2+-+What+is+a+wiki?

A wiki is one type of Web 2.0 tool that can be used in education. Take some time to review the wiki video and resources below. After you are done reviewing the resources you will need to follow the directions and post a comment at the bottom of this page.

So, are you wondering how educators are using wiki's? Look at the link below to see some ideas. [|50 Ways to Use Wikis for a More Collaborative and Interactive Classroom] Take some time to look though some of the other wiki resources that I have listed below. The wiki we are using ( www.wikispaces.com ) is not the only wiki site available FREE for educators. Another great wiki site that educators can use is [|www.pbworks.com].
 * 1) [|Defintion of a Wiki from Wikipedia]
 * 2) [|Teachers First Wiki Walk-Through]

‍‍‍‍So, now that you have become familiar with what a wiki is and have some ideas how it can be used in the classroom, I want you to share your thoughts to the reflection questions below. To share your thoughts, you will be posting a comment at the bottom of this wiki page. Just type in your comment and click the "Add Comment" button. Reflection questions: 1. What ideas do you have for using wiki's in the classroom with students? If you are not a classroom teacher share how you would use a wiki in your position. 2. What safety concerns might there be when using this type of tool? 3. Are there any questions that you still have about this type of tool? ‍‍‍‍

Additional Resource - If you like wiki's and think this is something you would want to create and use in your classroom, but need some help then check out these great [|PBworks teacher training videos].

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1. I really liked how an example showed students using vocabulary words throughout the whole year and adding to them. I think this is great but I would do this with all subjects. When a students asks what something means the word goes in and has the definition. Then at the every so often the students and teacher will review the words to see if they know them any better.=====

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2.I am scared students could post things that are not what they are suppose to be doing. I know there are ways to control this but I would be afraid I wouldn't catch it at first. I would hope they would be responsible and mature or they would loose their privleges for the computer.=====

3. I don't at this time.
Crystal McDowell 1. Yesterday morning before I accessed this project, I was working on my Wiki for Anatomy. Thus far, I have two ideas. First, I created a Table of Contents Page on the Home Page as well as some guidelines for student use. Then, I linked to another page for HP Vocabulary. My plan is to make vocabulary collaborative this year. I will assign certain terms to specific students and they will be responsible for those terms in our online glossary. They can add resources, links, etc. in addition to the definition they devleop after reading the text. I think it will be neat to have the words on the main Vocab page and have students link their definitions. In that way, the wiki is also like an interactive note card set for students to quiz themselves with rather than just a list of definitions typical of glossaries. The second page linked from Home is for the HP Histology Project. I want to divide students into groups and assign each group a tissue type for which they will be responsible for developing a Wiki study page. 2. I am concerned about what students may post that could be inappropriate. Luckily, I can set permissions so that just the students in my class can edit the pages. Also, since the wiki is on my Sharepoint site, it is monitored by the school system as well. My only other concern is that students may add incorrect information but that is where student accountability and responsibility plays a role. Everybody needs to know the information well enough to edit if need be. My job of monitoring the wiki will be key in setting the stage for student use. 3. I loved the link to suggestions on uses for Wikis. Right now, I don't really have any additional questions. Creating my wiki was really easy and editing is as well. It is amazing how far we have come. I remember when I taught before how I would create web pages in Netscape Composer and work with our Technology Specialist to ensure they were active. I just wanted to have pages of links and resources for students to use on projects. Now, students are creating the projects online!

Lisa Nicholson I am excited to use many of the tools I have found throughout this course. However, I am not convinced that my district will allow elementary aged students to use a wiki. It is very difficult to get things like this approved. If students are given the opportunity to add comments to a wiki, then the doors open for unwanted behavior that will be out there for everyone to see. There is a reason why children have to be at least 13 to use Facebook, and as a mother of 3 teenage daughters I think that age limit should be even higher. These sites are great for teachers and even high school aged students to use to collaborate and discuss assignments, but at the elementary level our students are just not mature enough to handle it. If I taught at the high school level I think I would use these tools a lot more. My high school daughters, though, use googledocs to complete assignments and there are always issues with it. There have been many nights that my daughter has wanted to throw her computer across the room. She, on many occasions, wishes that she could go back to using paper and pencil. I would love any suggestions on how to effectively and safely use these types of tools at the elementary level, but I don't feel that I could ever make it a requirement after seeing how difficult these tasks can be without the proper training. I am definitely not ready to be a tech teacher at this point, but I am better off than I was before beginning this course :)

Matt Selinger 1. Wiki's are blocked in my school. I would very much like to use it for a service learning project for "Books of Hope". Otherwise, I think this would be a great alternative for a physics problem solving session for group problem assignments or even for white boarding. I could suggest reading researched wikis but then it is outside my monitoring. 2. Since wikis allow for safety settings I am not sure why a high school would want to stop there use. If students put in incorrect information then other students will catch it; which is one of the main ideas behind collaboration in a wiki. If students post something inappropriate there are already rules in place for inappropriate internet behavior already just extend them to cover a wiki. Not sure what the problem is from that perspective. However, if it is totally open to the public, I could see were a problem might arise that is outside of the schools ability and convenience to handle such as some non-student vandalizing the page with who knows what and or inappropriate suggestions to students. But again since I can have control over who edits the page I would think that is a minimal problem. 3. Not so far. I like it very much I am afraid at this point, however, I will be a bit hamstrung at my district.

