wikis4learning

=//Wikis in Teaching and Learning//=

In 1999, the World Wide Web inventor Sir Tim Berners-Lee looked back on the previous decade and lamented: "I wanted the Web to be what I call an interactive space where everybody can edit. And I started saying ‘interactive,’ and then I read in the media that the Web was great because it was ‘interactive,’ meaning you could click. This was not what I meant by interactivity."

That vision of a genuinely interactive environment rather than "a glorified television channel"—one in which people not only would browse pages but also would edit them as part of the process—did not disappear with the rise of the read-only Web browser. It’s churning away more actively than ever, in a vivid and chaotic Web-within-the-Web, via an anarchic breed of pages known as "wikis." //Brian Lamb, a project coordinator with the Office of Learning Technology at The University of British Columbia.//



//http://coe.sdsu.edu/eet/Articles/wikis/index.htm//


 * Some of the implications for teaching and learning:**

EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative
 * Wikis might be the easiest and most effective Web-based collaboration tool. The simplicity provides students with direct and immediate access to content, crucial in group editing or collaborative project activities.
 * Wikis show the evolution of thought process as students interact with the site and its contents.
 * Pride of ‘authorship’ and ‘ownership’ in group activities
 * Used as e-portfolios, a tool for collection and reflection

At a time when the uploading of material to the Web is an important issue for schools there is a wiki that allows you to control the students' uploaded material.It still has the multiple edit facility but a password is required limiting the possibility of vandalism. If your school does not have a server this is a good alternative. Go to [|Peanut butter wiki]
 * A User friendly wiki for use in the classroom.**

** =Wiki in the classroom=
 * Click on the images for fun stuff to do with wikis!!


 * Wikis in the classroom are useful for:**
 * providing and adding information sources
 * students to submit assignments
 * collaborative web-writing
 * problem solving
 * web projects
 * discussion forums
 * collaborative skills practice


 * Sites that have practical ideas for classroom use:

[|This site has a few practical suggestions for using a wiki in the classroom. It also has links to other information about wikis.]

[|You will find some ideas for teachers who are new to wikis. It gives tips on how to introduce your classes to the use of a wiki and also what obstacles to expect from your students.]

[|This site explains ways of incorporating the Big6 into wiki use in the classroom. It has suggestions of how to set up your wiki for students to use. This could be adapted for Blooms or anything similar with a bit of imagination.]** [|You can use this site to find out everything from the history of wikis to uses in the classroom as well as links to pedagogy of wikis as well as finding out about the different types of wikis. There is a place for teachers, a place for students and a place for higher learning educators and learners. It has links to the pros and cons of wiki use in education. There are links everywhere!]

[|This is an easily adaptable lesson outline using Wikipedia to encourage students to question the information they are finding on there, check it out then edit the information on Wikipedia]

=Wiki's for Professional Development= How often have you had to sit through a professional development meeting when only half the people have completed the background reading? A wiki can be used instead of holding a staff meeting to discuss an article. Everyone reads the article and then posts their responses to it on a wiki. This would help the people who do not understand the article and those that have not completed the reading are not holding the rest up. This puts the emphasis on the user to seek the knowledge and they are the ones that will benefit from the use of the wiki. Also, a bonus is that it being online, it can be re-visited at a later date to clarify or even re-work.

A wiki can used as a solution so that everyone gets to contribute to an issue. This is could be used especially in a big school with a large staff, particularly young staff who may have good ideas yet feel over awed by a large body of staff.