The 21st Century is a time of creation and collaboration. Our students will not graduate from high school into a world of fill-in-the-blank, multiple choice, or true-false options. They will enter a world in which they will be expected to reason, to problem-solve, to communicate, create, and collaborate. They need Wiki's.
With Wiki's, students can accumulate and edit information on a given topic. Students can create study guides for tests by including and defining vocabulary or outlining chapters. They can enjoy creating and publishing an add-on story or build a collection of information from which to build a research presentation. Wiki's are excellent places for students to ask and answer questions. A Wiki is also an innovative way to create a class bibliography of resources or websites.
Of course, with Wiki's a teacher must lay some ground rules. Spelling and punctuation may be edited, but no one should be allowed to delete or greatly alter another student's contribution without their permission. All information input needs to be meaningful and on-topic, and students must be required to document sources of information they cut and paste or paraphrase.
Among the skills students can learn using class Wiki's is respect for the work of others, acceptance of constructive correction, and the value of each contribution to a larger whole. But, teachers, please monitor your students carefully as they begin to use Wiki's. Technologies that are new to you and them can be the stimulus for unanticipated bumps in the road.
Images courtesy of http://parcepsocialmedia.wikispaces.com/null?from=ss_embed
I think I may need to add this blog to our lesson on wikis....thanks for this excellent commentary on an important technology tool.
ReplyDelete