Wikispaces - So Far, So Good...So Far
I am just learning wikispaces this year in my computer lab. I successfully created wikispaces for each grade-level team, for each grade level student spaces, one for book reviews, and a few others for special area plans. Wikispaces was great about questions and entering twelve classes of username/passwords for me. With so many students, Excel came in handy for name + automatic number combination. I then copy/pasted the lists to send.
Project logistics-
With six classes in each grade level (I'll begin with 4th-5th) I will group students by their number in class to partner/group wikispaces. Also - I'm hoping it's great for distance collaborations too. Kind of like in here - there is something new each time I check in this site... well at least in my mind that is how they will see it. I have read accounts that students get upset over ownership - but that is part of teamwork in "regular" class too. More life lessons.
With daily contact with teachers at my school and online, we have many topics/standards-based projects in mind - it will all depend on what they are doing when we actually begin. I am planning for 4th graders to be ready for On the Trail of the First PeopleURL: http://eev.liu.edu/KK/na/index.htm with Karen.
Safety-
Wikispaces is safe because school account options can be set to members/invitaion only and I have requested that students share their username/password with parents only - this way parents who have reservations feel safer too.
I'm talking/emailing/blogging/newsletter(ing) home about it before we begin so I can field questions/concerns. I have had good discussions with parents which helps me add to my information I send.
Reading AUP's in CR20 has also been very helpful.
The blocking problem-
The past two months I have made numerous requests of our tech department to unblock sites I need/want such as wikispaces, blogger, podomatic..... Each request listed multiple ways I plan to use the site such as integrating technology and other curriculum, staff development, team collaboration/communicaton, and/or teacher/parent communication. So far, so good.
I've been teaching 20++ years, and in this is my 4th year in this position. I still want to ask:
What other organizational - or other - advice is there out there?
Project logistics-
With six classes in each grade level (I'll begin with 4th-5th) I will group students by their number in class to partner/group wikispaces. Also - I'm hoping it's great for distance collaborations too. Kind of like in here - there is something new each time I check in this site... well at least in my mind that is how they will see it. I have read accounts that students get upset over ownership - but that is part of teamwork in "regular" class too. More life lessons.
With daily contact with teachers at my school and online, we have many topics/standards-based projects in mind - it will all depend on what they are doing when we actually begin. I am planning for 4th graders to be ready for On the Trail of the First PeopleURL: http://eev.liu.edu/KK/na/index.htm with Karen.
Safety-
Wikispaces is safe because school account options can be set to members/invitaion only and I have requested that students share their username/password with parents only - this way parents who have reservations feel safer too.
I'm talking/emailing/blogging/newsletter(ing) home about it before we begin so I can field questions/concerns. I have had good discussions with parents which helps me add to my information I send.
Reading AUP's in CR20 has also been very helpful.
The blocking problem-
The past two months I have made numerous requests of our tech department to unblock sites I need/want such as wikispaces, blogger, podomatic..... Each request listed multiple ways I plan to use the site such as integrating technology and other curriculum, staff development, team collaboration/communicaton, and/or teacher/parent communication. So far, so good.
I've been teaching 20++ years, and in this is my 4th year in this position. I still want to ask:
What other organizational - or other - advice is there out there?
Tags: aup, collaborative, elementary, inter-classroom, socialstudies, wikis
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Jay Fogleman on
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Hi Ruth.
Did you remember to save the page after you saved the html in the media box? In my experience, the media boxes only show up when the page is being edited. Let me know if you are still having problems.
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Permalink Reply by Ruth Sheffer on
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ok now it opens a new window but it says click /a> instead of click here.
What did i do wrong Jay?
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Go back and check the html you inserted into the media box by editing the page, selecting the existing media box, and choosing the media tool.
The "link text" should be between a ">" and a "<" just before the /a> at the end. Consult the screen shot I uploaded previously.
Let me know if changing the html solves your problem. -
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Ok that's it I did it!!!!! thanks a million Jay
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Permalink Reply by John Sowash on
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I completed my first student project using wikispaces this year in which my high school biology students compiled a list of applications of genetic technologies. We had a few challenges, but overall it was a success. I've posted a full summary of the assignment on my blog. I was surprised at the difficulty that some of my high schoolers had with the simple tasks of creating hyperlinks and adding links to our class index. I'm not sure how "native" these so called digital natives are. If it's not Facebook or texting, a lot of them have trouble.
Next year I hope to expand my use of Wikispaces and include two other teachers as well. I would really like my school to offer online classes, but they are dragging their feet. I decided to implement some of the features of an online course in my traditional courses to demonstrate the power of online collaboration.
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Permalink Reply by Andrew Marcinek on
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I have always used wikis in my classroom for many reasons. One, I find it to be a wonderful form of organization from year to year and is great with modeling past student work. As for the e-mail signups, I have always made a master list and made sure parents were aware of the wiki space on back to school night and via our acceptable usage agreement that all students sign at the beginning of the year. I also invite parents to the wiki so they can see the collaboration and also see the assignments that are due. I have found wikis to be an essential part of my classroom and my students are never too far away from school. They understand that when they are absent, their assignments will be up on the wiki for them to complete. They have also helped make my classroom a little more green. I have done away with paper handouts (at least for those students who do not require them) and have moved my classroom in the direction of always being connected. Students love the wiki and feel that it is a great tool for collaboration and keeping up with class.
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Permalink Reply by Judi Wolf on
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Andrew,
Would you be willing to share an example of one of your Wikis?
Judi Wolf
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Sure, I have several that I have used and can provide you with various examples. My e-mail is imagine1980@me.com. You can e-mail me with your address and I can invite you to the wiki.
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Permalink Reply by JoNelle on
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Great discussions and wiki examples since this topic first began!
Descriptions of how many of you use wikis is what I hope for "regular" classrooms in my district. I am on my fourth semester teaching "how to" use wikis with 4-5th graders in my technology lab. A graduate course that I am currently teaching includes wikis, so I have higher hopes for wider usage of this great free web tool.
I now participate in numerous collaborative wiki projects with other educators. I have created many for our school projects and some for other educators to join. Wikis are a also great presentation tool for professional development. Some of my wikis are solely for conference or workshop presentations - this way info and links can always be shared and easily edited. There are also wikis that are created for directories for educators to find each other for projects or web tools (ie educators who use Skype or Twitter).
My "Related Arts" team (specials classes) at school uses a wiki for communication and collaboration. We began as a way to document our book study. It has grown as a tool to brainstorm, plan celebrations, keep up with "behavior slips", document requests from administration, and what ever else we need.
Thanks to all who keep this conversation going...I'm still learning.
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An example of one of my classroom wikis. Video made and shared via JING and screencast.com. Definitely check them out! JING is a tremendous classroom resource. I will be posting ideas for JING in the classroom on my blog next week. Stay tuned!! http://iteach20.blogspot.com/
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Just watched your video. Yes, will help in classrooms and for PD! Fantastic ways and whys to use and organize wikis at any level. Keep up the great work, and thank you for sharing how-to.
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No worries! Glad I could help! Hoping my blog can serve as a great resource for PD and teacher collaboration and innovation! Stay tuned! Thanks for the "shout out" on Twitter!
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