htm. It places the teacher in the role of learner as they explore various wikis and learn how to edit and create a wiki of their own. I really liked the idea of using a webquest to teach teachers how to use a new form of technology, like a wiki. I think this is something that I could use as professional development in my school and it also might be a good tool to teach parents about wikis prior to their children using one in class. It provides several links to wikis as well as links to articles and blogs about using wikis in the classroom. This webquest definitely answered the first question I posed at the beginning of my exploration, what is a wiki? A wiki, which is derived from the Hawaiian word wiki wiki which means quick, and according to my investigation through the webquest a wiki is a website that allows visitors to add, remove, edit and change content. It also allows for linking among any number of pages. The other question I posed at the beginning of this exploration is a little more complicated to answer. Why should I use a wiki in the classroom? This question will take some further exploration. One answer I did find was a wiki can be helpful for classroom organization and dissemination of information. However, I have a feeling I can find some better answers to this question as I continue my exploration.
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Hi Megan,
I really liked your approach to finding out more about Wikis. I learned about webquests in the last class I took (Digital Photography and Visual Literacy). I found this concept as a great learning tool - think about all the interesting webquests you could make! I also like the concept of Wiki's in classroom environment. I posted few things on Vickie's blog (since she is doing wikis in classrooom as her bog too). I think the whole concept of mass management of wikis is a great concept, one which we can definitely say is geared towards Web 2.0 guidelines. Given a classroom environment, the use of wikis will be a great tool to nurture students' thoughts and ideas as well help in sharing them among others. I look forward to reading more about wikis and their application to classrooms.
Megan,
I am working on my first wiki with my students. No one at my school uses one so I think that I will follow your lead and suggest this website to them as well for professional development.
I hope that as I analyze my data and the artifacts of my students that I too can determine if wiki’s should be used in the classroom. Right now – I am thinking it is a lot of work to get them started!
Vickie D.
Megan,
I recently went to a professional developement on Garageband. You could possibly incorporate this into your classroom. Do you use Macs? That is always a problem, who uses what technology. Have you ever used Garageband? If you have I would love to hear your lesson plans. If not, here is a link to find out all about it. It really is a fun tool!
www.apple.com/ilife/garageband/
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