__ Alexandra Nagel 1. Wiki's would be a great way to start organizing material for our final exams. Students could add to it periodically throughout the year and by the time finals rolled around, they would have a study tool. I have also considered using Wiki's for a group historical math project. Each student would be able to access the site from home which would aid in the completion of the project and allow for less in-class time spent on research. 2. One fear is that students will use the Wiki inappropriately. I would need to check on their progress consistently to make sure they are respectful and following directions. Our students sign an appropriate Internet usage form at the beginning of the year (school-wide) and I'm sure we could add some specifics for dealing with Wikis. Since I would be in control, students would have to register to join our class -- this should stop any random person from interfering. However, they can still see our work, correct? 3. Is there a way to privatize a Wiki so that only the students at my school could see it?

Lindsey Miller 1. I am not a teacher currently but I do have an idea of how I could use it in my current position. I work at Logan College and always try to assist my students in finding housing and often a room mate that would be compatible for them. Wiki would be a great place for students to post a blurb about themselves and also communicate with other students looking for room mates. 2. I agree that it would be important to monitor the posts on Wiki to make sure they are appropriate. 3. As I learn more about his tool I will most likely have more questions but at this time I do not!

Lindsay Woods

1.I think I might find a way to use a wiki for group projects. I like the idea of using a central document so that everyone's work is the same. I can see using this as a literature circle too. I am always looking for ways to make reading and discussions more entertaining and relevant. If students can use a wiki to discuss what they are reading it might help them feel like what they are doing is more relevant and not so "boring." 2. Students making inappropriate comments is always a concern, but with proper monitoring, this shouldn't be an issue. Also, they won't be anonymous, so if they do post something in appropriate, it is going to be very easy to track them. Using the age old excuse, "My computer was down." is another concern. If students are responsible for completing something on the wiki, the likelihood of them waiting until the last minute is just as high as it is with any other assignment. It would be important to stress to the students not to wait until the night before to complete this assignment and that "my computer was down" is no excuse when/if they have been given multiple days to complete the assignment. 3. I had the same question as Ali, is there a way for my class wiki to be private so that only my students can use it? I guess so, we had to join this wiki in order to edit it.....so maybe I just answered my own question!

Julie Niemeyer

1. I would use my wiki page as a communication center and classroom resource tool. I will be teaching elementary students, so I might include things like weekly spelling lists or journal prompt. I could also include homework help link and maybe a story discussion page. 2. I would really like to teach 1st or 2nd grade, so I am not sure how interactive wiki the school will allow the wiki to become. Will the students remember to only refer to items in a general sense? For example: not stating our full names or exact location. 3. Most of my concerns revolve around safety. Who could see the wiki? Can or should we include school pictures?

Heather Price

1. I would be very excited to use a Wiki with my students. It is a great spot to have communication for assignments. However, my district has very strict rules on websites such as this. I am not sure I could get this approved. We are not even approved to use Twitter within the classrooms. 2. Some reservations I have about using a Wiki with my students are for their safety. I teach 4th graders so they are still learning internet safety (ie. not giving away personal information online.) I also would be concerned about the Wiki being able to be edited by others. I wouldn't want another student to edit something else another student had posted. 3. The only question I have is can you make a Wiki personal? Can you make it so only certain people can see it?

Sarah Reeves
 * 1) In a high school mathematics classroom, I can immediately see many implementations for a Wiki. It seems as if it’s a wonderful place for collaboration. With this in mind, I really like Ali’s idea as a cumulative review for a final exam created by students. I could also see posing a difficult math question to one of my classes and having them work together on this online space to find a solution. Grading could be based on amount and value of participation in the weekly discussions throughout the entire semester. The types of difficult questions are often too lengthy and in depth to spend an entire day in class working one but would serve as a great online discussion. This same online discussion idea would be great for answering homework questions and collaborating over daily work. I could also imagine having students do a research project, much like we are doing now, over something like female mathematicians. I could check up on their work and have students interact with each other’s projects.
 * 2) Anytime students are online, there are obvious safety concerns. Privacy issues do make me a little weary of this program. Students can create their own Wiki in this case, and those spaces are unsupervised by me. I’m really not concerned about anything inside my classroom’s Wiki. I can watch those interactions.
 * 3) Obviously with any new resources, such as Wiki, there are a few questions. Mine, like most everyone else’s, are centered on the privacy issues. I actually checked out the FAQ page for Wikispaces and that cleared up a lot of my questions. The website is: http://help.wikispaces.com/faq+teacher+wiki.

Amanda Null 1. What ideas do you have for using wiki's in the classroom with students? If you are not a classroom teacher share how you would use a wiki in your position. wiki tools can be used for a lot. I can see it being helpful in my job as a tool to help foster children make a lifebook. This is a requirement for foster parents to do with the foster children they could use a wiki site to help create this. That way they would always have a digital copy. The only problem this may have is I am unsure how private you can set the wiki page too. 2. What safety concerns might there be when using this type of tool? privacy issues would be my main concern. 3. Are there any questions that you still have about this type of tool?‍‍‍‍ I would like to furthur investigate the privacy rules but the rest makes since to me.