Wikis can be used for just about anything! While the possibilities are just about endless, teachers can use wikis to encourage collaboration in the higher levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy, as well as publishing student work outside the classroom (Solomon and Schrum, 2014). Some teachers use Wikis to give students any-time access to resources, while others use Wikis for publication of student work. In Code Blue, students in a sixth grade science class create webpages for their department. Each student is assigned a doctor role (ex. Orthopedic Surgeon). Students published biography pages with information linked in about their specialty. Students clearly demonstrate an understanding of body systems. I really like the way in which each group of students have a block of the hospital. However, when first going to the site, the purpose (to display student pages). The home page is a list of links to get started in research. If I were to do a similar wiki, I would create a different home page, a Hospital Home Page, if you will. Then, have a link for student resources, directions, etc. Discovery Utopias uses a really creative way to publish student work and deliver resources for a project. I really like that the teacher included real-life failed utopias for student research, but I think my absolute favorite component of this wiki is the Clean-Up Crew. What a great idea! This teacher lists a Clean-Up Crew member from each grade level for other students to contact with creating, editing, and formatting pages. She even linked contact information for students to access. This is a great way to alleviate some of the pressure for us, teachers, to be in a million places at once! One thing I might change in this Wiki is the Proposal section. There is no obvious way to edit or download the proposal. I would either embed or link in a Google Doc or Slides for students to make a copy to begin editing right away. Go West provides students with a collection of information about the Oregon Trail: its timeline, daily life, maps, weather, etc. This site is very organized, and clearly well-planned. The only thing I would change is the concept map on the home page. To me, this is not visually pleasing, but I do not think it hinders understanding; just a personal preference. Overall, this is a great resource for students to learn about the Oregon Trail! Wikis are a great way to publish student work and to provide a concentrated bank of resources. I have started a Wiki to use in my 7th grade science class during our Biomes Unit, Exploration in Ecosystems. My plan for this Wiki is to provide students with the resources they need to create a page that promotes their biome. Student pages will highlight the features of the biome (plants, animals, landscape, weather, food webs, etc.). Students will work collaboratively on their pages. I am looking forward to further developing this Wiki and testing it out with my students! Carrington, A. (2016). Designingoutcomes.com. Retrieved 25 September 2015, from http://designingoutcomes.com/moodle/padwheel/padwheelposter.pdf Solomon, G. (2014). Web 2.0 How-To for Educators. (2nd ed.).
1 Comment
Joshua Puckett
10/2/2016 06:36:53 pm
You and I have very similar interests. It looks like we read almost the same wikis. I really enjoyed the Go West wiki. I loved how the entire wiki was a hug collaboration of the students. This is a great resource for anyone to be able to use about the West's expansion. I would love to do something like this in my science class. I love your idea of students creating a wikis to explain different biomes. In your preparation, how do you think you will assign the biomes and to what degree will you set up the wiki for them? I teach 6th grade and would know what you as a 7th grade teacher expects from your students.
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July 2017
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