Wiki project part 2

I began working with wikis last fall and am getting ready to start a 2nd large class project. I put students in pairs and have given them the task of summarizing the sections we cover in class on our wiki.They have been asked to find links containing tutorials, practice problems or examples of problems we have covered in class. I also challenged them to use web 2.0 tools such as voicethread, voki, animoto among others to create their own tutorials, examples and practice problems. I am torn between using class time to work on the wiki and spending time engaged in more traditional instruction. I would like some input from other teachers on how much time they might spend on this project. Right now I am only giving them one class period but am considering two during the week

Tags: 2.0, algebra, math, projects, trigonometry, web

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Permalink Reply by Ben Grundy on February 2, 2009 at 9:18pm

It sounds like the use of wikis is mainly to allow students to synthesise and present their learning. If this is the case, then I would suggest you give as much time in class as you would if the kids were creating a poster, written report or any other method of demonstrating their learning. The only difference here is that the kids need to know how to use the tool (the wiki) so you may need to do some lessons focussed on how to use wikis if they don't know already.
Hope this helps.

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Permalink Reply by Kev on February 4, 2009 at 7:51am

The problem, as I see it, is the problem you have with any jigsaw activity. The pair that is assigned to a given topic will definitely benefit from the 2 days spent. They will probably learn more about their topic in those 2 days than they'd learn from you in a month. However, they will learn close to nothing about the other topics in the class.

Maybe you'd find more value if they spent one day working on their wiki and a second day reviewing/rating/critiquing those of the other students. That way you force exposure to the project and add a layer of "dang I know others will be looking at this I better get it done" on the kids.