Bridget Leverette Team 7 Blog 1
After reading the assigned articles about Wikis and doing some extra research, I noticed that the teachers at my elementary school as well as myself could really benefit from using blogs in their classroom and in the media center. My mind immediately thought of ways that teachers and I could benefit from using wikis. Once a month I meet with each grade level to find out which standards they will be covering for the upcoming weeks and I create media lessons for the students when they come to visit the media center. I can incorporate wikis into my lessons by creating opportunities for the students to participate in a virtual field trip. Our second grade students are studying the Lewis and Clarks expedition. A great way to get the students engaged in learning about the places they studied is to have students research all the places and get them to share images and information about the location. Our fifth grade students are currently learning about the key people of the World War II era. The students could create a presentation on a wiki to display what they have learned about each person. In order to promote a love for reading I would have some students to write a wiki book. The students would share their favorite books from their past grade levels on a wiki with a short typed review next to a picture of the book jacket. Each of the classes wiki books would be displayed in the Media Center for students who would like to get a school mates advice on good books to read. These ways to use wikis in the media center can easily be used in the classroom. Teachers can also use wikis to get students to create a glossary of terms they use and learn about in new units adding definitions and images.
There are some great advantages to incorporating wikis into an instructional activity. There is lots of free wiki software that is easy to create accounts for students and teachers. The students do not have to have a lot of technology skills in order to create a wiki. Wikis promote creativity that goes beyond a plain text essay, they can include lots of multimedia. Each student group can have access to the wiki page to work on it.
The drawbacks are that teachers could get discouraged because set up can be time consuming initially. It could be overwhelming for teachers to grade if there are too many entries. Plagiarism and copyright issues could arise if students and teachers don't site everything that is written.
In order for teachers to move towards actively using wikis for collaboration I think they will need time to plan and create the wiki. It would be a good idea to pre-create a template of the elements to make up the wiki. The teachers could then just plug in their information and use the template as a guide to write down their ideas from start to finish.
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ReplyDeleteBridget I enjoyed reading about how you could possibly customize wiki pages to fit with specific lessons being taught in class. Using wikis to create a presentation is a more creative avenue than the typical PowerPoint presentation. Wiki presentations allow all group members to access and contribute. Tracking contributions was one of the negatives of using wikis, so teachers or media specialists would have to come up with some sort of tracking method in order to make sure all students are contributing their fair share. I haven’t used wikis in my classroom but after reading some of your ideas, I think I may try to create a wiki for a collaborative project.
ReplyDeleteFinding a purpose for Wikis is such an important piece of the pie. There needs to be a focused reason that the Wiki exists -- whether it is in the classroom or the Media Center.
ReplyDeleteOne of the coolest ways that I used Wikis in the program at UWG was doing Pathfinders for students (and teachers) on Wiki Spaces. It was such a cool idea and focused on showing off Wikis two greatest assets: Communication and Collaboration in the classroom. These two things are the main things that Wikis encourage in a classroom-- which is great since these are big buzz words not only in education, but in the business world as well. Not only do Wikis develop these skills in students, but the higher-order thinking skills of creating and evaluating information are constantly being used in Wikis.
I loved all the ways that you listed how you are personally using a Wiki in your Media Center. I think that having virtual field trips, presentations, and wiki books are all great idea. One of the things I tossed around was having a Wiki up where students can post their favorite books under different genres. Students like recommendations from fellow students -- and if they see that their best friend read a certain book, they will more than likely try it out.
I was also thinking having links to quality Wikis on your Media Center homepage (such as the Wiki for Literary Awards or Lesson Plans for teacher) can also help develop a trust of Wikis use in the Media center.
I think it is important to have Wikis on the Media Center homepage as well. One can collaborate with other teachers, build bibliographies, and also have a collection of links that work. This could be a plus instead of going to their county home school base that could reach out to the freshman of the college int eh class as well.
ReplyDeleteI particularly like wiki's to use for trainings and tutorials. There are many areas that teachers could use an online source to retouch on certain areas of training with technology, etc. However, I love the idea of using wikis to create a display presentation for your students. Its a great informational piece that can really engage. You also gave a great point and idea for re-creation of a template.
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