wiki thoughts

Class Ideas:

• use to create a group or class novel/story, could have alternative endings or chapters
• staff committees for planning that event or Pro D Day
• staff discussion of topics/themes
• group projects instead of another poster project – Ban Those Bird Units  
• collaborative unit planning with colleagues
• feedback from students on unit planning or your own writing
• tutorials, students post questions and other students or teachers reply
• summer communication with students (summer reading wiki)
• movie critique page
• post handouts on wiki for easy downloading at home
• designate a few students to be organizers – other kids can go to them for help
• eportfolios 
• take a break sites – student posted so they can have a break
• wikispaces will create ids and passwords for many people if you email them, additional students can ask to become members by accessing the wiki

Considerations:

• can you tell who wrote what for assessment purposes?
• How do you get staff to participate on a wiki?
• assess specific things like collaboration, participation, content rather than correct use of language, etc
• How could wikis be used with parents? Could be used to share among parents from a particular class.
• ESL or lack of access to computers/internet – could somehow translate on the web?

Benefits:

• paperless, sustainable learning & sharing
• able to continuously polish
• focus on process rather than product
• encourages collaboration
• student input into their learning (i.e. planning units with teacher) gives them ownership over their learning and greatly increases their engagement

Lana is an IT teacher at Tupper and she showed us her wikis, all through Wikispaces for teachers. She uses them with her students and her colleagues. She had some fabulous ideas. My favourite was to appoint a couple students as organizers to help you maintain the wiki and assist other kids. The organizers get a wonderful leadership opportunity, and you don’t lose your mind because you have time to work with students without a huge line up. This is one idea I will definitely adopt to make my wiki more successful next year.

Lana also had the students respond to questions in the discussion area, including rules for the class. Each of her students had a page where they shared their learning (usually a link) and a reflection about it. Great ideas!

This is also relevant if I do get the TL position I am hoping for next year. I will try to use a wiki with interested staff, or help them set one up for their classes. Also, I will promote wikis in collaborative teaching units. If i do prep for classes, then I will use wikis for sure.

issues with Web 2.0

• Restricted access: district and school blocked sites such as Hotmail or Facebook
• Technology issues: lack of IT support in schools means all support done by volunteer teachers, lack of money in some schools for technology, technology quickly outdated, incompatible equipment   
• Privacy issues
• Age issues: online content may be inappropriate for students
• Professional support: often a lack of support for professional development, left to the discretion of individual teacher to learn new technologies
• many teachers are digital refugees 
• people may resist change
• lack of access at home
• huge discrepancies of available technology throughout the district, province, country
• does good access=money, are we perpetuating the digital divide?
• how do we close the digital divide?
• how do we keep our technology current? why don’t school rent like businesses do, thereby staying current, having IT support, having computers and networks that actually work?

How can we tackle these issues and enact positive change? I see many posts and hear comments that it is up to the district or the parents or the school or the ministry or the government to provide appropriate resources for what schools and students need, and for this I have to disagree. We are the district. We are the parents and the school. We elect the government (who supposedly represent us). We are the ones who need to be leaders of change by getting involved at school, district and higher levels. We need to be getting others involved also.

Here’s a fine example of Web 2.0 tools for professional use. And another. Here is a wiki about new literacies.