Anyhow, that was the second time I had used a wiki for a class presentation. I also was a part of one during my first professional semester in my evaluation course. I believe that there was a group of four of us that used that wiki in order to show some of the more creative things you could do when teaching social studies. Our goal was to show the rest of the class that you didn’t have to stand at the front of the class and drown on about past wars and fat bald guys that rose to power all the time. We wanted to show that Social Studies could be fun!
This is one example that I have from personal experience in how wikis can be used in teaching and learning. A number of colleagues can get together to make an information page about something that interests them. They don't even have to be in the same country. Wikis are accessible and can be edited anywhere that has a network connection.
One more way I can think of using wikis as a learner would be to create a “rookie teachers manual”. It is only February and already I am terrified that I am going to have to find a full time job for the coming fall. If a group of first year teachers got together to create a wiki, something like “First Year Teaching for dummies”, then maybe I would feel more comfortable with knowing what to expect. I have not researched to see if such a document has been made, but someone should totally do that.
In my future classroom I think wikis could serve many useful purposes. One of the ideas I particularly liked on “Teachers First” was that wikis could be used as study guides, made by student groups for themselves and the rest of the class. I could prepare some questions or they could each take one unit that we covered and share their information on it (Teachers First).
Another popular use in the classroom I found on several websites was that your class could keep a running tab of vocabulary words throughout the year or semester. Organize it into units, define them, use them in sentences, and that would build effectively your study guide for key terms. I could see this working wonderfully in a Social Studies classroom.
The advantages of using wikis in the classroom are that they are accessible for just about everyone and do not require a lot of technical “know how” in order to use one. I also think that they can serve to create an inclusive classroom.
So much of the focus on these blogs about my online class come down to my desire to evolve my classroom outside of the four walls that surround it. I have probably used that sentence every single post, both because it is that important to me, and the things we are studying are that relevant to the goal. Wikis are yet another tool that I believe can serve this purpose. Students of all levels possess the ability to add as much as they are able to their own section. If I were to set up a wiki as a teacher it would be easy to differentiate for different students and different groups and would allow students to work towards their potential.
As with all Web 2.0 tools there are pitfalls. In our modern western world we take smooth internet access for granted, but of course this always has a habit of cutting out at the worst of times. If our class was to use these study guide wikis and some students lost connection for some reason, they would have no access to any study materials. So an active network connection is a must for students in this scenario.
Of course because any user can upload any bit of information he or she wants, it will often fall on the teacher to make sure they routinely check and edit information to ensure accuracy, appropriateness and credibility. Some of this can be avoided by teaching your students about wikis and what belongs on them and what does not, however one can never be too careful.
Lastly, if wikis are used for student group projects, than it can be difficult to define roles for each student. How do you monitor which student has done what? Can you stop a strong student from doing too much? You would have to rely on (gasp!) the honesty and integrity of your students and the framework of how you set up your classroom.
I wanted to end with a quote that I really liked from our notes that I think encapsulates the possibilities of wikis for students of all disciplines, but especially touches on key SLO’s for social studies. It says:
“Wikis shift your students from ‘consumer of knowledge’ to ‘creators of knowledge,’ which is a great way to encourage your students to develop critical thinking skills, to learn from one another, and to improve their ability to work in groups.” (VU, Center for Teaching)
Teachers First. (2014). Wiki ideas for the classroom. Retrieved from: http://www.teachersfirst.com/content/wiki/wikiideas1.cfm
Vanderbilt University Center for teaching. (2014). Wikis. Retrieved from: http://cft.vanderbilt.edu/teaching-guides/online-education/wikis/