I have thoroughly enjoyed this weeks activities! My eyes were opened to the possibilities of using wikis. I'm no longer skeptical of my students using Wikipedia, which I had always thought of(wrongly!) as an unrealiable resource. I have a wiki page of my own and a pbwiki page. This week have learned a lot more about effective ways to use wikis in my classroom and I now feel like I can use these sites to their full potential.
I am working on making a collaborative pbwiki site for my fourth graders to use for a group project they do towards the end of the year. I am also working on making my wiki site better for me and for my students. Right now I just use it as a place for links and resources, which is good, but the next step is to use it to keep parents informed on what we are doing in the classroom. I am considering using a blog for this, but I might just use my wiki. I like the idea of parents and students being able to comment or ask questions via the blog. I could have them join my wiki for this, too. I will just have to work with both and see which I like better.
(Image from teacher-share.wikispaces.com)
I really like your addition of comics! Inspector Gadget is sooo cool. Now, seriously, I love the idea that you already have a wiki and you are thinking about using it for parents. It would be a neat way to have people give constructive ideas for the classroom, or maybe just to volunteer an expertise.
ReplyDeleteGoodness Sarah! I love your post! The images are fabby! I giggled out loud. I'm glad you're having so much success with your wikis. I'm so excited to create a blog or wiki to use in the classroom but am seriously overwhelmed with the start of school fast approaching and the things I NEED to do not the things I'd LIKE to do (set up a blog or wiki, explore more blogs, etc.). I'm so easily distracted by all the tools we're looking at! But, thanks for sharing your enthusiasm; it's contagious!
ReplyDeleteSarah, your blog is very inviting. Your design and pictures really draw the reader in. As for your comments on the week…Your idea of inviting parents to access and participate on your blog and/or wiki brought to mind a concern I had not yet considered. I’m not sure about the parents you deal with, but many of mine have character and values that are questionable. I wonder how well received a parent class would be regarding appropriate use of the school’s/class’ blog/wiki. It seems like it should be assumed that parents would already know and understand the expectations. However, if you consider who the technology immigrants and the technology natives are, it would be smart to remember that the students will likely not be the only ones to need guidance.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Erin, I didn't think about teaching the parents about appropriate netiquette, but I bet I should!!
ReplyDelete