I like the benefits that Wikis have to offer students in the 21st century. Students can complete their work and integrate it with technology at the same time. I love the flexibility that it offers. Students can access it at school or at home, assuming they have a computer at home. Parents can oversee the project and perhaps learn something new about technology at the same time. This will make the parents better able to help their child or children in the future. Teachers could even post a "How to use a Wiki" tutorial on their page. This will assist students and parents with technical problems. It will help them in completing a project instead of getting stranded in the middle of an assignment because they forgot how to use the Wiki.
As a media specialist, I would hold a "Get to Know Wikis" session for teachers. I would work with the teachers, help them set up their class Wikis, and discuss how and why to use them in their classroom. I would hold this in the computer lab so that all teachers would have a computer to work on. These sessions could be held during team planning meetings. Each grade level may have a slightly different purpose for their Wikis depending on what curriculum area they wish to focus on.
I also think that Wikis could be used for weekly team planning. "Collaboration" is a huge buzz word in my county. We write lesson plans together and have the same daily schedule. Wikis could prove to be a big asset for teachers who collaborate in this manner. Since one of the benefits of Wikis is that they are accessible from any computer, team members could add information to it at their leisure instead of limiting their contribution to school hours.
Since one of the goals of collaboration is to improve instruction Wikis have a multitude of different ways to achieve this at each grade level. I see great potential for Wikis in the school system in the future.
3 comments:
You had some awesome ideas on implementing wikis. I think your idea of providing students with a "How to use a Wiki" tutorial on teachers' webpages would increase the likelihood of students using wikis at home. Plus, parents can learn along with their children. I often hear parents complain of feeling like they are "too far behind the times" to help their children in school today. The tutorial will allow a parent to be successful right along with the student, and the wiki becomes a family activity rather than just a student assignment.
I thought your ideas of a Wiki inservice would also greatly increase the use of wikis in a school. You bring up an important point of teachers being able to work on their own computers during the inservice. This allows teachers to try out wikis along with you, and it lets you troubleshoot initial problems or questions they may have about wikis. I also thought the fact that you would design the inservice tayloring to specific needs is much better than providing one "cookie cutter" inservice for everyone. I think teachers would be more motivated to see how wikis would benefit their classes specifically, than be left to figure out how to adapt a new techology to fit their needs.
Your "how to" session is a tremendous effort towards getting people involved and interested in learning about and using wikis. I know that I am very technology-forward and many of things we're learning about in this class, I can't wait to use with my students. Currently, my class is comprised of Level 1 students meaning they perform below grade level. Amazingly however, when we I find ways to integrate technology, they catch on quickly. I don't think wikis will be any different. I can see students using this tool to showcase and summarize their learning at the end of a unit. So many ways...so many tools...so little time!
I mirror your thoughts about wiki's. I admit I am not completely sold though. If this is something that is going to be the next wave of the future we need to allow the students and teachers to become familiar with the new technology and how it functions in the school envirionment. I would have to sit and really "play" around with all of the different options that could possibly benefit from its use. With such a busy schedule during the year, this would probably be a back to school special technology session introduction. Ha! The teachers are fresh and looking for wonderful new ideas to save time, paper and reduce meetings throughout the year. My hesitation lies in the fact that many people (worldwide) can post information to any wiki and completely change the dialogue. Because this is entirely new to me I would suggest that everyone have the option to signup to post and announce their position. Maybe I will feel differently when I see if working properly.
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