In today’s society, Wikis are becoming an essential part of the classroom at all grade levels. Wikis have a lot of benefits if they are used correctly. However, it is most important to get the students interested. This can be hard to do whenever introducing a new technology tool because students are apprehensive to learn something new. There are several things that you can do to improve the student interest to a Wiki, whether its used as a class, in a group, or for a project.
- Provide the students with detailed wiki instructions with allowing time for practice.
- Provide detailed expectations of what you expect from the students using the Wiki page.
- Create a culture of trust by starting with activities where the participants can get to know each other better.
- Include a common goal for the collaborative activities.
- Define student roles and activities.
- Remind students of deadlines and schedules.
- Create examples for the students to model.
Here are some of the things that a Wiki pages makes convenient for a classroom:
- Students can work together in one place to research, outline, draft, and edit group projects.
- Teachers can post homework, study guides, course materials, etc.
- Teachers can provide articles, websites, videos, and other resources for students.
- Teachers can post questions for brainstorming or feedback purposes.
- Teachers can post topics of discussion for student participation.
- Students can post papers or assignments for peer feedback.
- Parents can become a part of the classroom and stay up to date on classroom news and events.
Here is a great website to help you utilize a Wiki in your classroom. http://pbworks.com/content/edu+overview
Also, here is a video of educators who were interviewed after using this helpful website.
Nice post! I was hoping to read a little about your experience with the Group Project. Hope it went OK….