Wikis

Over the past couple of weeks, we have learned about Wikis in class by watching podcasts, watching videos in class, and becoming a member and editing our class Wiki. We've learned that Wikis are useful for collaborative work where each member of the Wiki can edit and save his or her work. After learning how to use a Wiki, our class started wondering how we will take what we have learned and use it when we have our own students. After searching for some ways to implement Wikis into my future classroom in the Wiki Walk-Through and 50 Ways to Use Wikis, here are some ways I would like to use Wikis in my classroom.

I would really like to use Wikis for literacy purposes. One idea from the 50 Ways to Use Wikis site that I would like to use for literacy is creating a "Wikibook," I'd have to provide a good amount of structure for an assignment like this. After brainstorming in class, we'd pick a main idea for our book. I would then give students an outline to follow and give them each different tasks to make the book come together. The good part about using a Wiki for this is that students can check each others work and make suggestions and changes to the different parts of the book.

Another way I would use a Wiki for literacy is by having an online book club. My students will all be able to comment on, discuss, and ask questions about an assigned book from the class.

These uses of Wikis would be better for older children who have better computer skills, and since I will only be certified to teach Kindergarten through sixth grade, I would probably only use them for fourth through sixth grade.

However I fit Wikis into my classroom, the two sites linked above will be great resources for me when I am actually teaching my own class.