Thing 16 - Wikis

Wikis are a great communication tool. I like the feature that only one person can edit the page at a time. Wikis can be used to communicate with parents informally about upcoming events or where parents can post general questions that the teacher/librarian can answer. I also think wikis would be helpful during or after a staff development. Teachers can provide ideas and other resources for using materials or simply discuss what has been learned in the staff development.

I teach second grade so it's kind of hard to implement some of the ideas provided in the blog, such as taking notes on the wiki. I still think I could use a wiki with my class. I teach a unit where each student researches an important figure in American history. The unit is about 8 weeks long and is concluded with a Living Museum of Historical People. Anyway, as students learn facts about their person, they can add them to the class wiki for others to read. They can do this when it is their turn at the computer center. I think they will have more fun reading about other student's person on the computer than simply hearing them talk. I will implement this this fall and I will post an update on how the wiki worked in my classroom!