A wiki is a website that allows
collaboration among a particular audience. Members of the wiki can edit the
content and arrangement of the information. Wikis are free, powerful, flexible,
and call for collaboration. Wikis can also assist in classroom organization for
assignments and other documents that need to be submitted.
Depending upon the wiki usage and
audience, I could see students collaborating within Wiki on topics geared
towards media, books, and technology. Students in the fourth and fifth grade
would benefit from this form of collaboration due to being able to work on
their keyboarding skills, critiquing the reasoning of others, and building
their research skills.
I believe that the most effective
way to use the wiki in an elementary school level would be to allow students to
summarize and review texts they have read and then discuss it on the wiki.
During this collaboration students can analyze text and critique other
students’ summaries on the same text. Students can also make connections to the
text by providing additional information linking others to author sites,
setting locations and facts, and any additional information that takes the
students beyond the text.
Students in middle or high would
also benefit from working within a wiki to collaborate on book or technology
reviews, however, I do believe that older students would be able to experience
a wiki at a deeper level. I particularly like Ben Miller’s educational wiki
that was a runner up for the Edublog Awards 2009: http://hums3001.unsw.wikispaces.net
High school students could do as Mr. Miller’s students and create a wiki based
upon the knowledge gained from a particular course or topic. Students could
utilize the media center and research topic based upon Common Core Standards.
Mr. Miller’s section titled, “Wiki Spirit” reminds students about remaining
neutral when writing, to be bold, the importance of diversity, and to not get
upset when some edits your work. All wikis need to have some form of piece
similar to Mr. Miller’s.
There are several drawbacks with
using a wiki. Wikis are time consuming, could contain incorrect information,
and need to be monitored frequently. Wikis are time consuming due to having to
monitor the information that is posted and edited. Accidental deleting of
information can also occur during the editing process; which results in
frustration from the creators. I did not care for the AHS Media Center wiki: http://ahsmedia.barrow.wikispaces.net
I found it to be filled with
information from the media specialist and not from the students. The wiki
appeared to be more of a website for the media center rather than a
collaboration of ideas and knowledge.
As stated, Wikis are advertised as
a collaboration tool that students can use, however, I noticed that some wikis
are just used as a ‘storage cabinet’ for student work. There does not seem to
be any form of collaboration when you are just uploading work or documents into
a site. In order for the wiki to be active spaces for collaboration, several
elements need to be present. Students need to be able to have access to the
edit button, guidelines for editing/critiquing should be visual to all
students, and the purpose of the wiki should also be present. The wiki should
also promote students to want to change other’s opinions and ideas. It should
create open discussion among peers.
Hi Christina, Great blog entry. I love the idea of students using the wiki to review and critique texts. Having an audience for their work creates a natural 'pressure' to present higher quality work. As a media specialist, one of our jobs is to collaborate with the teachers so I am still thinking how we can use technology and programs like wiki spaces that support the curriculum as well as information literacy. As you noted in Mr. Millers "wiki spirit' that the media specialist can aid students in doing research based on Commmon Core Standards to support their wiki entries and gain further insight into their topic or subject.
ReplyDeleteI think that some of the reasons that teachers are a little hesitant to jump in use Wikis are for the exact reason that you stated in the last paragraph of your post. The first time that students used a Wiki, a lot of classroom time would be spent setting up expectations and rules for the Wiki. I think that having these expectations and rules posted on the Wiki is imperative so that students can be constantly reminded of what they are expected to do. Even though a lot of classroom time would be spent on setting these rules/expectations and even tutorials of the Wikis, so much time could be saved by the use of these Wikis outside of school.
ReplyDeleteWhen I talked to some of the teachers at my school, they all expressed some of their greatest concerns with Wikis. The all agreed that using Wikis would be great in the classroom. However, they were concerned about finding free and easy to use Wiki sites, low-income students having access to computers/internet outside of school and class, and how to accurately assess student's on the Wiki pages. I thought these were all valid concerns that would need to be addressed before Wikis would have teacher buy-in at our school.
For finding free Wikis, a quick look on the internet led me to such as Google Sites, Wiki Spaces, and PBWiki -- which all provided free wikis. The following site provides teacher information on how to easily use Wikis both in the classroom and media center: http://webtools4u2use.wikispaces.com/--Wikis+to+Share
However, the issues of low-income students having access to the internet or computers after class would be something that would need to be addressed and thought through before assigning any work.
