Using+Wikis+in+the+class+-+BK

=Using Wikis in Your Intermediate Class=

|| **What Is a Wiki?**
 * [[image:http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQhvkq4Xfet6imNT6_YafqcTBxMfzSqfBeOT6ILxaFJ9ItQrS1uCg width="184" height="72" align="center"]]

"A wiki is a website that allows the easy creation and editing of any number of interlinked web pages via a web browser using a simplified markup language or a ... text editor." - Wikipedia

"A collaborative Web site set up to allow user editing and adding of content" - dictionary.com

A great example of how a wiki can work is what you are looking at this very moment! Each member of our //Technology in the Classroom// group created their own page and added their own content about their specific subject. The end result is a collaborative project that anyone with an internet connection can view. || media type="youtube" key="-dnL00TdmLY?fs=1" height="196" width="250" align="center" ||
 * [[image:http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQ5HihUyi7TrEooild8SYI6t7WWG03RKIKz-xzz6LchvZYVsU05 width="208" height="143"]] || **Why Use a Wiki?**

"When students know other people are can see their work, they want to do the best possible job. Students get to engage in a cooperative, active learning environment. Passive learning environments (reading, looking at pictures, hearing words) are less effective." - Dennis Ku, T.D.S.B. teacher, Class Wiki-user

"The case for collaborative learning cultures – and their direct impact on school improvement and student achievement – has been made so consistently and conclusively that collaborative approaches of one form or another have become a common feature of effective education practice in Ontario." - Ontario Leadership Strategy, Bulletin 3 (Spring 2010) || **Why Vicki Davis, award-winning educational wiki user and blogger, uses wikis:**

||
 * Free
 * "Think-pair-share" on the computer
 * Easy!
 * Don't need the newest "Mac" or the fastest internet connection to use
 * Learning and excitement increases
 * Students become experts
 * Teacher controls who joins/edits/views
 * It tracks student participation
 * A "scrapbook" of digital artifacts
 * [[image:http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTFu-ueIPDv62mzWv3dHk1JLSBOIGGf5Pr_6Bt5g6_Un4g7Fw8n width="202" height="201"]] || ===How Can I Use a Wiki in my Intermediate Class?===

7 Uses of Wikis in the Class:
 * Lesson Summaries
 * Notes Collaboration
 * Concept Introduction and Exploratory Projects
 * Learn Shares
 * Individual Assessments
 * Rewards
 * Classroom Organization

Victoria A. Davis, Westwood Schools, 2007 || media type="youtube" key="YZ7-9ZpZzDY?fs=1" height="207" width="262" align="center" ||
 * [[image:http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRUkINMkmjY8zU_WbREYHDp_T3BeNQZyZfqAxz7RT7tXEc4uhcu width="211" height="190"]] || **Is It Safe?**

Yes. Wikispaces has a FREE upgrade for K-12 educators. This allows teachers to: ||  ||
 * create user accounts without asking students to give/create an email address.
 * set the wiki permissions to private. By setting the wiki to private ONLY the members of the wiki (teacher and students) can view and edit pages. The wiki content/members can NOT be searched. The wiki can NOT be viewed by the public
 * [[image:http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSSXYGCbV-xnmcAKgLot3bx1b21eaa42_osJOBQkX2aOUscR_4iyA width="170" height="187"]] || **Professional References**

Davis, V. A. (2007, Feb 25). //Wikis in the Classroom.// Retrieved from www.slideshare.net: http://www.slideshare.net/coolcatteacher/wikis-in-the-classroom

Ministry of Education. (Spring 2010). Exploring Five Core Leadership Capacities; Promoting Collaborative Learning Cultures: Putting the Promise into Practice. //Ideas Into Action// //, Bulletin #3//.

Gibbons, S. (2010, May). Collaborating like Never Before: Reading and Writing through a Wiki. //English Journal//, 35-39. || **Title:** //Collaborating like Never Before: Reading and Writing through a Wiki// by Scott Gibbons  **Article synopsis:** "Students’ comfort with online social networking makes the wiki a perfect forum for students to coauthor works and to respond to each other’s writing."

Written in narrative-style, this articles tells of a teacher's success with using a wiki with his English class(es). Perhaps the most compelling aspect of the article is that he actually does his own experiment with two different classes and their research papers - one class uses a wiki for brainstorming and peer-editing while another class uses more traditional methods i.e.,face-to-face with paper and pencil. The article highlights that b/c a wiki is similar to social networking, students already feel in their comfort zone and more like they are "in their room or at home, talking to their friends". ||
 * Key findings:**