Wikis have changed the way I think about building knowledge, even more so after investigating Post-it Notes on Wikipedia. I have already starting using wikis in my class. When my students and I created the PeriodicNetwork, we worked together to build a site that others could gather information on the periodic table. The students did a fantastic job! After looking at other wikis, there are several things I could use to improve what we have done and use toward new wiki projects.
The first wiki that peeked my interest was CodeBlue. I worked with a similar project when student teaching. Students work in doctor teams to solve an ER case. It looked like the students were still building their site. They didn’t have any data or results posted yet, but I enjoyed the way the students explained who they were and what they were doing. I enjoyed seeing the teacher had taken steps to keep them safe online with fun doctor names.
DiRT is a Fantastic resource! I have to admit I loved clicking around on the site. (I should have set a timer!) What I enjoyed most was the explanation for each link. Sometimes you can have a list of links but not know if it is worth checking out or not. This wiki was extremely well organized and user friendly. Guide lines are clear and easy to follow.
Connecting students to outside the classroom to real people isn’t always easy, however Greetings from World does an amazing job! The stories on the wiki are fantastic! Students from around the world share their storied in many different languages using Glogs. Glogs are interactive online posters. I had to go look up Glogs… they are so cool and easy to use! I haven’t tried creating on yet but plan to soon! I’ll be sure to post one once I get it done!
Wikis have endless possibilities. I am even rethinking my blog project for the spring… a wiki might just serve our needs better. Wikis allow everyone to build together. The only thing I seem to dislike right now about wikis is they normally aren’t very eye appealing.
Let’s start building!
I really enjoyed your class wiki on the periodic table and found it to be easy on the eyes and also easy to follow. I think wikis could be much more useful in middle and high school, but do believe they should be introduced in elementary school. Maybe just learning how to look through one and access the pages will make it easier for students as they get older to not only research but contribute. thanks for your wiki! (I have it saved as a favorite)
ReplyDeleteI am excited to finally have a link to your wiki to remind me to check it out! My daughter is going to LOVE IT. I agree that blogs are not normally as eye appealing as blogs. I enjoyed setting mine up for our vacation this summer... and it seems there are some options for throwing in slideshows, graphics, etc. (More so than my Edublog, evidentally!) I messed around with Glogs a little the other day, too. Endless possibilities for creativity! Maybe combine the wiki with Glogs to = that extra BAM! you're lookin for :)
ReplyDeleteI am excited to look into Glogs more. They seem to be a little more kid friendly then blogs for my children. Thank you for posting about it. I can't wait to try it in my room for a project. I would have never seen that before. The blogs seem to be more permanent then the wikis and the children can change their posts after they have posted it. Unlike the blogs where you can;t very easily do this. Your periodic table wiki was fun to look at. I passed it on to our older grades to see if they could use it.
ReplyDeleteThe periodic table wiki you showed us last semester was so cool. I would love being one of your students! On that note, I'd like to learn how you put that one together to look the way it did. I think it would definitely catch lots of student's attention. Thanks for the glogs definition. I noticed that term while reading and was going to look it up too. I'm interested to explore and use wikis more. They're still super new to me.
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