TEC 950- Wiki Reflection

This is a roller coater post. When I first heard of Wikis, I thought of Wikipedia and how it has seemed to be a little sketchy in terms of quality and reliability. However, after reading the book and some of the resources, I am more comfortable with the medium and I can see the value and power in having students collaborate to add content, learn from each other, correct each other and grow.

With the other part of disappointment came when I started looking at ways to incorporate this in the classroom. Many of the sites I was trying to access were in various stages of disarray. Wikispaces, which seemed to be the benchmark for this in the classroom, is closing down in a month.

Wetpaint seems to be a celebrity gossip column now. Several others were now different sites also. PBwiki and about 10 others I checked would not even load and kept timing out or giving me the dreaded 404 or 504 error message. When I was seeing useful items, my computer would freeze up; in excitement I assume.

So, I kind of gave up on having something that would work the way I wanted. I was trying Weebly, but when I went to publish, it froze for about 5 minutes, then timed out. It was not my day. I spent about 2 and a half hours kind of wasting my time. It makes me a little anxious when that starts happening. :-) 

I resigned to use Google Sites or just a Google Doc (think...hyperdoc) for using this in the classroom. Finally, I got the Weebly to publish.

HERE is what I hastily put together. While I would certainly change some things if using it in the classroom, I like the idea. I would also have to look more into a tool I can use that will be easy for my 3rd graders and that would not be a lot more work for me when they are using it, as well as finding a way to moderate what goes into the site.

The example I have on Weebly just shows a brief example of how students could share their learning on something like seasons. I would probably want to explore the themes more, so that each response could be it's own section where students could add more detail, pictures and/or videos. I would work with them to add links as well. But, this could be a tool that could be used as a KWL type chart, where students share what they think they know or remember about a topic and that they could revise, discuss and edit as needed as they learn more.

I could see using this as part of just about any topic that requires students to learn facts. Especially as the Common Core Standards (CCSS) put a greater emphasis on nonfiction reading, and reflection. One example is RI.3.5, which states "Use text features and search tools (e.g., key words, sidebars, hyperlinks) to locate information relevant to a given topic efficiently." This would make the Wiki a great tool to use for helping students  navigate a wiki for themselves and create their own.

It also fits several ISTE standards dealing with Constructing knowledge and Collaboration, and for some students, it could lead to discussions about the Design of the site or content. 

So, as sad as it is that the seeming best tool for this, Wikispaces and its replacements are not useful (because they don't or won't exist), I plan on using some form of this in the class. 

Derrick