Wikis in the Classroom

My Experiences:

My experiences with wikis has been limited to Wikipedia. This has been on a limited basis to quickly look up facts. I typically select a website that is not a wiki site because I have always been told that you cannot always trust Wikipedia. I’m not sure why I trust some stranger’s website instead, but that has been my habit when looking for specific information. It seems to me, website appearances has a lot to do with whether or not I trust a website and its information. So, if the website looks professional and organize, I tend to automatically trust the information on their site. If the website does not look professional, I will seek out additional websites to verify my information. If I’m looking for information that is important, I will check out 3 or 4 websites to see that they all have the same information.

Potential Wiki Uses:

Use of wiki’s in the classroom setting should vary depending on the grade level being taught. I’m currently looking to get a multiple subject credential and I don’t see using wiki’s in lower grades. Perhaps starting around fourth grade, this option may hold more validity. From what I’ve learned to date, it seems that one of the most positive attributes of wiki use in the classroom is for student/teacher collaboration. Then again, we also have Google Drive that can be used for collaboration. Below are a couple interesting websites I found regarding Wiki use in the classroom:

http://jolt.merlot.org/vol6no1/deters_0310.htm

http://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/teaching-with-technology-articles/wikis-in-the-classroom-three-ways-to-increase-student-collaboration/

Wiki Advantages and Disadvantages:

One major advantage for wiki use in the classroom is for student collaboration on project base learning assignments. While we will be learning more about project base learning later in this class, what I have reviewed so far makes me believe that wikis would be a great fit for these assignments. Another advantage to wikis is that it could be a new and interesting way for students to become engaged and interested in learning. The disadvantage to using wikis could be poor implementation. The teacher needs to be confident in his/her ability to implement wikis in the classroom and be able to communicate to the student’s expectations and means of utilizing wikis for their learning experiences. Otherwise, you will have many frustrated students and a frustrated teacher.

Project Based Learning Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNNff-hVg2s