Thing #16 Wikis

As I was looking through the various wikis that were linked, I came across a couple of them (a 10th grade English class http://bhsenglish10.wikispaces.com/ and an AP World History class http://www.ahistoryteacher.com/~ahistory/apwhreview/index.php?titile=main_Page) that really demonstrated some great ways to use wikis for classroom purposes. I think that I can use some of the information provided in the English class wiki that have to do with writing strategies.

I followed about three different links provided in the English class wiki and they were all different formats for presenting the information. I see this as a great way to keep the kids tuned in and guessing as to how the lesson will be delivered this time! It also means that if they are unclear about any aspect of an assignment, they can access it from home and review the parts they need extra instruction on.

The AP History wiki had a tremendous number of resources for a Holocaust project. The teacher used the wiki for the group's to manage their assignments and to provide links to research sites, such as the Holcaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC. I was amazed with the amount of information the students had at their fingertips, and I could imagine that the students would spend so much more time learning about the Holocaust, and possibly going out and finding additional information, simply because it was available on the web.

I can really see wikis (or versions of them) becoming the syllabi and research assignment vehicles of classrooms. Thanks for providing me with a way to scratch the surface of this tool.