I also think that assessing student contributions on a Wiki could be done - it would just require clear rules and expectations for what and when things should be posted.
All in all, I think giving Wikis a try is a must -- especially in this day and age.
Hi Christina! I like your thoughts about how to use wikis in the classroom with students. In another response post, I discuss that I created a wiki for a Greek Mythology unit. It was more of a place for students to go to for their assignments rather than contribute or collaborate (mostly because I didn’t know what I was doing). To repeat a term used in your post and our readings, it was a ‘storage cabinet’. I have visions of turning it into a true wiki, in which the purpose is to share myths, discuss modern texts or media in which allusions to mythology are made, or even discuss ancient Greek culture compared to modern American culture. However, this is very time consuming to monitor. I have to question whether or not some middle schoolers can handle the responsibility of sharing original thoughts and work in a mature way. I know it is a matter of teaching them how to be responsible digital citizens; however, my students still think ‘cutting and pasting’ is a valid form of writing.
ReplyDeleteWhat I would like to see more of in my school is a wiki for my grade level ELA department. We meet several times a month to plan and collaborate lessons; however, it would benefit us to have one central place for our work to evolve over time. Both the Language Arts and Reading teachers just finished a Civil Rights Movement unit that incorporated literature, research, and writing. Because there is not enough time to talk daily and/or weekly, there was some overlap that could have been avoided if there was a single space for collaboration. I think back on the video from the Vanderbilt site. It was titled Wikis in Plain English. Simply put, colleagues can discuss best practices, materials needed, and expected outcomes all in one space, much like the campers decided on what they have and what they need for the camping trip. I don’t know that I would put that added responsibility on the Media Specialist to monitor; however, I do think that s/he should be involved to contribute to the collaboration with resources and content knowledge.
There is no doubt that Wikis are a double-edged sword. As you mentioned, they are time consuming, can contain inaccuracies, and may not represent the highest quality of information available to students in this day and age. However, I believe they are necessary for schools, especially media centers. Though we may not agree with wikis or the ways in which they function, we are required to provide our students with the information we have. We should use our roles as educators to show them these sites, but we should also make sure they understand the many issues that can plague a wiki website. Students should benefit from our experiences with wiki sites, because in the end it is their choice as to what medium they use to receive information over the internet. All we can do is try and guide them to the proper resources.
ReplyDeleteChristina,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your post of the use of wikis in education and specifically in the classroom. Wikis can be used to foster classroom discourse and exchange ideas. These skills are important for students to be life long learners. I am not sure if wikis are equally useful in the media center realm and your post got me thinking. As gifted lead teacher and science department chairperson, I can see the use of a wiki to exchange lessons, ideas, and even frustrations (within a certain limit) with department members. Instead of meeting all the time, why not spur ideas and discussions virtually? Having teachers that are involved with using wikis will empower and encourage them to use wikis with their students in the classroom.
Hi Christina,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your blog about Wiki's. You mentioned they could be used in an elementary setting as a summation tool. How would you go about setting this up. Would you present the idea and assign them certain aspects of the topic. I would like to know more about the way you would go about this with an elementary aged student.
Hi Christina, I appreciate several things about your post. You summarize for us what a wiki is, but also provide suggestions for how it could be used successfully at every level. I work in an elementary school and am often catching myself thinking, "Man! The HS media center can do so much more than we can with technology." But that really isn't true although I agree that the high schoolers can get a deeper experience. Another thing I really like is that you offer the pros and cons of using a wiki. A teacher or media specialist who wants to use wiki needs to go into the project with proactive ideas on how to stay on top of monitoring it and preventing the cabinet collection of student work. You're right. Another tool would be better suited for that sort of thing. I honestly don't have much experience with wikis other than wikipedia and I don't really consider that "experience." I'm intrigued though, and am interested in learning even more about it. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteWikis are a tool that I am probably least familiar with. However, after reading your post I feel I need to incorporate them on some level in my classroom. I teach 6th grade and with a focus on constructed responses for this year's End of Grade Test I feel like these could be very use in getting them to get their thought down and collaborate with others to learn from each other. I like the examples included and it was good to see the different ways to do a wiki.
ReplyDelete