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Wikis

Page history last edited by Rebecca Pilver 13 years, 7 months ago

I have used Wikispaces with my students for a couple of years now in my Spanish classroom and they love it. I like to have my students use Google Earth to take a virtual trip to Argentina. In the past, I only had them use Google Earth and then create a Word document to show their travels. This year, I want to use a Wiki because I think it will be more versatile. Not only are all of the instructions on the Wiki, but students will create a photo album of their trip to Buenos Aires on a Wiki. I have used Wikis in the past with students, and I love that kids can collaborate with each other and use the discussion piece to help each other with kinks and problems. With the wiki, the kids can also do this project in groups and we can go back to the project later to use it for class. To get my kids started, my homepage on the wiki gives instructions on how the basics of the site work - there is also a PDF version. Students are instructed to make their own page and then attach it to the assignment home page. The only warning I would give students is that they need to save their page every so often. Even though there is an autosave, if something happens, pages can only be reverted back to the last time it was fully saved.

 

To me, the best part of this is having students use digital tools to learn problem solving and to learn how to work with one another, even if they aren't sitting in the same room. Students all say they know how to use technology, but I find they often have problems actually problem solving and using what they already know to create something new. It is my hope that with this project and others, students will learn to think through problems and work more independently, even if that means asking classmates for help. I would rather the students help each other first before they come looking for me.

 

 

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Wiki Project Idea:  Greek Mythology (or any other topic that requires an overview)

 

I actually did this project with blogs a few years ago before I became familiar with wikis and I think it would work better as a wiki.  9th Grade Language Arts students always learn about mythology in our state and it is a popular project for students to work individually or in groups to pick a God, Goddess, Monster or Hero to do presentation or some type of research project on.  I suggest using a wiki to publish the results of their research.  Each student or group could create an entry on their subject including information and pictures and then the whole class would have access to all of the information compiled to serve as a study guide or reference.  This would allow for the teacher to monitor what the students are studying and in case of glaring errors, fix it.  Of course, instruction on plagiarism and not doing the old "copy&paste" procedure should proceed this lesson!

 

Could work in any subject and requires very little change in the usual project - just in how its published - but it allows the students to collaborate in a way that is much more meaningful to them.

 

(Chelsea Sims - Teacher Librarian - Iowa)

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Classroom wikis become your 'living' textbook

 

For the past two years, I have used pbworks wikis as the hub of all of my high school courses.  I post most of my material (very little is not digital) and keep the students (and parents) organized with a daily tracker that includes dates, topics and links to resources.  If a student is absent, they consult this tracker page.  With a premium wiki, you can make this tracker page public for the parents and keep the students' work private.  I teach a "Philosophy for Teens" class to the grade 10 and 11 students.  Many of their projects and assignments are collaborative and most are posted to the wiki.  This has had a powerful impact on the students' successes.  Initially they were hesitant to publish their work but soon afterwards they understood that 'sharing best practices' is not stealing someone else's idea.  The quality of my students' participation and work has dramatically increased since using wikis.  Last year I began presenting at teacher conferences about  using the wiki as the hub of the digital classroom.  I can't imagine teaching without them!

 

Daryl Bambic Ed Tech co-coordinator/high school teacher- 

 


Wiki Project:  The Top 10

by Rebecca Pilver, Grade 4 Teacher

 

The culminating product of this interdisciplinary unit is the Top 10 wiki http://top10.sblc.wikispaces.net/, collaboratively created by students. The wiki presents to the public what the students believe to be the top ten most dangerous and amazing ocean animals. Their ranking is based on a list of criteria that the students generated. Students apply their knowledge of nonfiction text organization as they share the data from their research through individual animal profile pages on the wiki. The audience of the wiki is  asked whether they agree or disagree with the ranking and to justify their reasoning with their own data. In addition to the profile pages, the wiki also features Voki zooligists who share their passion for the animals through informational public awareness clips, and MyAnimalSpace, a place where students assume the persona of an animal, creating a personalized page (through the eyes of the animal) about their interests, their friends and enemies, their neighborhood, and their side of the story. Extensions included poetry and creative writing, online discussions about animal stories, art projects and opportunities for students to research and create their own top ten lists. You can read about the project from start to finish as well as look at the unit design and lessons here.

 

Wiki Project:  Connecticut:  The Contribution State

by Rebecca Pilver, Grade 4 Teacher

 

Connecticut: The Contribution State is a three-tiered project where students learn, document, and make history. Students first become historians as they study the PAST, learning about the Connecticut people and events that contributed to the freedoms, rights, and quality of life which benefit us today. Next, students focus on the PRESENT, investigating people in their region who are currently making a difference in the community. Students act as documentary creators: researching, preserving, documenting, and archiving the contributions of these extraordinary citizens. Next, students impact the FUTURE, by making history as they design and implement a service-learning project. Students become contributing citizens, addressing a want or need in the local community, recognizing that they have the power to make a difference. Throughout the project, students will be collaboratively building a multifaceted resource so others can learn about and value the contributions of Connecticut citizens. They will publish their findings on the project wiki, sharing their learning through a variety of multimedia such as audio, images, hyperlinked text, digital stories, and video. What makes “Connecticut: The Contribution State” project unique is the lens with which we view the past. In this project, students will learn about the personality traits and character of the people who have contributed to our world today, understanding that it is not just what they did, it is who they were as people that make them important. You can find the unit with lessons here. (in progress) 

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