Using Wikis

I will be introducing some teachers to the wikis and blogs in a couple of weeks (April 18, 20). I have lots of uses for blogs and blogs for them to peruse, but not much on wikis.

How are you using them
1) for yourselves or
2) for/with students?

I would love to be able to share some wiki sites with them to give them some ideas to "prime the pump"

Thanks so much for any input you can give me!

Tags: wikis

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Permalink Reply by Fran Riley on April 6, 2010 at 8:19am

Hi Carolyn,

My district used wikispaces during our January in-service for the elementary teachers. We worked as grade level teams to create a wiki and then invited the other grade levels to join. The goal was to improve the vertical (between grade levels) and horizontal (within the grade level) alignment of the math core content standards. Through this process, we discovered that there were overlaps in some areas and gaps in other areas. It was great because it allowed everyone to participate. It helped clarify our grade level expectations. Plus, teachers are able to contribute to the wikis when it is convenient for them.
I am on the Social Studies Adoption Committee for my district. I created a wiki for the people who are piloting the program this year. We originally tried to use a Google doc but didn't get much response. We got an immediate response from teachers. I think the teachers were less intimidated using the wiki. Teachers shared how they were using the materials, talked about concerns, asked questions, problem solved... We invited the representative from the publishing company to join the wiki. He is able to read our concerns and give us feedback. When someone encounters a problem, he/she posts it on the wiki. Chances are one of the other teachers has encountered a similar problem and can share how he/she solved it.

My personal goal is to use wikis more. At first I was unsure how I could use them with my first grade class, but I was in touch with a first grade teacher from Canada this summer. She used wikis with her class. She also encouraged parent involvement in the wikis. She inspired me. A third grade teacher in CA used wikis and blogs extensively to share what was going on in the classroom and to foster parent involvement.

If you want to explore more about creating wikis and learn some tricks, here are two sites to visit:
http://gettingtrickywithwikis.wikispaces.com/ and http://cooltoolsforschools.wikispaces.com/

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Permalink Reply by Carolyn Livingston on April 12, 2010 at 7:46pm

These ideas will really help, as I think our teachers will want to use the wiki for collaboratio with others to begin with. I have already enjoyed perusing the two sites. Thank you!

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Permalink Reply by Sue Fitzgerald on April 6, 2010 at 12:05pm

Carolyn,
We have 3 1/2 librarians at our school K-12. We use the wiki offered in Google for our library website https://sites.google.com/a/parishepiscopal.org/parish-episcopal-lib...
I also have used wikis when designing collaborative webquests with teachers.
Sue

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Permalink Reply by Carolyn Livingston on April 12, 2010 at 7:46pm

Thanks for the ideas, Sue!

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Permalink Reply by Tara on April 6, 2010 at 1:04pm

For our March Newsletter I wrote an article on Wikis's in education. You can find it at http://www.cesa3.k12.wi.us/cms_files/resources/March10.pdf. The article is on page 4 of the newsletter. You can also find some links on my wiki at http://cesa3itasc.pbworks.com/About-Wiki. Good luck

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Permalink Reply by Katy Scott on April 12, 2010 at 9:30am

Wow! Thanks for those resources, Tara. I train teachers, and a lot of them need ideas for using wikis in the lower grades -- some of your examples are perfect.

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Permalink Reply by Carolyn Livingston on April 12, 2010 at 7:43pm

These are great, Tara, and will be very useful for the teachers at the training. Thanks so much for sharing!

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Permalink Reply by Julie Barnes on April 6, 2010 at 1:22pm

I used a wiki for my foreign language students as my own grammar page. When I introduced a new concept, I put it up on the wiki so the students could review it at any time. I also posted extra worksheets for practice and other materials they might need for the course. It was sort of my personal LMS. You can find it at http://deutsch1iaa.wikispaces.com . I, too used Wikispaces, because it was so simple. I now work with faculty in technology integration, and many are using wikis to post assignments and communicate with parents. I think they could be used for lab courses for groups to work together to write their lab reports. I especially like the history feature for group work.

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Permalink Reply by Patrick Kutkey on April 6, 2010 at 5:03pm

My students have made the following wiki for working with the software RPG Maker. http://pacifiwiki.wikispaces.com They loved it and other students have benefited from their work. The same process could be used in any number of classroom situation.

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Permalink Reply by Carolyn Livingston on April 12, 2010 at 7:48pm

Good example. I see where this could have been useful when I was teaching programming, too.

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Permalink Reply by Allie Oswalt on April 6, 2010 at 9:05pm

I have been using pbworks for a class I am taking called Integrating Technology into the Secondary Curriculum. This site was really easy to use, especially for someone who has never made a website before. There are also lots of resources to help you if you get stuck.

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Permalink Reply by Carolyn Livingston on April 12, 2010 at 7:51pm

The grant which is paying for the training I'm doing is for technology integration to increase student engagement. If there's anything on your wiki that you think would be beneficial, would you be willing to share it to be used as an example?