Kaufman ISD WorkshopJune 12, 2012Stephen Armstrong

Introduction to Classroom Wikis

Technology is like…Tell us•Who you are.•Where you teach.•What you teach.

Complete the phrase with one of the choices:Technology

is like__________ because____________.

SpaghettiPizza

SaladSteak and Potatoes

What is a Wiki?•Wiki is a piece of server software that allows users to freely create and edit Web page content using any Web browser.

•Wiki is unusual among group communication mechanisms in that it allows the organization of contributions to be edited in addition to the content itself.

•Allowing everyday users to create and edit any page in a Web site is exciting in that it encourages democratic use of the Web and promotes content composition by nontechnical users.

http://wiki.org

Wiki Server

Teacher

StudentB

StudentC

StudentA

The teacher creates the content on the wiki server (website). The students can view, edit, or comment on the content.

Teacher discretion: It can be designed so student edits may only be made with teacher approval.

What is a Wiki?

Wiki ideas for math:•A calculus wiki for those wicked-long problems so the class can collaborate on how to solve them (a “wicked wiki”?)

•A geometry wiki for students to share and rewrite proofs (a geometwiki?). What a great way to see the different approaches to the same problem!

•Procedures wiki: groups explain the steps to a mathematical procedure, such as factoring a polynomial or converting a decimal to a fraction.

http://www.teachersfirst.com

Wiki ideas for science:•A student-made glossary of scientific terms with illustrations and definitions added by the class (using original digital photos or those from other online Creative Commons sources, such as Google CC). Linking to separate pages with detailed information would allow the main glossary list to remain reasonably short.

•A taxonomy of living things with information about each branch as you study Biology over a full year.

•Detailed and illustrated descriptions of scientific processes: how mountains form, etc.

http://www.teachersfirst.com

Wiki ideas for social studies:•A local history wiki, documenting historical buildings, events, and people within your community. Include interviews with those who can tell about events from the World War II era or the day the mill burned down, etc.

•A  travel brochure wiki: use wikis to “advertise” for different literary, historical, or cultural locations and time period

•A collection of propaganda examples during a propaganda unit.

http://www.teachersfirst.com

Wiki ideas for language arts:•A continuing story in which your class adds sentence using new vocabulary words and writes and adventure story in collaboration with the entire class.

•An online writer’s workshop or poetry workshop with suggested revisions from classmates. Start with drafts and collaborate.

•Summary and discussion of a scene of a play, a poem, or even chapter by chapter of a novel, with groups taking responsibility for different portions. http://www.teachersfirst.com

Brainstorming Activity•Divide into groups according to subject areas

•Discuss activities and projects you already use in the classroom

•How might these projects be adapted or improved using a wiki?

•What challenges do you foresee in adapting these activities and projects to a wiki format?

•Prepare to share your ideas on TitanPad

•I will send you the TitanPad URL.

http://www.wikispaces.com/

http://pbworks.com/

Websites with FREE wiki space

Bibliographyhttp://wiki.orghttp://www.smartteaching.orghttp://www.teachersfirst.comhttp://www.wikispaces.comhttp://pbworks.com