Wiki Reviews

While looking for Wikis to review, I was *amazed* at how many Wikis I was able to find that were being used in elementary classrooms ... and I love it!

The two wikis I chose to review were http://desbuffalo.wikispaces.com/ (Mrs. Koopman's classroom) and http://wikiwonderful.wikispaces.com/ (Mrs. Hopkin's classroom).

I liked that both of these wikis has explanation links explaining what a wiki is, how to edit pages, when to edit pages, and other "wiki rules". At the elementary level (wikiwonderful being a 2nd grade wiki), it is safe to assume this is one of the first times these students (and their parents) will have seen a wiki. By clearly posting the wiki rules and how to's, the teacher have save themselves time and headaches.

The wikiwonderful wiki had a page for everything from a place for students to write stories, to monthly themed poetry and book chats, to a page for their class pets, and links to several class projects the students were doing. The teacher also used this wiki as a class photo album of sorts with a page for each class activity (which I think is fun idea!). I love that on this wiki I could see lots of student work and evidence of student contribution. I found this wiki inspiring ... if a second grade teacher can do this with her second graders, then I need to get on it with my fourth graders!

The desbuffalo wiki seemed to be a wiki used more by the teacher for instruction. This wiki also had pages for everything - from writing and literature to simple machines and the Civil War. However, on this wiki I saw less evidence of student contribution, and more signs of the teacher using the wiki to give information. There were some links to message and discussion boards where students could contribute, but I didn't really see that the students were actively involved in the wiki itself. This is away to use a wiki that I really hadn't thought as much about. While I like having the student contribution more, I do think wikis would be a great way to give information as well -- and I may have to play with ways to combine the two ideas!

Overall I found both these wikis great examples to go through! It is wonderful to see the ways other teachers are using technology tools.

If you are looking for a list of great sample wikis, here are two awesome lists that I found the wikis I reviewed on:  http://wikiswork.wikispaces.com/Examples+of+Elementary+Classroom+Wikis and http://elementarywikis.pbworks.com/w/page/18744756/Examples%20of%20Elementary%20Wikis

Options

One of the absolutely awesome and yet completely overwhelming things about incorporating technology into my classroom is deciding what technology to use when and for what purpose.

There are just so many options!

One of the main questions I ask myself when I'm trying to decide what tool to use is "What do I want my students to accomplish by doing this?" Do I want them to gain experience with a new tool? Do I want them to collaborate and work on communication? Do I want them to be creative? Do I want them to show me what they learned? etc.

Not that those questions always narrow it down ... but it gets me off to start!

One tool I am excited about using with my kiddos this year is a Wiki (I plan on using wikispaces.com).

Every year my 4th graders do an animal research project. Over the years this has looked a couple different ways ... from a paper, to a diorama, to a persuasive letter ... next year I am thinking a Wiki may be a great solution!

Using a Wiki will get my kids working together. They can collaborate with their partner as well as other groups. It will encourage greatness as they see that their work is out there for the world to see (not just me and their parents!). Creativity will be built as they can include some multimedia - pictures, even a video, of their choice. They will get to learn a new tool (as they probably have not worked on a Wiki before), and they still will definitely be showing me what they learned!

I will use a rubric to grade each student's Wiki page - and I'm not sure *exactly* what that rubric will look like yet. But the effectiveness of the Wiki use will be easy to judge based on my kiddos success and their engagement throughout the project!

I think the kids will absolutely love this new adventure!

And so we meet again....

      ...for a new class! As I progress through my Masters in Educational Technology, I am now taking EDET 573 - Technology to Enhance Literacy. As a 4th grade ELA teacher, nothing is nearer to my heart than literacy! I am so excited to jump in and find more ways to support literacy in my classroom. My students and I use my website a lot ... and this year I can't wait to use it more, for blogging, discussions boards, and other forms of collaboration. Check it out here!

      While I absolutely love technology, I also love to read books and write on paper ... so I often have some incredibly mixed feelings - and find myself struggling to incorporate technology without doing simply for the sake of technology. I am excited to learn and practice more ways to use technology to truly enhance literacy!

     As we jump into week 1 we started reading two books: Technology to teach literacy: a 
resource for k-8 teachers and  Literacy 2.0: Reading and writing in 21st century classrooms. I think both of these books promise to be interesting reads. First of all, I love that both books discussed Project Based Learning - this is something I have been researching and am very interested in! I loved reading more people talking about how great it is - and talking about how it fits with technology.

     The readings also pointed out lots of important things ... three of my favorite ideas were:
          1. 'Literacy' doesn't just mean reading a book and isn't just based on print texts. Redefining literacy is a big deal before moving forward in a technology centered world.
          2. Technology use ups motivation, engagement, and problem solving ability. All three of these things are a huge part of what I strive for with my students every day. And frankly, when it comes to true engagement and motivation, why not take all the help we can get? If technology is motivating - then I want to be using it!
          3. Students need us to help them learn how to use technology. Electronic communication will be a requirement in the digital world and work force our students are entering. In their future jobs they will be asked to use unknown technologies - some of which haven't even been thought of yet. Technology is important to their lives ... and I need to be helping them get prepared.

      I am passionate about literacy. And, if I'm going to be addressing literacy in its entirety, then I certainly need to be using technology with my students!