Week 7, Thing 16: Wikis

I have been sold on wikis for about a year now, but have not used them in my class yet.  However, starting this year, all of our classes have our own 2.0 class portals which include wikis, blogs, discussion boards, etc.  In the past we have had to find appropriate hosts and set up the tools ourselves, but now they are already set up for us!  No excuses now, right?  The hardest part here I think will be working together as staff to integrate these tools into our curriculum.  Although at first teachers may be hesitant about these new tools, they will eventually see how much they enhance the curriculum, as well as the engagement of the students.

The library wikis that I saw this time around were used as an information hub.  One such wiki, Library Success: A best practices wiki acts as a collection site for librarians to contribute any information or best practice ideas that they have come across.  What a great tool for sharing, as well as gaining information.  Another wiki, Library Bloggers, lists the various library blogs throughout the country.  Because it is a wiki, bloggers can add their own information, without depending on a manager to do that for them.  I found blogs on this wiki that are extremely valuable and I would have never found otherwise.

As for the classroom, I think that the application possibilities for this tool are endless.  Collaborative projects could be done using a wiki.  Reluctant readers could be enticed into a book discussion group with a tech component, like a wiki.  The collaborative nature of the wiki makes this tool more compatible to discussion than a blog (in my opinion).  Wikis could also be used as the "hub" for gathering information from a WebQuest or other exploratory activity.  As we plan our 6th grade teacher potluck, I am even thinking about introducing a wiki to help organize who needs to bring what.  This could save a lot of our team time.  Just a thought...